Bahrain was the third race of the season, and Lewis Hamilton had equaled the rookie record of two straight podium finishes - he would do another in Bahrain.

The Lewis Hamilton rookie phenomenon had begun to move into high gear by the third race of the season. In fact, it had done so by the first race when the 22-year-old finished on the podium. No one could imagine that he would finish on the podium nine consecutive times in his first nine races.