Everyone who speculated that, after two dismal races at the start of the season, Felipe Massa might have lost his edge, were firmly put in their place as the Ferrari driver pulled out a spectacular performance to dominate the race virtually from start to finish. His team mate Kimi Raikkonen battled it out with the likes of countryman Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) and Robert Kubica (BMW) to cross the finish line in second place, giving Raikkonen the lead in the drivers' championship with 19 points. The 1-2 finish for the Italian team, however, was not enough to catapult Ferrari into the lead in the constructors' championship, which is now topped by the BMW Sauber team who had a spectacular day under the Middle Eastern sun. Kubica took the first pole position for the team on Saturday in qualifying, emerging on the final step of the podium by the race's end. His team-mate Nick Heidfeld came in an impressive fourth place, ahead of Kovalainen's McLaren-Mercedes. But while BMW finally showed that it is a serious contender, things did not go so well for McLaren, the British team that came to Bahrain in the lead for both titles. Wunderkind Lewis Hamilton had qualified in 3rd place, only to drop a crushing seven positions at the start of the race before hitting former team-mate Fernando Alonso. Hamilton finally crossed the finish line in a shocking 13th place, a full lap after the Ferraris and behind even Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella.

Follow the jump for the full results and standings, follow the link for more information, check out the images in the gallery below, and tune in at the end of the month for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Gallery: 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix

Continue reading The tables turn at the Bahrain Grand Prix (SPOILER ALERT)

The tables turn at the Bahrain Grand Prix (SPOILER ALERT) originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.