1 Fernando Alonso Renault 57 1:29:46.205
2 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 57 +1.2 secs
3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 57 +19.3 secs
4 Jenson Button Honda 57 +19.9 secs
5 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 57 +37.0 secs
6 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 57 +41.9 secs
7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 57 +63.0 secs
8 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 57 +66.7 secs
9 Felipe Massa Ferrari 57 +69.9 secs
10 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 57 +75.5 secs

It was an interesting start to the 2006 F1 season. The big news from qualifying was that Ferrari is back. Schumacher and Massa took 1st and 2nd going into Sunday. Raikkonen had more terrible luck when his car broke down during qualifying, forcing him to start at the very back.

Early in the race Massa's 248F1 spun out nearly crashing into Alonso. After over a minute in the pit his car was back on the track, but he was in last place. His climb back to 9th place was impressive, but overshadowed by Raikkonen's climb from 22nd to 3rd. The battle for first was between Alonso and Schumacher the whole way, and it really came down to Alonso's superior pit crew about which he said, "This was a good, fighting win and I want to dedicate it to the mechanics and the team, for some fantastic pit-stops and the right strategy." The other major story from Bahrain surrounded Williams rookie Nico Rosberg, who posted the fastest lap and brought home 2 points on his very first F1 race.

The big letdowns at Bahrain were Toyota, which after a very successful season in 2005, only managed 14th and 16th place. Big suprise- Sato did nothing and finished +4 laps back from Alonso and Schumacher.

i thought it was a great when kimi came from the back of the pack. if he had pole he probably would've been on the top of de podium

also cool to see shumacher +ferrari back on track. its gonna be an interesting year........

it was an awsome race, lots of passing and great action. hopefully this is a sign of things to come, and hopefully kimi will have a better year mechanically then he did last season.

I think this was definitely a hard course to start the season with, especially considering how the sand on the track could affect the tires. Overall, an excellent race, and the Alonso-Schumacher battle was one of the most intense things I've ever seen.

Too bad about Barichello's car catching fire, but Button picked up the slack. Oh, and what happened with Massa's first pit stop? Why was the crew having so much trouble with that one tire? I think he really could have done better had it not been for that.

and mucho props the raikkonen for advancing 19 positions. That's just good driving.

Wonder if Ferrari would be back if they hadn't changed the rules again.

I was impressed with how long the tires lasted and that Raikonnen was able to turn good times despite one-stopping the race. I think you'll see a lot of one stop strategies from teams starting in the back this year.

Overall, an excellent race, and the Alonso-Schumacher battle was one of the most intense things I've ever seen.

Naw, i think their best battle was last year at san marino. This one was pretty decent, but thats nothing if you saw san marino

Wonder if Ferrari would be back if they hadn't changed the rules again.

Waaah waaah.

They wouldn't need to be back if the rules hadn't been constantly manipulated to slow them down.

I enjoyed the race and am looking forward to Malaysia. Don't forget that it's in 1 week, not 2.

marcomc88,

Rubens's car didn't catch fire, it was Villeneuve! Rubens finished in 15th one lap down, which was weird, actually, since one minute he was battling Button and dicing for position, the next minute Button overtakes him and just disapears into the distance. Apparently Rubens's car developed a gearbox problem and he had to drive with one missing gear.

It was a great race and hopefully a taste of some great action to come. Kimi's drive was downright beautiful and the teams stragety was nothing less than brilliant. A McLaren fan can only hope he stays with the team for a couple more years....would be a shame to see him wearing red. :frown:

I was also happy to see Scott Speed finishing the race. Made me really proud to see an American flag on the starting grid even though he isn't a true contender for podium finishes. But hey, you gotta start somewhere. :thumbsup:

First let me say congrats to Nico Rosberg damn that was one hell of a drive but overshadowed by kimi. Hopfullly this isn't a pre-cursor to the year for mclaren relibailty.

They wouldn't need to be back if the rules hadn't been constantly manipulated to slow them down.


:iceslolan :rofl: :lol:

Missed the majority of the race and wasn't that suprised at most of the results. Raikonen and McLaren have been regularly turning poor grid positions into podiums since last season and Ferrari were fast at Bahrain 2005 with the old tyre regs. Also looks like nothing has changed at Renualt and that includes Fisichella getting the rough end of the pineapple yet again. On the other hand Toyota were pitiful and it sounds like young Rosberg's performance was quite something after his initial mistake.

All in all the season to come still holds plenty of promise. At this stage you'd have to say as many as five teams could win races given the right circumstances - that might all change come Malaysia. :)