Much like the speed witnessed on race tracks, three races have swept past us in less than a month. In the 65^th season of the championship, the third race held at Bahrain was a night event. The decision to race under floodlights was taken in order to mark the 10^th anniversary of the Bahrain race, and the track looked spectacular under the lights.

Couple of months ago, the first corner of the Bahrain track was named after Michael Schumacher, who last raced for Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton, who replaced him at Mercedes won the Bahrain race, and yet didn’t get to taste champagne. Rosewater tasted nice, Lewis?

Mercedes is off to a great start this season, much like Brawn in 2009. Speaking of Brawn, this was Jenson Button’s 250^th Grand Prix start, and unfortunately this was a race that he couldn’t complete. His 250^th start made him just the fifth man in F1 to do so. Any guesses on who leads the pack?

In a sport that is about man and machine, what makes us support one driver over another? Supporting the car (and the team) is more objective, or so I think. A team with access to better technology, design and design engineers is likely to capture one’s imagination. As the team starts winning more, it gets rewarded more and the extra finances get channelled into R&D.

What about the driver? Does his nationality count? Does his ability to get along well with his team and his teammate count? Does love for the team automatically translate to love for the driver? Or does it boil down to a simple question – just how fast can he drive?

For now, it is Nico Rosberg who has maximum points from three races. Whether he goes on to emulate his father Keke Rosberg remains to be seen.

–Anuradha Sridhar [Anuradha is an avid F-1 and Tennis enthusiast. You can reach her at the gmail id: sportzcosmos]