Brent Koppenhaver

Felipe Massa redeemed himself after a poor performance in Malaysia last weekend by winning the Bahrain GP on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton continued his strong run of race results by finishing second. Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen was third followed by Nick Heidfeld in the BMW-Sauber and reining world champion Fernando Alonso in the McLaren. Massa’s victory moves him into second position in the Driver’s Championship standings, while Alonso, Raikkonen, and Hamilton are now tied for first. The next race will take place May 13th in Spain, as the F1 community returns to Europe for the more traditional “home” events.

Race Report | Winner and Losers | 10 Conclusions

Fernando Alonso scored his first victory as a McLaren driver on Sunday at the Malaysian Grand Prix, the second race of the 2007 Formula 1 season. Alonso was followed home by his rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton for a strong McLaren 1-2. Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa finished 3rd and 5th, respectively, after falling behind the second McLaren on the opening lap. Neither Massa nor Raikkonen were able to overtake Hamilton (in only his second career F1 start) despite their supposedly superior Ferrari machinery. Massa in particular was no doubt humiliated by the end of the race, having given away pole position into the first corner and then later sliding off the track while attempting to pass Hamilton into Turn 4.

This season seems to be developing into a Ferrari vs. McLaren shootout, although BMW-Sauber, Williams, and Renault aren’t too far behind and could possibly challenge for victories later this year. What’s interesting is that since the retirement of Michael Schumacher and the movement of Raikkonen to Ferrari and Alonso to McLaren, there are four solid drivers in the top two teams capable of challenging for the championship. Hamilton is the only unknown, but in two consecutive races he has driven error-free and shown extremely well. Before the season started, most critics seemed to think that he had the potential to be fast. No one expected him to be this good right from the start, especially on tracks he’s never seen before.

The next race on the calendar is this weekend in Bahrain. With no time for car development between the two races, it will be interesting to see if Ferrari can return to its dominating Australian form or if McLaren and Alonso will be able to steal another victory.

Race Report | Winners and Losers

The new 2008 Subaru Impreza debuted this past week at the New York International Auto Show and I must say I’m not very imprezed (ha-ha). Although the new STi hasn’t been shown yet, the WRX (above) is definitely the best looking of all the new trim levels. For comparison, click on the photo for more pictures including the pitifully hideous hatchback.

Unfortunately I think Subaru is continuing to move in the wrong direction with their styling. For instance, the Impreza now looks a bit like a Toyota Corolla or the previous-generation Mazda 3 from the front, and the rear has a hint of the old Saturn Ion. Gone are the fender bulges that made the car look like the little brother of the awesome Nissan Skyline GT-R R34. Which leaves me happily content with my relatively attractive ‘04. In fact, if I were in the market for a new car I would most likely move away from my beloved Subaru in the direction of one of these two established icons.