• Bahrain Grand Prix

Post-race driver rundown

March 14, 2010 « Post-race driver reaction | »

Race report | Driver quotes | 'Now it's time to push' - Alonso

A summary of each driver's performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso A comfortable victory in the end, but he was keen to prove his pace by setting the fastest lap when he took the lead and came into clear air. He clearly had the pace to close in on Vettel but probably wouldn't have been able to pass him if the Red Bull had not suffered a cracked exhaust. Qualifying will be all important this year and that is what Alonso will aim to improve

Felipe Massa After losing out at the start on the dirty side of the track, he crucially squeezed ahead of the fast-starting Hamilton coming out of turn four. He was told to look after his engine midway through the race, challenging Alonso would have been futile, and that could prove to be a problem for Ferrari later in the season.

Lewis Hamilton A very quick start saw him get ahead of Massa, but a mistake under braking for turn four meant he lost position to the Ferrari and Rosberg. He had to back off behind the Mercedes to save his tyres but was clearly quicker. He then made use of an early pit stop and fresh rubber to put in some quick times and pass Rosberg when the German pitted a couple of laps later. From that point it was a relatively simple race and he breezed past the hampered Vettel for third.

Sebastian Vettel A spark plug failure deprived him of what looked likely to be victory ahead of the Ferraris. Alonso and Massa just about kept in touch with him in the first stint and he appeared to have them in check on the harder tyre before the problem. He did well to hold off Rosberg in the closing stages and will certainly be a contender for the title this season.

Nico Rosberg He stayed out on the soft tyre too long, which ultimately cost him a position to Hamilton. He will be disappointed not to have capitalised on Vettel's problems, but worn tyres and the turbulent air coming from the back of the Red Bull prevented him from attempting an overtaking move at the end of the race.

Michael Schumacher He gained a place on Webber at the start but failed to make an impression on the race overall. There is still plenty of work to do before he is back at his best but it wasn't a disastrous result by any means.

Jenson Button His lack of pace in qualifying transferred to the race and he spent most of his race staring at Schumacher's gearbox. At times he looked like he had the pace to make a move, but it never materialised and towards the end of the race he was more concerned with the Red Bull in his mirrors.

Mark Webber A pretty dismal weekend after a mistake in qualifying saw him start down the order in sixth. Through the first corner his engine was belching smoke and oil onto the cars behind and he dropped behind Schumacher. He then lost position to Button in the pit stops and finished eighth.

Tonio Liuzzi Stayed clear of trouble both inside and outside the car and would have been justifiably delighted to finish at the top of the field outside the big four.

Rubens Barrichello Fairly anonymous, a long run on hard tyres gave him a decent start but he fell back in his run-of-the-mill Williams. A point for tenth was a reasonable return although he admitted he might need retirements among the leaders to break into the top six.

Robert Kubica Spun on Webber's oil on the first lap and suffered from tyre problems as well, but had an early-race charge through the field and set a fastest lap - the Renault held up well and both driver and team can be relatively happy.

Adrian Sutil A spin when he hit oil from Webber's Red Bull on the first corner relegated him from 10th to 21st and from there he was only ever scrapping for the minor places, although he drove a solid race.

Jaime Alguersuari Pleased to have finished even if he was well off the pace. On the plus side he was the first driver to set a sub two-minute lap.

Nico Hulkenberg Spun off on the third lap and was never in contention for points after that, but a reasonable debut nonetheless.

Heikki Kovalainen His car held up well and he drove a solid race, but was never going to do more than keep going at the back of the field. In beating one of last year's teams (Torro Rosso) he achieved a minor victory.

Sebastien Buemi Was in the points at one stage after staying out a long time on hard tyres, but had fallen back by the time he suffered an engine failure on the penultimate lap.

Jarno Trulli Found himself in the gravel on the first lap and then suffered from mechanical issues - understeer and hydraulics - but that he went the distance, albeit three laps adrift, was a real triumph for Lotus even if he stopped on the final lap

Pedro de la Rosa Hydraulic problems led to a 29th-lap retirement and before then he'd lost four places on the opening lap after being forced wide

Bruno Senna Pottered around at the back of the field before engine failure led to his 17th-lap retirement. But given the state of the team three days ago, it did well to get him even that far.

Timo Glock Was going well, sparring with Kovalainen, when he lost third gear, and although he continued, fifth gear followed and that was that.

Vitaly Petrov Looked reasonably content until he ran wide over a kerb and damaged the suspension which led to his retirement.

Kamui Kobayashi Started confidently but was let down by his car, initially because of power-steering problems and then hydraulics. That both Saubers suffered the same failures will be a concern.

Lucas di Grassi A second-lap retirement was not the start Virgin would have wanted, the team admitting the hydraulic fitting failure which caused it had been a worry all weekend.

Karun Chandhok That he even started was remarkable given the state of the car when it arrived in Bahrain, but his lack of experience showed when he went over a bump "he didn't know was there" and hit the wall.

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