In the first dry race of the season, an action-packed Bahrain Grand Prix delivered yet another exciting instalment of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship. Jenson Button took his third Grand Prix victory of 2009 (the first not behind the safety car) for Brawn GP. 21-year-old German, Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing finished in second, holding off a late charge by Italian, Jarno Trulli in the first of the Toyotas. Scuderia Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen finished a solid race in sixth place - his highest placed finish of the season and claiming three Championship points for himself and the team in the process. Felipe Massa finished the race in fourteenth place, a lap down on the leaders.

Having already tested at Bahrain in pre-season, Toyota F1 Team and Scuderia Ferrari looked to have an advantage over the rest of the field. The two Toyotas locked out the front row and both Ferraris made the top ten shoot-out. During the race, Finn, Kimi Räikkönen managed to work his way up the field and was able to keep Timo Glock (Toyota) behind him in the closing stages. Brazilian Felipe Massa, who was eighth on the grid, was forced to make an unscheduled stop to examine any potential damage after an incident at the first corner and could only manage fourteenth place, despite pushing his Ferrari F60 hard all the way.

Lisa Lilley, Shell Technology Manager for Ferrari, commented: "It has been a very difficult start to the season for Shell and Scuderia Ferrari. We can take some real positives from today's race, where Kimi scored three points in a tough Grand Prix. Bahrain is always a very hard race to come to, with track temperatures of nearly 60ºC and the Shell products have to work extremely hard to maintain the performance of the Ferrari F60, which they did today."

Kimi Räikkönen has kicked off his bid to claim back the Drivers' Championship in 2009 with three points in Bahrain. Jenson Button of Brawn GP stays at the top of the Drivers' Championship on 31 points, second lies Rubens Barrichello (also of Brawn GP) on 19 points. Close behind and in third place is Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing on 18 points.

In the Constructors' Championship, Brawn GP tops the standings with 50 points. Red Bull Racing lies second with 27.5 points and Toyota F1 Team is currently third on 26.5 points. Scuderia Ferrari has claimed its first points of 2009, with three points in Bahrain.

The 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship moves to Europe next, with the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on 10 May 2009.