Bahrain 2006

What a Season opener, the first running of the new Qualifying process was a success, with Kimi Raikkonen crashing out of the first session with suspension failure. The only problem with this new three part shoot out for me is the third part, With Max Moseley himself stating that F1 is likely to soon be the target of environmentalists, it seems somewhat strange that this third session is largely used for burning off fuel so the car is light enough to set a fast time!

The race was good, Felipe Massa almost taking out Fernando Alonso as he slid off the track, after which his Pit crew had problems getting the right rear tyre off of his car, and that was effectively the end of Massa's race. Jenson Button didn't have as good a time as expected, losing three places in the first two laps. Quite what the Honda Drivers were thinking by battling each other that early in the race when they should have been concentrating on staying in touch with the leaders is anyone's guess! Unfortunately for Rubens Barrichello, his gearbox decided to forget where third gear was, so he dropped out of contention.

Mark Webber had a suprisingly quiet race, the surprising bit being that although you didn't see or hear about him all race, he managed to finish 6th, ahead of his team mate Nico Rosberg, who undoubtedly had the best race of the day. After having to replace his nose cone due to an incident on Lap 1, he battled his way back into the points, capturing the fastest lap of the race on the way - not bad for a debutant!

Super Aguri, unsurprisingly, had some teething problems. A team set up because of the uproar in Japan of Honda dropping Takuma Sato, you wonder why they bothered.......

Ferrari seemed quick, possibly because of the wings on the car that they would later change, although Honda still believe that the 248's rear wing flexes illegally.

I expected more from Williams to be honest, but I guess I hoped for too much from them and especially the Cosworth V8. The drivers are both up to the job, but will either of them be there next season?

CPT F1's Star Drive - Nico Rosberg [WilliamsF1]