Alonso leads home Ferrari 1-2, as Red Bull suffer reliability issues

Dream debut for Alonso and Ferrari in Bahrain GP

After months of speculation and anticipation, the 2010 Formula One Season is finally under way. Sebastian Vettel started on pole for Red Bull, while Felipe Massa joined him on the front row of the grid. While the cars all got away cleanly at the front, towards the back Kubica and Sutil found themselves going backwards. Lewis Hamilton lost out at the start, losing a place to Rosberg.

The first retirement came in lap 2 when Chandhok's HRT car pulled off the track with no front wing. Chandhok later said that he had "turned in and there was a bump and it just launched the car". It was a disappointing start for Chandhok as he'd only driven the car for the first time in Q1. Di Grassi became the second retirement just a lap later for Virgin Racing, saying the cause was "most likely ..a hydraulic problem". Up at the front, Hamilton kept on Rosberg's tail chasing him down for 4th place. Between the new teams, Kovalainen and Glock were trading places. Hulkenberg took a trip across the gravel in his Williams, becoming the first to pit on lap 4.

The first scheduled stop was Senna in the remaining HRT car on lap 13. Up front Vettel had pulled out quite a lead, leading Alonso in 2nd and Massa in 3rd. On lap 15 Ferrari started to drop away. Petrov became the next retirement in lap 14 stating that when he had gone over a kerb "something fell off the suspension". Hamilton was the first of the front runners to come in and pit on lap 16, changing from the soft compound to the hard. Schumacher was in close pursuit of Hamilton's McLaren, entering the pits at the same time. In the first couple of laps after exiting the pit lane Hamilton was setting purple sectors. He also managed to leap-frog Rosberg.

Timo Glock became the next retirement in lap 17 after his car developed a gearbox problem. Alonso, Rosberg, Button, Vettel and Massa pitted on laps 17/18 and on lap 19 Senna's car became the next retirement, stating hydraulics to be the issue - as did Kobayashi. Pedro de la Rosa joined the retirements, bringing the total to six. Out front the battle was becoming interesting as Alonso had closed in on Vettel but was having to duck in and out of the turbulent air. Vettel's engineer told him that "Alonso behind you is likely to overheat and burn up his tyres". On lap 34 it became apparent that Vettel's car had problems and this allowed Alonso, followed by Massa to easily pass. When Alonso was finally in clear air he showed his true pace, quickly establishing an 8 second lead over his team-mate. Hamilton was also able to catch up and pass Vettel on lap 38. It was a failed exhaust for Vettel which ended his hopes of victory, but he managed to hold off Rosberg to keep 4th place which could prove vital later in the championship.

The race ended with a Ferrari 1-2. Alonso stated it to be a "special day" and Massa said he was "very happy" but also said it was "not an easy race but at the end a fantastic result". Massa was obviously thrilled to be back racing after his absence for the latter part of the 2009 season. Hamilton brought the McLaren home in third place. Vettel took 4th, with Rosberg, Schumacher, Button, Webber, Liuzzi and Barrichello filling the remaining points paying positions. Lotus won the battle of the new teams with Kovalainen bringing their car home in 15th place. Kovalainen enjoyed some battles throughout the race. Trulli's car stopped on the last lap with hydraulic issues but was still classified in 17th place.

Formula One heads to Australia for the next race of the season in two weeks time.

Posted by Hannah Hough - Follow her on twitter @hannahhou.

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