Lewis Hamilton was relieved to finish third in the season opener in Bahrain on Sunday, with both McLarens lacking down force. Hamilton’s teammate, current World Champion Jenson Button, struggled on his debut for McLaren managing only seventh place.

After a slow start by Hamilton, he managed to jump Nico Rosberg at the first set of pit stops and with the new tyres he found the car much more drivable and could keep pace with the Ferrari’s.

He told the BBC after the race:

“In clear air, on new tyres, the car felt great. It’s good to know we can match these guys,”

“I am quite happy but the Ferrari is definitely the car to beat.

“I am quite happy. We got held up a bit at the beginning so we were not able to show our true pace, especially in that first stint, and keep up with the Ferraris.

“Nevertheless, third place is a great start for us but we have a lot of work to do to close the gap.”

Teammate Jenson Button never really had a chance to show his car’s true pace as he was held up behind both the Mercedes cars which weren’t as fast as the McLarens.

The new regulations in Formula 1 they didn’t manage to create anymore overtaking opportunities and the race just fizzled out in the middle part.

Seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher questioned the rule changes when interviewed by the BBC after the race.

“Overtaking was basically impossible unless somebody made a mistake.

“That is the action we are going to have with this kind of environment of race strategy.”

Since the race several more high powered people have put their names down to the petition to try and make the FIA make a more entertaining Grand Prix.

Join me and Victoria on Formula1FanCast.com’s Fantasy League Formula 1 2010. Our league is called Formula1Fancast.com and the league pin is 722. Try and beat us if you can, but be warned we’re good!

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