One can almost hear the Tifosis muttering, “If only Michael was there….” as a weekend, which the Ferraris were expected to convincingly rule, turned into a fight for the podium in the end. Ron Dennis would be giving the widest grin on the planet as both of his Mclaren drivers muscled the Italian outfit out of the top spots giving the perfect result for the woking team. Ever since Alonso took the inside line on turn 1 and nudged past the pole sitter, Filipe Massa, he never looked like losing the race. It was the sort of performance we have come to see and expect - monotonously flawless and perfect in execution.

But once again it was Lewis Hamilton earning accolades and winning admirers all over the place. He seems to be made up for these rollicking starts, stunning his fellow runners into submission. When the lights went out he was 4rth on the grid and after turn 1 he was running second. Two Mclarens leading the race! For nearly the entire race barring a small breathing gap in between, Lewis was constantly under pressure and the fact that he came through indicates what a matured driver this kid is.

Filipe Massa wanting to make up for his poor start began to hound the ‘rookie’ (not sure if i can still use the term) Mclaren driver trying to pull up a couple of overtaking maneuvers hoping that the young inexperienced driver would crack under pressure, make a mistake or just make a defensive move giving him way. In the end it was the Ferrari driver who came out red faced, out breaking himself and taking a trip down the grass and joining in the 5th position behind the BMW of Heidfeld. It was a rookie move by an experienced driver and it was a champion’s defense by the rookie. If there was any a time for the Tifosis to say, “If only Michael was there….”, this was it.

This left the top 5 as Alonso, Hamilton, Kimi, Heidfeld and Massa which ended up being the top 5 of the race. Also goes to show that if you had slept through the race you didn’t miss much. Renault’s race was not as horrendous as their qualifying and thats not saying much. I hate to say this but it was a nice steady drive from Fisichella to end up 6th in a car that would have refused to go anywhere above that and Heikki achieved his first point (just 1) in his formula 1 career. The finn’s drive was just enough for Briatore to proclaim that he redeemed himself of the Australian ignominy. As i mentioned in the preview, the podium still seems a distant object for Renault but then a few weeks are what it takes in formula 1 to change fortunes (ask the Mclarens) and Renault are capable of improvement during the season.It was a great race for Heidfeld, managing to beat one of the ferraris while his team mate (Kubica) again encountered problems. If anything the gap looks obscene in the result chart with them finishing 4th and 18th respectively. Rosberg looked fast and promising only to retire with a hydraulics fault. But they seem to have the equipment to finish in points and challenge the BMW and outpace the Renaults.Overall it was a shocker for Ferrari and they would be disappointed and we can be rest assured that they’ll come back strong and hard in the desert kingdom of Bahrain. Till then, lets just drink to Mclarens’ first race victory since 2005 and for the F1 world for having discovered Lewis.

It was a great race for Heidfeld, managing to beat one of the ferraris while his team mate (Kubica) again encountered problems. If anything the gap looks obscene in the result chart with them finishing 4th and 18th respectively. Rosberg looked fast and promising only to retire with a hydraulics fault. But they seem to have the equipment to finish in points and challenge the BMW and outpace the Renaults.

Overall it was a shocker for Ferrari and they would be disappointed and we can be rest assured that they’ll come back strong and hard in the desert kingdom of Bahrain. Till then, lets just drink to Mclaren’s first race victory since 2005 and for the F1 world for having discovered Lewis.