Highlights

Title talk follows Hamilton's Formula One heroics

(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-04-17 09:11

The fact that Hamilton and his Spanish teammate Fernando Alonso are joint leaders of the championship is a real bonus for the McLaren team.

Ferrari have shown quicker pace thus far in the opening two races, however here, in the sun-baked Bahrain desert, McLaren were much closer to their rivals and although Massa claimed the chequered flag the extra pace found by the Woking based team was promising.

"We have definitely closed the gap on Ferrari," said Hamilton. "And I know everybody will continue to push hard to improve even more in time for the Spanish Grand Prix."

It was not such a happy outing for Alonso however. The former Renault driver, a winner here twice before, finished fifth and was the victim of an expertly conducted overtaking move by German BMW-Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld.

Despite that McLaren boss Ron Dennis decided to concentrate on the positives from the weekend.

"Even though it was not a perfect day we can leave Bahrain leading both Championships which is a great achievement for the team," Dennis said.

For Ferrari Felipe Massa was simply relieved at being able to exonerate the ghosts from the previous week's Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia where he was outfoxed by both McLarens as he relinquished his pole position for a fifth place finish.

"A truly perfect weekend for Felipe," was team boss Jean Todt's verdict The Brazilian's third win of his Formula One career also clawed him back into the championship race and he now sits just five points behind the leading trio.

"Hopefully we are now back in the fight," he added. "Getting the victory was very important."

Massa, who won last year's season ending Brazilian Grand Prix in his native Sao Paulo, was quick to rank this latest win close to that achievement, his finest in the sport.

"In terms of how important it was, I think Brazil was the most important for me," he added. "But Brazil was not the most difficult race for me. Here the driving was much more difficult."

Massa had been strongly criticised by the Italian press after his Malaysian performance for attempting a risky overtaking manoeuvre on Hamilton that forced his car to leave the track and lose ground on the leaders.

The Brazilian admitted that his victory here in Bahrain gave him a feeling of redemption.

"The results of the first two races were not as I expected, I think something was missing. This time we put everything together," he said.

In stark contrast to a delighted Massa, Kimi Raikkonnen was downbeat after his third-place finish. However, the Finn is confident that Ferrari will use the month break until the next Grand Prix in Spain to re-open the gap over McLaren.

"This whole weekend has been quite difficult," he said. "Hopefully at the next test we will find something and some parts that improve the situation for me so we can try to start being at the front again."