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Sakhir, Bahrain: Ferrari's Felipe Massa jump-started his struggling Formula One campaign on Sunday by winning the Bahrain Grand Prix for his first victory of the season.
Massa moved ahead of pole-sitter Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber at the start and then held off teammate and new overall leader Kimi Raikkonen to win by 3.339 seconds.
Kubica, who was second at the Malaysian GP two weeks ago, finished third ahead of teammate Nick Heidfeld as BMW Sauber filled out the second row.
McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen finished where he started in fifth while teammate Lewis Hamilton was 13th after a poor start from fourth on the grid.
Massa's sixth career win put him into the championship hunt with 10 points.
'Sensational day'
"It was a sensational day," Massa said. "We had a good start. The race was pretty difficult because I didn't want to make any mistakes so I didn't push the car hard, I just wanted to bring it home."
World champion Raikkonen, who collected his 50th podium, leads with 19 points, three more than Heidfeld. Hamilton, Kovalainen and Kubica all have 14 points.
Toyota's Jarno Trulli, Mark Weber of Red Bull and Nico Rosberg of Williams filled out the top eight to collect the remaining points. Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was ninth.
Massa led a subdued celebration with a couple of fist pumps atop his car before the traditional champagne ceremony.
"For sure it wasn't very easy weeks, but that's life," said Massa, who retired from the opening two races for zero points coming into Bahrain. "You always have some bad days in your life and I had some bad days in my first two races." Massa had dominated practice at the Bahrain International Circuit but a poor session in qualifying left him second at the start.
But the Ferrari car's pace was never in doubt through the week. "We're leading the championship which is the main thing and we have the speed when we get everything right," Raikkonen said.
"The car was pretty perfect all weekend." Massa overtook Kubica immediately for the lead and Raikkonen slid into third after Hamilton was slow off the start. Kovalainen moved outside to take teammate Hamilton's place on the grid.
Overtaking Kubika
Raikkonen did not take long to overtake Kubica, passing him on the outside at the second lap. Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel was out by the fourth turn after getting hit from behind.
Hamilton, stuck in 10th behind Alonso, tried to get past his old teammate, but instead went up over the back of the Spaniard's Renault to lose his front wing.
The increasing wind made driving difficult at the slick desert track, as traction control is barred this season.
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