SEB (BAH)RAINS ON MCLAREN'S PARADE!

Who would have thought that only a week after failing to make it to Q3 Sebastian Vettel would not only win the next Grand Prix but find himself leading the Drivers' Championship? He had definitely not been written off but not many people expected the win to come so soon at race number 4. Red Bull got everything together for this weekend and it all paid off. Sebastian drove a very cool race in the Bahraini heat to take a pole to chequered flag victory.

Kimi Raikkonen was the only person to pose a real threat to Vettel's race win as he closed in on the German towards the end of the second stint. However, failure to undercut Red Bull at the final pit stop meant that the Iceman wasn't able to get close enough to overtake Vettel for the lead. Nevertheless, second place is still a great result for Raikkonen as he gets his comeback to Formula 1 firmly underway. I'm definitely glad to see Lotus challenge at the front with the final podium spot going to Kimi's team mate Romain Grosjean who is also making the most of his comeback and his joy at finishing on his first ever podium was very clear.

Lewis Hamilton could only manage eighth place in his McLaren but at least he got some points unlike team mate Jenson Button. Button unfortunately didn't even see the chequered flag making this the second time he has finished out of the points this season. Lewis suffered from two faulty pit-stops which took approximately 21 seconds collectively. He did pull off some great overtakes to finish eighth but something tells me that won't really be a consolation for him. McLaren's weaknesses today further highlight the unpredictability of this season and the fact that there definitely aren't any favourites for race wins or championships. Before McLaren start thinking that far ahead in to the future, however, they will need to sort those pit-stops out.

Elsewhere, Felipe Massa also won a few points in Bahrain and whilst this does not remove any of the pressure the Brazilian is under, it is at least one hurdle crossed. Daniel Ricciardio failed to capitalise on his 6th place start and this shows that although you can enjoy and be pleased with your qualifying performances, points aren't awarded on a Saturday and if you can't deliver the goods on race day you aren't guaranteed a seat in a car next season.

Paul Di Resta impressed in his Force India to finish in sixth position; ahead of both McLarens, Ferraris and a Mercedes. That's a nice bunch of points for the young Scot and a nice boost to carry into the European leg. Nico Rosberg finished ahead of Di Resta to come fifth after a race where he forced more than one other driver off the race track. He finished ahead of his victims, Alonso and Hamilton, but I'm sure he didn't have fifth place in his mind after his maiden victory in Shanghai. But in F1 these days that's the difference a week makes...

I don't think anyone can question how thrilling this race was and there was excitement and surprises up and down the grid. I spent so much of the race literally on the edge of my seat and my heart race was very unstable. A wonderful first win of 2012 for Sebastian blows this championship wide open and the double world-champions, Vettel and Red Bull, are certainly ready for the fight.

Aqsa

(Images: dailymail.co.uk)