The self-importance of Formula One is such that there's rarely a laugh, but the News of the World story about Max Mosley had many chortling with gleeful mirth and schadenfreude.

It is probably the most amusing thing that's happened to F1 in years but there was also a serious undertone with what some believed to be a Nazi connotation in his alleged antics, especially given Max's family history. However, as veteran motor racing author Mike Lawrence pointed out, the stripes on concentration camp victims' uniforms were vertical whereas those on the ones the tarts were wearing ran horizontally - as per a chain gang. This may prove to be an expensive mistake for News International, although it'll be interesting to see how Max's lawyers explain his allegedly speaking German.

So far Max is hanging on to his job at the FIA with the tenacity of a Labour poltician despite increasing calls for him to go away; but our own MSA (to which of course the Ferrari Owners' Club is affiliated) has sniffily announced that it will remain on the fence for the time being. Officially, some are being very po-faced and serious about all this but whatever you think about what consenting adults get up to in private, it cannot be possible for him to carry on, the damage to the FIA and F1's credibility would just be too great no matter what happens in court.

After this, the race was always going to be an anti-climax and indeed it was, the race being fearfully dull albeit with a Ferrari 1-2, which is never a bad thing. I was originally off duty last weekend, so went away, but set the old Betamax to record the race [wonder if that's what the News of the World used? - Ed.]. I did catch Qualifying, which as I feared has become a televisual dead loss. Q3 lap times are now much slower than Q1 and Q2, because of the fuel load. Bonkers. No more banzai laps, just random camera cuts and yet another spectacle removed and quite impossible to follow. F1 Qualifying should be about the fastest drivers in the world driving the fastest cars in the world as fast as they will go. They should go out one at a time with the bare minimum of fuel and preferably super-sticky qualifying tyres bolted on!

Kubica nicked pole for Bimmer and whatever you say about Massa, he is capable of putting a good single lap together and he qualified second. In the race this was enough as he out-dragged the pole-sitting Pole (sorry) off the line and that was it. Massa's start was in marked contrast to Lewis Hamilton's, the Brit making a complete pig's ear of it. I naively assumed that he just hadn't got enough revs on and bogged it, but no, it emerged later in the week that he'd got it in the wrong engine map "anti-stall" instead of "start". I though the drivers were supposed to be in charge of all this throttle stuff, but there you are, naive as I said. I don't suppose it'll be long before there is effectively as much assistance as there was before, but achieved in a different way, but what be done? You can't go back to a throttle cable, a bank of carbs and a dizzy - this isn't NASCAR after all.

Lewis' misfortune continued when he ran into the back of Alonso coming out of turn three on lap two. Immediately the air was thick with cries of "brake test" and such is the relationship between the two than most were prepared to believe it. Happily, Alonso's on-board data showed that he neither braked nor lifted, so why did Lewis hit him given that the power of the engines is virtually the same? Initial thoughts were that Alonso had made a bad exit from the corner and Lewis had made a good one. Then McLaren said that Hamilton's upper front wing had broken two seconds before the impact and the Renault's slipstream had just hoovered him in.

Later independent analysis revealed that Hamilton's wing was broken on the previous lap, probably against the back of Alonso's Renault, so it looks like Lewis just got it wrong' although in mitigation Alonso was slow out of the corner. Hamilton eventually came home 13th, his car hobbled because some of its aero twiddly bits were knocked off in the shunt.

Alonso was innocent in this case but he is noticeably becoming more and more petulant and political as he struggles with an uncompetitive Renault, gesticulating at any drivers near him on the track, shaking his fist at Glock whom he was racing for position and who was simply quicker in parts. Then there's the spreading of rumours about his going to Ferrari. I think this is a real shame as he is a great driver but needs to bear the current situation with quiet dignity and drive the wheels off his recalcitrant Regie. As it is, whereas once I would have been delighted to see him at Ferrari now I'm not at all sure.

Raikkonen, the other present incumbent of one the two most desirable seats in motor racing had a quiet weekend though he did re-pass Kovalainen on the opening lap, then soon passed Kubica for second which he held to the flag, Massa having built up sufficient a lead not to be jumped by Kimi in the pit stops. It is clear that Massa can win when all the bits are right, but he can't conjure up a win from a difficult position like Schuey did so many times, but maybe that's just not possible any more.

I suspect that if you put almost any of the drivers into the best car they would be competitive. This, plus the reliability of modern cars, suggests that Schuey was right in insisting on a clear No.1, thus ensuring that team-mates do not take points off each other in the race to the title. Also, it's better for the sport and more cost-effective for the teams to have one ace and one newcomer; rather than have overpaid, time-served journeymen hanging around forever. Speaking of which, for the second race this year Crazy Dave didn't see someone attempting to pass him and crimped them - this time Jenson Button, who came off worse.

Kubica came home third with team mate Heidfeld fourth, which means Bimmer have taken over the lead in the Constructors' Championship. The huge improvement between their pre-season form is down to improved correlation between wind tunnel results, on-track behaviour and Computational Fluid Dynamics (computer modelling of aerodynamics). BMW are challenging to become the main threat to Ferrari and surely will win a race before the year is out. I must admit that I was one of many pundits who thought a team run by a large corporation would never threaten the "proper racers", though it does look like they have built on the foundations of what was a good, well-established team rather than throwing it all away and starting from scratch, à la B.A.R./Tyrrell.

However, I was also wrong about Toyota, a new team set up by a large corporation who this season have gone from being the laughing stock of the sport to a regular mid-field runner and points scorer, though I did see Jarno Trulli praising the input of veteran engineer Frank Dernie who's been in F1 for over 30 years. Also, there's a long way to go before they are challenging for a win let alone a title - but I do my Lexus!

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Max is under increasing pressure

Fantastic facilities, but a dull circuit

Kubica took pole for Bimmer

The start and Massa's already got the job done

Kimi was a bit lack lustre, but got past Kubica for second

Hamilton's front wing was broken before he rear-ended Alonso properly

Trulli ahead of Rosberg and Webber. They finished 6th, 8th and 7th respectively.

Alonso had to fight with Glock on pace and wasn't happy

Ferrari's first 1-2 of the year

Click for FIA lap chart

Meanwhile...

Wonder who they're talking about?

pics by Ferrari Media, FIA, Reuters, XPB, LAT, & Sutton