Planet-F1

Sun: Ferrari, BMW, McLaren

Sunday 6th April 2008

While Ferrari dominated the Bahrain GP, there were also great results for BMW and McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen.

Ferrari
Felipe Massa: Sensational! Finally, after a start to the championship under dark clouds, I can see the sunshine again. We kept our concentration all weekend long and this is the result. We knew we could count on a great car and that certainly proved to be the case, given that I never had to push to the maximum once I was in the lead. I made a good start, managing to overtake Robert. Then, there were a few difficult laps because of oil on track between Turns 5 and 8, but I was always in control. Clearly, I always had in mind what happened in Malaysia and so I tried to pay attention all the time, to ensure I brought the car home. It is nice to be back in the winner's position here in Sakhir, a track I have always liked."

Kimi Raikkonen: Second place was the best I could hope for on a weekend which was definitely not the best for me. These eight points move me into the lead of the championship and that is definitely a reason for me to leave Bahrain reasonably satisfied. I never found the ideal balance. Sometimes you get weekends like this but I am convinced that in Barcelona, the situation will be different. My first pit stop was not very quick because we had a problem with the lights, but it definitely did not affect the final result. Once I had consolidated my position, I managed the situation, trying not to push the car too much, knowing how important it is to always bring home the points."

BMW
Robert Kubica: I am happy with the result. This is my second consecutive podium and the team is leading the constructors' championship. Unfortunately I had massive wheel spin at the start and hit some debris in the first corner of the second lap. When I drove through the oil I was sure I had punctured my tyre as at that point I didn't have the information about the oil. But this was a great day for the team. I am now looking forward to Barcelona.

Nick Heidfeld: Now after the race I'm much happier than I was yesterday. Having finished fourth is a positive result after what was a difficult weekend for me. The car's balance on this track was just not how I wanted it to be. I hope I won't have such troubles again. Finishing the race just one position behind my team mate, who started from pole while I was sixth, is a good result. I enjoyed overtaking Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen. Once again for us in the team everything went smoothly.

McLaren
Heikki Kovalainen: Quite a tough race today. I made a great start and overtook Kimi coming into Turn Two but then outbraked myself in Turn Four and he regained his position. I then went in too deep at Turn Eight and flatspotted my front right tyre which caused a lot of vibration. It vibrated so much that I was worried something would fall off the car. Things improved in the second stint and the car worked really well towards the end when we changed to the prime tyre. Fifth was the maximum I could do today. However we still scored points on a difficult day, and that is the main thing. I have total commitment to the team and a good car, and I know we will keep working hard to improve for the start of the European races."

Lewis Hamilton: I am really disappointed and feel like I let the team down today as I always am the first to blame myself. The whole weekend has not been ideal starting with the accident on Friday, but I will keep my chin up and bounce back at the next race. I messed up at the start as I didn't hit the switch early enough and therefore had not engaged the correct engine setting, and the anti stall kicked in. I lost a lot of places but things were still salvageable at that point. Then I had the incident with Fernando. I was behind him, and I moved to the right, and he moved to the right and that was it - a racing incident I guess. I am confident that we have the pace to be fighting at the front so the confidence is still there. I have had such a good run in Formula 1 until now, and it was almost inevitable that at some point things would go wrong. However there is a long way to go in the Championship and I intend to win it."