Massa glad to leave bad races behind

Massa, who had endured two disappointing races in Australia and Malaysia, led the Sakhir race from start to finish to revive his title challenge following his poor start to the season.

The Ferrari driver's third Grand Prix victory allowed him to move to within five points of the championship lead.

"The results in the first two races were not what I expected, I think something was missing," said Massa. "The first race I had a problem, the second race I made mistakes and something was missing. This one I put everything together.

"I am pleased with the team, the job, the strategy and everything. We need to push even harder, McLaren are quite close so we have to to try and keep the momentum."

With the championship lead now shared by Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen, Massa believes it will be crucial not to miss any opportunities this year.

"For sure the season is really exciting, looking how it is in the championship in the end it is very tight," said Massa.

"How are both teams, McLaren and Ferrari. I will be important to not lose any opportunities."