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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.
