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Toyota aced the front row with Jarno Trulli claiming their first pole position since the Japanese Grand Prix four years ago ahead of team-mate Timo Glock. As expected however, both TF109’s were lightly fuelled and it was Jenson Button who made best of the situation to take control of the Bahrain Grand Prix following the first round of pitstops.

It was a fairly routine race, the first of the season not to feature at least one safety car period, but the battle for the race victory was fairly straight forward for Button as Glock got the jump on Trulli and led the field in the early stages but then Toyota opted to run the harder prime tyres during the second stint and both Glock and Trulli quickly fell away from the leading Brawn Mercedes.

Toyota’s strategy not only cost them any chance of a race victory but also allowed Sebastian Vettel to get the jump on Trulli in the second and final stop and the Red Bull Renault racer would go on to finish in second position, withstanding the late race pressure from Trulli back on the softer (faster) option tyre.

The opening lap of the 57-lap race was key to Button’s success as he initially lost position to Lewis Hamilton who made best of his KERS-equipped McLaren Mercedes off the line, but a brave move from the Brawn driver later in the lap saw him regain the position and therefore allow him to tail the Toyota duo to the first round of stops.

Jenson Button recorded his third win from four starts this year and extended his lead in the championship over Brawn Mercedes team-mate Rubens Barrichello. While Button celebrated his success BMW Sauber head home after finishing last and in between there were varying fortunes. Here’s what the drivers had to say…

1 . J. Button – Brawn Mercedes BGP 001
Shadowed Glock and Trulli until the first stop and then controlled the race from the front.

“It was a great race today and I’m so happy to have seen the chequered flag without a safety car or red light in front of me! To achieve my third victory of the season is amazing and we are going back to Europe with a strong lead in both championships. I couldn’t wish for anything more. It has been a tough weekend for the team which makes this win even more rewarding as we didn’t have the pace that we expected. I was really happy with my first lap. I knew that I had to overtake Sebastian quickly and got him round the outside on turn one. I had a couple of attempts at Lewis round the first lap and almost got him at the last corner. I knew that he would pull away from me on the straight so I dropped in behind and used the tow to overtake him at turn one. It wasn’t easy from there but getting up to third on the first lap was crucial for me. Our thanks to Mercedes-Benz this weekend who have not only provided us with a powerful engine but have integrated so well with our team. You need a close-knit unit to succeed in Formula One and that is what we have at this team.”