Massa wins as Hamilton stumbles

p class=”first”>Felipe Massa became the third winner in as many Grands Prix this season with a dominant drive for Ferrari in Bahrain.

The Brazilian took the lead at the start from pole-man Robert Kubica`s BMW Sauber and kept Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen under control throughout.

World champion Raikkonen took the lead in this year`s title race for the first time as Lewis Hamilton finished 13th.

Hamilton needed to pit for repairs to his McLaren after an early collision with former team-mate Fernando Alonso.

The Englishman, who had dropped down to 10th from third on the grid after a bad start, ran into the back of the Spaniard`s Renault while trying to pass it on lap two.

The incident knocked off Hamilton`s front wing, and he needed to pit for a new nose cone at the end of lap.

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He battled hard to make up lost ground, but ran out of time to get into the points.

The 23-year-old has now lost the championship lead he has held since winning the first race of the season in Australia last month, and is now five points behind Raikkonen.

The collision between Hamilton and Alonso is unlikely to improve relations between the two men, who had a stormy season as McLaren team-mates last season.

Alonso`s car was also damaged in the incident - Hamilton`s McLaren knocked pieces out of the Renault`s rear wing as it reared up the back of the car.

And after running ninth fending off Timo Glock`s Toyota until his first pit stop, the double world champion slid down the field eventually to finish 12th, fending off a challenge from Rubens Barrichello`s Honda in the closing laps.

Hamilton had a troubled race and lost the championship lead

The race at the front was processional.

After passing Kubica off the line, Massa immediately eased out a gap in the opening laps.

Raikkonen beat Massa in Malaysia two weeks ago despite starting behind him, and might have been expected to close in on his team-mate once he had passed Kubica on lap three.

Instead, Massa managed to inch clear of the Finn, and was five seconds clear by the time Raikkonen came in for his pit stop on lap 20.

Massa came in on the next lap, making it clear that he had the edge on his team-mate around the tricky desert track,

Raikkonen piled on the pressure in the second stint, bringing the gap between the two down to three seconds with a succession of fastest laps.

But Massa, unlike in Malaysia, did not crumble under the pressure, and he was able to fend off his team-mate as two continued in formation to the end.

When I caught up with DC, he was really struggling - he moved across for his racing line but it was too late, I was already committing Jenson Button

Kubica was not able to challenge the Ferraris, and when he stopped on lap 17 it became clear that his impressive pole position was at least partly down to running with less fuel than the Ferraris in qualifying.

But the Pole`s third place, allied to a comfortable fourth for team-mate Nick Heidfeld, underlined the impression that BMW Sauber will be a major force this year and are likely to interfere in the title battle between Ferrari and McLaren this year.

Heikki Kovalainen was the first McLaren to finish in fifth place, but he was not in touch with the BMWs, and more concerned about the Toyota of Jarno Trulli behind him.

It was another impressive showing from Trulli, whose Toyota team appear to be emerging from years of squandering their huge resources.

The Italian had himself to fend off pressure from Mark Webber`s Red Bull, which took seventh place for the second race in a row.

The final point in eighth place was taken by Nico Rosberg`s Williams.

Kubica (behind) was the only driver to give the Ferraris any trouble

Jenson Button had been optimistic of points after qualifying an encouraging ninth for Honda, but the Englishman`s hopes were dashed by an early puncture.

He rejoined behind Scot David Coulthard, whose Red Bull had suffered the same problem at the same time.

Button was clearly the quicker, but the two tangled when Button went for the inside at Turn Four but Coulthard closed the door, and the Honda was forced into retirement.

I got a good start I was up two places but then into Turn 4 someone must have touched me in the back of my tyre and I got a puncture.

“When I caught up with DC he was struggling,” Button said.

“He moved across for his racing line but it was too late - I was already committing.

“Hitting him in the side was me trying to take avoiding action. It`s frustrating but the positive is the car has got a lot of pace.”

6.4.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ Hamilton, Massa    ▪ news.bbc.co.uk