The modern era of Formula One Grand Prix racing began in 1950, but the roots of F1 are far earlier, including such pre-World War II legends as Italian Tazio Nuvolari and the great German teams, Auto Union and Mercedes Benz.Winner at Silverstone in 1950 and the first F1 champion, Giuseppe (”Nino”) Farina drove an Alfa Romeo 158, capturing the Belgium, Swiss and Italian races as well, along with non-championship wins at Bari and Donnington. Farina, who topped Juan Manuel Fangio by three points in the 1950 season, is best remembered for his style of driving; the relaxed, inclined position and outstretched arms that was to influence a whole generation of drivers. Leaving for Ferrari in 1951, for the next two seasons Farina fought a personal battle with Alberto Ascari, a battle he was bound to lose, for Ascari was by far the better driver; more controlled, faster and more precise. Ascari won the F1 championship in 1952-53 in the Ferrari 500. But it is Fangio, from Argentina, who epitomizes the first decade of Formula One, winning five World Championships for five different manufacturers and four consecutively from 1954-57. The most tragic fact was when Mercedes withdrew from motor racing after the horrific, multi-car accident (which Fangio barely escaped) at the 1955 Le Mans 24 Hours that left 85 people dead. Sine 1950 the statistic say that after 58 Grand Prix, a total of 29 drivers have won the Drivers Championship: Michael Schumacher (7), Juan Manuel Fangio (5), Alain Prost (4), Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Nicki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna (3), Alberto Ascari, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mika Hakkinen and Fernando Alonso (2), Giuseppe Farina, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, John Surtees, Denny Hulme, Jochen Rindt, James Hunt, Mario Andretti, Jody Schekter, Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Kimi Raikkonen (1) and a total of 14 teams have won the Teams Championship: Ferrari (18), Williams (9), McLaren (8), Lotus (7), Alfa Romeo, Maseratti, Cooper, Brabham and Renault (2), Vanwall, BRM, Matra, Tyrell and Benetton (1).

Bahrain had one colour on Sunday 6^th April,  and that was red. BMW Sauber were strong enough to keep the pressure on and to take the lead in the world championship for constructors, thanks to Kubica and Heidfeld finishing third and fourth, but the one-two result for Massa and Raikkonen confirmed the form the world champions had shown in Malaysia. As for McLaren, and in particular Hamilton, this was a race best forgotten.
Massa really needed this victory, and his Ferrari had all the pace it needed, and he could control the race. His only problem was ensuring that there was no repeat of Malaysia. Raikkonen was quick, but not quick enough to challenge his team mate. Taking the lead in the world championship for drivers’ points table was adequate compensation as Ferrari dominated, however.
BMW Sauber and Kubica continue growing and he was quick throughout, but though the fastest laps suggest otherwise he did not quite have enough speed to challenge the Ferraris.
McLaren had to put a brave face on a race that saw them lose the lead in both championships. Hamilton’s start problem came when he selected the wrong procedure and activated the anti-stall mechanism at the wrong moment. Then he compounded that by hitting Alonso on the second lap. The race was as difficult as Alonso had expected, and after being attacked by Hamilton on the second lap the Spaniard pushed as hard as he could. Tenth place was the ultimate result. Piquet spun in the esses on the second lap but lapped faster than his team mate before a gearbox problem obliged him to quit.
The fight will continues at Montmelo on 27^th April but it seems quite obvious that Ferrari will maintain his predominance.

After two races (Melbourne and Sepang) the Formula 1 2008 Drivers Championship Classification is as follows: 1 Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) 14 points, 2 Kimi Räikkönen (Finland) 11 points, 3 Nick Heidfeld (Germany) 11 points, 4 Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) 10 points, 5 Robert Kubica (Poland) 8 points, 6 Nico Rosberg (Germany) 6 points and 7 Fernando Alonso (Spain) 6 points.
Regarding car constructors the situation is: 1 McLaren-Mercedes 24 points, 2 BMW 19 points, 3 Ferrari 11 points, 4 Williams-Toyota 9 points and 5 Renault 6 points.
Following his dominant performance in Melbourne, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton had set a formidable benchmark for his 2008 season. But a week later at Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix the situation completely changed with Ferrari’s Räikkönen leading with authority and reducing to only 3 points the advantage of Hamilton.
Other interesting performances at the two first races were for Heidfeld, Kovalainen and Kubica. Renault team is still not ready to successfully compete and both Alonso and Briatore, however, agree that claiming victory in a Grand Prix will be an almost impossible task this season and the R28 is not looking like a winning car.
During the forthcoming Bahrain Grand Prix fans will get the chance to get up close and personal with an array of historic Ferrari Formula One cars, as the Italian company continues celebrations to mark its 60th anniversary with a special exhibition.
And on 27th April at Montmelo, one of the most complete and demanding circuits, situation could be clarified and the options for this season Formula 1 Championship could be finally defined. The Spanish Formula 1 fans are already preparing themselves to be at Montmelo circuit, to enjoy with an exciting race and establish perhaps a new attendance record.