FORMULA 1 Live

54/57 This has been a textboook performance from Felipe Massa and he will finally get himself on the board for 2008.

52/57 Hamilton is still plugging away - he has just overtaken Nakajima to take 13th place. Not an afternoon to remember.

51/57 This all looks done and dusted other than the battle for second - and in any case Kimi Raikkonen has responded to the threat from Kubica and looks relatively comfortable.

49/57 Kubica is starting to reel in Raikkonen - less than three seconds behind - but he'll do very well to get past the world champion. It could be a fascinating finish, though.

48/57 Race order with 10 laps remaining: 1-Massa, 2-Raikkonen, 3-Kubica, 4-Heidfeld, 5-Kovalainen, 6-Trulli, 7-Webber, 8-Rosberg, 9-Glock, 10-Alonso.

47/57 Kovalainen is in and out again and he remains fifth.

45/57 Heidfeld and Kovalainen are the only remaining players not to pit for the second time. A really worrying lack of pace from McLaren today. Kubica comes out of the pits ahead of Heidfeld and third place is all but his.

43/57 Piquet is out, and returns disconsolately to the pits. He wasn't in line for points anyway, but if that is a gearbox failure then that means a penalty at the bext race.

41/57 Kubica is the leader on the track but remember he has still to pit. All being well he should take third place, however.

40/57 Massa is in and out - does he still lead? YES!! Fairly comfortable in the end. This race is his to lose!

39/57 Raikkonen is the first Ferrari to pit and he will get the hammer right down as he attempts to overhaul Massa. But meanwhile the Brazilian sets a new fastest lap!

37/57 Off goes Piquet. Not exactly clear what happened there - possible mechanical failure, although he is at least able to get back onto the tarmac.

35/57 A nice battle is developing further down the field between Timo Glock and Fernando Alonso. Ninth place is at stake and the chance to go for a point.

33/57 Going into a key phase of the race here as the teams prepare for their second stops. If Massa can get through here with the lead then the race is surely his.

31/57 In comes Hamilton for another stop. McLaren give him enough fuel to get to the end, and he comes out right behind Kimi Raikkonen. Sadly, he's a lap down.

29/57 Hamilton goes up the inside of Giancarlo Fisichella and nudges his way into 13th. Fair enough.

27/57 Massa's cushion is still five seconds over Raikkonen with Kubica another seven seconds back - BMW third and fourth with McLaren having what is popularly known as a nightmare.

25/57 Race order after first pit stops: 1-Massa, 2-Raikkonen, 3-Kubica, 4-Heidfeld, 5-Kovalainen, 6-Trulli, 7-Webber, 8-Rosberg, 9-Alonso, 10-Glock.

23/57 Hamilton is now in 14th, but he obviously has a problem with his car as his pace is significantly slower than both the leaders and his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen. Points seem highly unlikely.

22/57 That's game over for Jenson Button, who has hardly covered himself in glory this afternoon. He comes in after collecting Coulthard.

21/57 Raikkonen pits! Can he get out ahead of Robert Kubica... he can indeed. The champ comes out in fifth but he is 'really' second.

20/57 More Brit-on-Brit action!! Button tries to make a move on Coulthard but the Scot shuts the door and Button loses his front wing.

18/57 In comes Robert Kubica, the first of the major contenders to pit. The caption reckons he has added 22 laps worth of fuel.

17/57 Race order: 1-Massa, 2-Raikkonen, 3-Kubica, 4-Heidfeld, 5-Kovalainen, 6-Trulli, 7-Rosberg, 8-Webber, 9-Alonso, 10-Glock.

15/57 It would be nice to say Hamilton is making some progress through the field but his pace is not good. He has a lot of work to do to get anywhere near the points. Meanwhile Fernando Alonso has told the pits he has a vibration in his right wing. He also has a tyre mark.

13/57 The race has settled down after rather a frantic start with Massa and Raikkonen blazing away. Kubica is a strong third and still has the world champion in his sights.

11/57 Four Britons occupy the bottom four positions - 17-Davidson, 18-Hamilton, 19-Coulthard, 20-Button.

9/57 Sebastien Vettel is out after a coming together earlier in the race. Incidentally, Jenson Button has also been in for a puncture on a dreadful day for the Brits.

7/57 Massa sets a fastest lap and now has a four-second cushion over his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. Impressive stuff indeed from the Brazilian.

6/57 So Lewis Hamilton embarks on the challenge of climbing through the field. He hit Alonso after the Spaniard lost traction coming out of a corner. A controversial moment about which much will no doubt be said.

4/57 It's a Ferrari one-two at the moment, Massa from Raikkonen. Then Kubica, Kovalainen, Heidfeld and Trulli. Hamilton a lowly 17th!

3/57 Hamilton comes in and is fitted with a new nose. David Coulthard is also in the pits after suffering a puncture. What is going on?

2/57 Boof!! Hamilton hits his old sparring partner Fernando Alonso and bashes his nose. Disaster!

1/57 Ready... GO!!!! Nightmare start for Lewis Hamilton who plummets backwards and here comes Felipe Massa! The Ferrari man leads but Hamilton is down in 10th.

- They are off on the warm-up lap. A sweltering lap here on Bahrain. Felipe Massa was late out to his car due to a problem with his earplugs... He is now in position.

- Welcome to LIVE coverage of the Bahrain GP! We will bring you lap-by-lap updates as Lewis Hamilton looks to build his championship lead behind BMW's polesitter Robert Kubica. The lights to green at 12.30 UK time - join us then!