RACE RESULT
1 M Schumacher (Ferrari)
2 R Barrichello (Ferrari)
3 J Button (BAR)
4 J Trulli (Renault)
5 T Sato (BAR)
6 F Alonso (Renault)
7 R Schumacher (Williams)
8 M Webber (Jaguar)
World champion Michael Schumacher has won the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix to complete a clean sweep of the Formula One season's first three races. The world champion led home Rubens Barrichello for a Ferrari one-two, ahead of BAR's Jenson Button.
Jarno Trulli was fourth followed by Takuma Sato and Fernando Alonso. Williams' Ralf Schumacher was seventh and Mark Webber eighth while Juan Pablo Montoya dropped from third to 13th in the closing stages. Williams technical director Patrick Head said Montoya was suffering from "a gearbox problem, and then he had a throttle problem, which meant he lost the throttle, so at the end he was walking wounded".
McLaren's David Coulthard had been ahead of Webber until he retired with engine failure with seven laps to go. Team-mate Kimi Raikkonen suffered his second engine failure of the weekend in the race and has yet to finish this season.
McLaren stall on progress The Ferraris were in a race of their own at the front. Both men made perfect starts to fend off the expected challenge of Montoya and drove away for the rest of the afternoon.
Michael Schumacher said: "It was hard work because the brakes were marginal and we had to keep an eye on the tyres. Both tyre companies were fighting with blisters so you had to tread a fine line. "t was a superb weekend even though it was tough at times. But in the final moment we had everything spot on, getting the front row and the first two positions." Montoya looked equally comfortable in third place until the final 10 laps when he dropped way off the pace.
Button drove well to take third place for the second consecutive race That allowed first Button and Trulli, then Sato and Alonso, to pass, and he lost a further five places on the final lap as he limped home to 13th place. Button drove a calm and controlled race in the BAR after dropping back a couple of places at the start. He passed team-mate Sato when the Japanese ran wide and damaged his front wing on lap 18, and then began to close remorselessly on Trulli, whom he passed in the course of the final pit stops.
"We were a little bit fortunate because Juan's car deteriorated, but to get on the podium again is just fantastic," Button said "This one was a little more difficult [than Malaysia]. Starting sixth wasn't the best position for me. But it was good to fight through the field and the car seemed very good throughout the race.
Jonathan Legard's view
"This feels as good as the first, but I am not going to be happy until I am on the top step. It will take a little time, but I will get there." Sato recovered well from his early incident, and in the closing laps held off Alonso, who drove a brilliant race in the Renault to recover to seventh.
The Spaniard started 17th after braking problems in qualifying and then dropped to the back at the end of the first lap when he needed to pit for a new front wing. But he fought back superbly, including winning a feisty battle with Webber, to make it into the points. Ralf Schumacher ruined his race when battling with Sato on lap seven. Schumacher appeared not to give the BAR enough room as Sato put his car alongside the Williams on the inside going into the second corner. What must Montoya be thinking right now about joining McLaren? The resulting collision knocked the Williams into a spin, and he dropped down the field after coming in at the end of the lap to have the car checked. The incident will be investigated by the race stewards, leaving both drivers open to punishment.
Head described Ralf Schumacher's race as "a bloody mess". "He had that bump with Sato, and drove round to the pits very slowly," Head said. "We put on new tyres and he was fine after that."
Schumacher says Ferrari can see off any challenge in 2004
Michael Schumacher says he is not worried about any of his major rivals ahead of the start of the Formula One season in Melbourne this weekend. The six-time champion said Ferrari's fightback to win last year's title has given him confidence he can win again.
"We have demonstrated that when the going gets tough we are able to unite, find a solution and reverse the situation," he said. "It is part of our character and that is why I have no fear." Schumacher said he was confident Ferrari would have no reliability worries with the new one-engine-per-weekend rule.
If a team has to change an engine before qualifying, that car is demoted 10 places on the grid. An engine change during or after qualifying will mean starting from the back. Schumacher said: "Our team has worked very hard for the whole winter developing the engine and in my opinion we have achieved some fantastic results."
