Fernando Alonso has returned to winning ways by clinching victory in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday. The Champion of 2005 and 2006 led home the first Ferrari 1-2 since France 2008 as Lewis Hamilton managed third for McLaren after pole man Sebastian Vettel, who led for much of the race, suffered technical problems in his Red Bull-Renault.
With a ban on mid-race refuelling, four World Champions in the field, five rookies drivers and three new teams, there were plenty of reasons why the 2010 Formula 1 season has been predicted as one of the best ever. With Sebastian Vettel having surprised Ferrari by clinching pole courtesy of a stunning lap on Saturday, more baking conditions graced the Sakhir track for race day.
It was a clean start for all in the 24-car field as the Hispania drivers elected to start from the pit lane. Trouble started at Turn 2, however, as a smoke screen from Mark Webber's Red Bull - most likely caused by an overfill of fuel - blinded several drivers behind. Robert Kubica and Adrian Sutil came off worst as the Renault and Force India touched wheels and spun in harmony, with the former then facing the wrong way in the middle of the race track but being avoided by all other competitors.
At the sharp end, Alonso passed team-mate Massa for second behind Vettel as Nico Rosberg's Mercedes stole fourth position from the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton, which later retook the spot as the majority of runners elected to stop only once. As Kubica staged a dramatic comeback to 11th, missing the points by just one place, most of the early race dramas were provided by those running in either the mid-field or towards the tail end of the race.
Karun Chandhok was the first retirement of the season after crashing his Hispania on Lap 2 in what had been planned as an extended test session. Team-mate Bruno Senna ended a strong effort in the other car 15 laps later due to an expected Cosworth engine failure at Turn 1. It was a day of mixed results for the new teams; Virgin Racing also saw both cars retire as Lucas di Grassi pulled off the race track just moments after fellow rookie Nico Hülkenberg experienced a lurid spin in the Williams, flying across the infield and narrowly missing the Toro Rosso of Sébastien Buemi.
Timo Glock retired the second Virgin car due to gearbox problems and it was an equally disappointing day for Sauber, which became the third and final team to lose both cars due to technical related problems for both de la Rosa and Kobayashi. There were other stoppages for Petrov's Renault plus Buemi and the Lotus of Trulli at the end of a reliable race for debutants Lotus.
Having controlled the pace and a strong charge by Alonso, which featured the Spaniard challenging the Red Bull halfway through the race, Vettel later enjoyed a lead of approximately two and a half seconds before his Renault engine began to lose power. With the unit running on seven cylinders and with a huge top speed disadvantage as a result, the German was an easy target for Alonso as the Oviedo man sliced through for the lead on the inside of the final corner.
Despite struggling for rear-end grip at some corners, Felipe Massa also easily passed the Red Bull for second place at Turn 1 as Alonso continued to extend his lead before the end of the race, setting the fastest lap in the process. Lewis Hamilton was the last man to ovetake Vettel at Turn 1, with the Red Bull eventually fending off Nico Rosberg before pulling off at the same part of track on the slowing down lap.
There were solid performances from the returning Michael Schumacher and reigning title holder Jenson Button in sixth and seventh although both cars were being rapidly caught by Mark Webber's Red Bull in the final stages, with only turbulent air in the wake of the cars preventing overtaking. Vitantonio Liuzzi and Rubens Barrichello were the first two men to benefit from the new scoring system and notched up respective scores of two points and one for Force India and Williams.
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