Scuderia leave F1 rivals in the dust, Lewis Hamilton crashes

Ferrari, fresh from a storming win in Malaysia last month, already look in great shape for this Sunday’s Bahrain GP. Felipe Massa, who won the race in 2007, and Kimi Raikkonen, who has finished third in each of his last three races in the desert, were first and second respectively in this morning’s opening practice session. Nico Rosberg’s Williams set the third-fastest time, with the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen in fourth and fifth place, around half a second of Ferrari’s pace - if that translates to race pace, McLaren will struggle to get a driver on the top step of the podium. For the full rundown of the first session, follow the link below…

1. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:32.233
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:32.350
3. Nico Rosberg (Williams) 1:32.415
4. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:32.705
5. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 1:32.868
6. Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) 1:33.121
7. Robert Kubica (BMW) 1:33.333
8. Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:33.539
9. David Coulthard (Red Bull) 1:33.788
10. Fernando Alonso (Renault) 1:33.815
11. Timo Glock (Toyota) 1:33.929
12. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:33.950
13. Nelson Piquet Jr (Renault) 1:33.981
14. Nick Heidfeld (BMW) 1:34.106
15. Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso) 1:34.235
16. Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) 1:34.321
17. Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India) 1:34.862
18. Jenson Button (Honda) 1:34.915
19. Rubens Barrichello (Honda) 1:35.174
20. Adrian Sutil (Force India) 1:35.429
21. Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri) 1:36.145
22. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) 1:36.536

The early verdict Already, this seems like Ferrari’s race to lose. At the other end of the grid, look how Honda are struggling. Poor Jenson Button – should have gone to Williams, mate.

Check back later for a full preview of the race, with predictions.

UPDATE! Lewis Hamilton had a pretty big crash in the second morning session. He ran into a barrier but escaped without injury. The Ferraris of Massa and Raikkonen continued to dominate. Here’s the rundown of session two:

1. Felipe Massa 1:31.420
2. Kimi Raikkonen 1:32.327
3. Heikki Kovalainen 1:32.752
4. Lewis Hamilton 1:32.847
5. Robert Kubica 1:32.915
6. Nico Rosberg 1:33.022
7. David Coulthard 1:33.048
8. Kazuki Nakajima 1:33.098
9. Sebastien Bourdais 1:33.197
10. Nelson Piquet Jr 1:33.247
11. Jenson Button 1:33.710
12. Fernando Alonso 1:33.755
13. Mark Webber 1:33.782
14. Jarno Trulli 1:33.822
15. Timo Glock 1:33.856
16. Rubens Barrichello 1:33.966
17. Nick Heidfeld 1:34.023
18. Giancarlo Fisichella 1:34.388
19. Adrian Sutil 1:34.405
20. Sebastian Vettel 1:34.787
21. Takuma Sato 1:35.288
22. Anthony Davidson 1:35.712