For any Ferrari driver to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix is truly special, but to do it on your first outing for the Scuderia is even better. Fernando Alonso produced a dream debut to win the inaugural race of the 2010 Formula 1 season in the zapping heat of Bahrain. The Spaniard overcame cooling issues to lead home team-mate Felipe Massa to a 1-2 finish, a perfect start for the many loyal Tifosi fans.
In a race that lacked drama and intrigue, Alonso got past Massa at a rather pedestrian start, made only exciting by plumes of white oil smoke from Mark Webber’s Red Bull that forced the back of the field to take evasive action. As the heat intensified, so did the Ferrari’s constant pursuit on race leader, Germany’s Sebastian Vettel. Despite the pressure from Maranello’s red cars, Vettel looked unflustered and was in complete control of the race. That was until a broken exhaust saw the Red Bull suffer from a dramatic loss of engine power. Alonso cruised into the lead with fifteen laps to go, and swiftly pulled away with devastating pace, ending up nearly fifteen seconds ahead of his Brazilian team-mate, Massa. It was the sort of pace that deliver an ominous warning to the rest of the Grand Prix field, ‘Catch me if you can!’
Massa trailed home a distant second, but this was still a great return in his first race since the near fatal accident that ended his season prematurely last year in Hungary. Hobbled by his cracked exhaust, Vettel lost 3rd place to Britain’s Lewis Hamilton, but still did well to guide his ailing Red Bull home to 4th place and some crucial points, even at this early stage.
After all the intense build-up, it turned into an anticlimactic weekend for seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. Still attempting to find his feet, the German admitted his rustiness as he dealt with the sport he still is in love with for the first time since the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2006. Nevertheless, he finished an untroubled 6th, hot on the heels of his compatriot, Nico Rosberg in the other Mercedes. World champion Jenson Button was a quiet and solid, if unspectacular 7th, whilst Webber’s mistake in qualifying haunted him, leaving the Aussie down in a frustrated 8th. The final points were taken by Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi and experienced veteran, Rubens Barrichello, now in a Williams Cosworth.
For the new teams and drivers, it was a real baptism of fire. Vitaly Petrov failed to finish, whilst Nico Hulkenberg spun away any decent chance of a points-scoring result with a wild spin early on. Virgin Racing and Hispania saw neither car get to the finish on their Grand Prix debut, but it was a welcome return to the paddock for Lotus. Having built a car in only five months, the Norfolk based team should be proud to have a reliable car straightaway, with both Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli showing creditability in getting their cars to the finish against the odds.
Alonso becomes the 4th driver, after Juan Manuel Fangio, Nigel Mansell and Kimi Raikkonen to win on their Ferrari debut. He has set the standard to beat, but Red Bull and McLaren have both shown they do have the ultimate pace to challenge Ferrari, which can only be good for the season ahead. Let’s just hope that the action improves in Australia in a fortnight’s time, after this snooze of an opener.
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