Hamilton conceded this and is hoping McLaren can turn the deficit around as quickly as possible: “It’s going to be difficult for us to close the performance gap immediately, but I think I’ll go back to the factory and give them the biggest push. I know they’re all pushing flat-out as it is, but we need to get some upgrades, and we need to bring as many of them forward as we possibly can", he told mclaren.com.

With Jenson finishing seventh, both drivers made up one position from their starting position. Both drivers were helped by great pitstops by the McLaren crew, and the new rule restricting the safe zone in which a car may not be released if there is another coming down the pitlane. 

Jenson told mclaren.com: "At the stop, I jumped Mark, which was great. It was a really good pitstop from the guys – both for Lewis and myself actually, because we each jumped the car in front." The car Hamilton passed was Nico Rosberg, after losing out to him at the start.

Many would have expected more from Button, believing his driving style would suit the new rules. He explained, "at the start of the race, I didn’t know what was going to happen to my tyres so I took it a little easy. I was a bit disappointed that we pitted when we did, because I’d probably looked after the tyres a little too much – because, in the last five laps of the stint, I was able to push to catch Mark [Webber] and Michael [Schumacher]." Had he have caught them, though, would he have been able to overtake? 

The processional race in Bahrain was a disappointing opener to a season which had been so hyped up. Hopefully it is not the start of a repeating pattern. McLaren team principal and FOTA chairman Martin Whitmarsh believes F1 needs to introduce a mandatory two stops rule to spice up the show, while Ferrari's Stefano Domenicalli unsurprisingly suggests we should give it a few more races before jumping to act.

What is clear, though, is that repeats of the Bahrain GP cannot go on. 

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