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Why Verstappen will be counting sheep in F1's 70th Anniversary GP
In Bahrain, the place to be, post race, was in or around the Williams compound. Granted, time was when Frank's and Patrick's boys would have regarded sixth and seventh as a bit of a disaster, but now, in 2006-model-year Formula One, those five championship points represent a highly promising start for a team that is still getting used to a new engine partner and a new tyre supplier.
But no part of Williams's success was more promising than that played by 20-year-old Nico Rosberg, who recovered mightily from his first-lap coming-together with Nick Heidfeld to finish seventh at the flag.
His pace, in so doing, was often phenomenal - and, in truth, it surprised not only Williams but also Cosworth and Bridgestone, too. But it was the manner of his overtaking that made everyone - including the hard-bitten hacks in the Sakhir media centre - jump to their feet and issue loud and riotous applause.
The way Rosberg caught Christian Klien in the final laps, then sold a dummy on the young Austrian to force his Williams inside the Red Bull into turn 1, well, it reminded this observer of Nigel Mansell after he'd driven 150-odd Grands Prix. That a rookie, and a young one at that, could evoke such comparisons during his very first Grand Prix was hot stuff indeed.
