Which track should Bahrain use in 2011?

If the point of the new course at Bahrain was to give us a greater appreciation of the old track it worked. I didn’t hear many people have a positive word to say about the new layout.
But the organisers claimed the new loop was designed to improve overtaking opportunities – at which it failed miserably.
So [...]

Rosberg surprises against Schumacher (Bahrain Grand Prix team mate battles)

Michael Schumacher was overshadowed by team mate Nico Rosberg on his return to F1.
Elsewhere Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton drew first blood as they began a new season alongside highly competitive team mates.
Yesterday we got our first glimpse of how many of the intriguing team mate battles will play out in 2010. Take a look [...]

Bahrain Grand Prix stats and facts

Fernando Alonso emulated Kimi Räikkönen and Nigel Mansell by winning on his debut for Ferrari.
The win means he is now among the top ten drivers who have won the most F1 races. And it was a return to form for the red cars who recorded their first one-two finish since 2008. Here’s the stats and [...]

Bahrain Grand Prix in pictures

The start of a new F1 season usually takes place against the scenic background of Albert Park in Melbourne.
This year Australia was swapped for the sand dunes of Bahrain, which were brightened up by F1’s colourful 2010 grid. Here’s a collection of pictures from the race.

Rosberg stymies Hamilton while Vettel saves fourth (Bahrain GP analysis)

The ban on refuelling gave the race a very different structure to what we saw in 2009, with almost every car one-stopping.
For several drivers that meant a frustrating day stuck behind rivals, unable to get close enough to try a pass.

Bahrain Grand Prix fastest laps

Rank
Driver
Car
Fastest lap
Deficit to fastest lap

1
Fernando Alonso
Ferrari
1′58.287

2
Adrian Sutil
Force India-Mercedes
1′59.393
1.106

3
Mark Webber
Red Bull-Renault
1′59.487
1.200

4
Lewis Hamilton
McLaren-Mercedes
1′59.560
1.273

5
Felipe Massa
Ferrari
1′59.732
1.445

6
Rubens Barrichello
Williams-Cosworth
1′59.833
1.546

7
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Force India-Mercedes
1′59.906
1.619

8
Jaime Alguersuari
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
1′59.964
1.677

9
Jenson Button
McLaren-Mercedes
1′59.970
1.683

10
Sebastien Buemi
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
2′00.080
1.793

11
Michael Schumacher
Mercedes
2′00.204
1.917

12
Sebastian Vettel
Red Bull-Renault
2′00.218
1.931

13
Nico Rosberg
Mercedes
2′00.236
1.949

14
Robert Kubica
Renault
2′00.474
2.187

15
Nico Hülkenberg
Williams-Cosworth
2′01.401
3.114

16
Pedro de la Rosa
Sauber-Ferrari
2′01.650
3.363

17
Heikki Kovalainen
Lotus-Cosworth
2′02.701
4.414

18
Jarno Trulli
Lotus-Cosworth
2′02.930
4.643

19
Vitaly Petrov
Renault
2′04.307
6.020

20
Kamui Kobyashi
Sauber-Ferrari
2′05.044
6.757

21
Timo Glock
Virgin-Cosworth
2′07.062
8.775

22
Bruno Senna
HRT-Cosworth
2′09.127
10.840

23
Lucas di Grassi
Virgin-Cosworth
2′09.361
11.074

24
Karun Chandhok
HRT-Cosworth
2′34.479
36.192

Top 50 fastest laps

Rank
Driver
Lap time
Lap

1
Fernando Alonso
118.287
45

2
Fernando Alonso
118.879
36

3
Adrian Sutil
119.393
49

4
Fernando Alonso
119.406
41

5
Fernando Alonso
119.448
44

6
Fernando Alonso
119.477
35

7
Mark Webber
119.487
45

8
Fernando Alonso
119.528
37

9
Lewis Hamilton
119.56
42

10
Fernando Alonso
119.576
42

11
Fernando Alonso
119.583
29

12
Fernando Alonso
119.587
40

13
Lewis Hamilton
119.59
43

14
Adrian [...]

Alonso heads one-two on Ferrari debut

Fernando Alonso won the Bahrain Grand Prix on his first appearance for Ferrari.
He took the lead from pole sitter Sebastian Vettel, who was struck by an exhaust failure while leading.
Felipe Massa followed his team mate home in second place giving Ferrari a one-two finish in the first race of the season.

Rate the race: Bahrain

The 2010 F1 season is up and running. What did you think of the first round? Rate the race out of ten and have your say below:

F1 Fanatic Rate the Race results 2009
F1 Fanatic Rate the Race results 2008

Bahrain Grand Prix Live Blog

Review the Bahrain Grand Prix live blog below.
Bahrain Grand Prix
Pre-race notes

Both Ferraris have had precautionary engine changes. They will not lose places on the grid.
Weather expected to remain hot and dry, air temperature in the mid-30s.

Useful links

Bahrain Grand Prix grid
Track map
Live F1 video FAQ

Live F1 timing

Bahrain Grand Prix result

Pos
Num
Driver
Car
Laps
Gap
Difference
Grid

1
8
Fernando Alonso
Ferrari
49

3

2
7
Felipe Massa
Ferrari
49
16.099
16.099
2

3
2
Lewis Hamilton
McLaren-Mercedes
49
23.182
7.083
4

4
5
Sebastian Vettel
Red Bull-Renault
49
38.799
15.617
1

5
4
Nico Rosberg
Mercedes
49
40.213
1.414
5

6
3
Michael Schumacher
Mercedes
49
44.163
3.950
7

7
1
Jenson Button
McLaren-Mercedes
49
45.280
1.117
8

8
6
Mark Webber
Red Bull-Renault
49
46.360
1.080
6

9
15
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Force India-Mercedes
49
53.008
6.648
12

10
9
Rubens Barrichello
Williams-Cosworth
49
62.489
9.481
11

11
11
Robert Kubica
Renault
49
69.093
6.604
9

12
14
Adrian Sutil
Force India-Mercedes
49
82.958
13.865
10

13
17
Jaime Alguersuari
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
49
92.656
9.698
18

14
10
Nico Hülkenberg
Williams-Cosworth
48
1 lap
1 lap
13

15
19
Heikki Kovalainen
Lotus-Cosworth
47
2 laps
1 lap
21

16
16
Sebastien Buemi
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
46
3 laps
1 lap
15

17
18
Jarno Trulli
Lotus-Cosworth
46
3 laps
259.755
20

Not classified

18
22
Pedro de la Rosa
Sauber-Ferrari
28
21 laps
18 laps
14

19
21
Bruno Senna
HRT-Cosworth
17
32 laps
11 laps
23

20
24
Timo Glock
Virgin-Cosworth
16
33 laps
1 lap
19

21
12
Vitaly Petrov
Renault
13
36 laps
3 laps
17

22
23
Kamui Kobyashi
Sauber-Ferrari
11
38 laps
2 laps
16

23
25
Lucas di Grassi
Virgin-Cosworth
2
47 laps
9 laps
22

24
20
Karun Chandhok
HRT-Cosworth
1
48 laps
1 [...]