WIth the rules undergoing a pretty major reworking next year, could this be BMW’s really big chance at being up there competing with the big boys consistently and on merit - and perhaps beating them to be the best of the lot?

They have done incredibly well so far this season so it’s not outwith the realms of possibility that this will continue and they could still be in with a shout at the title come November, but this is by no means a certainty.

To turn the F1 spotlight away from the allegations levied against Max Mosley, let’s have a think about who may be leading the World Championships this time next week after the Bahrain GP is done and dusted.

As things currently stand, this is how the table looks :

Two races in and it’s hard to really assess how this season is going to pan out given that the two races have led to six different people on the podium, but already there are some clear winners and losers among the teams.

This is how I think the teams have faired in the season openers:

Ferrari :  Last year’s champions, but they are going to struggle to retain the title if they carry on as they are.  Uncharacteristic mechanical failures have resulted in a lot of the drivers’ time being spent off the track.  The drivers haven’t covered themselves in glory either, with both falling off the track in Melbourne before Massa repeated the mistake in Malaysia.

In a somewhat frank interview, Michael Schumacher has pointed the finger of blame squarely at Ferrari’s Felipe Massa over his spin at the first corner of the first race last weekend.

Claiming that Massa was in too low a gear for the corner which in turn initiated the spin, he is also quoted as saying both DC and Massa were to blame for their coming together later in the race, but places more of the blame on his ex-teammate.

You have to say that David could have been a little cleverer about it, but there is no question that Felipe was the cause.   Michael Schumacher

First of all, congratulations to Lewis Hamilton for getting his season off to the perfect start - he not only drove well to win, but was lucky enough that those thought to be his main competitors for the title all stumbled and failed to finish, although Raikkonen did eventually manage to claim a point.

However, Lewis has said a couple of things since his win which strike me as odd.  Firstly he claims this was his best ever victory - which is weird given that he was very rarely under any pressure at all from those behind him, and neither did he actually have to pass anyone.  It’s perhaps his most comfortable win, but I doubt it will live forever in the minds of his fans as being his greatest victory.