Fernando Alonso cruised to victory in the Malaysian GP. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Alonso Expecting More Ferrari Misery In Bahrain: Despite winning in Malaysia last month, Fernando Alonso is expecting a miserable weekend in Bahrain. On the back of his surprise Sepang victory, the Spaniard qualified and finished just ninth in China, and he is not expecting a better Ferrari until next month's return to European Grands Prix. "Obviously, this (result) does not leave me very optimistic for Bahrain, on a track where traction and speed are vital, exactly the areas where we are weakest," said Alonso in Shanghai. Even more bluntly, he said the Maranello based team is "far behind" the pacesetters because the F2012 has "big problems" in aerodynamics. But the bright side, Alonso insisted, is that the field of 2012 is oddly tightly bunched. "If we improve two, three tenths then we can jump several opponents," he is quoted by Brazil's O Estado de S.Paulo. "The fight now is for fractions of seconds."

Massa 'Only Wasting Petrol' Slams Journalist: An Italian journalist has admitted he is more than unimpressed with Felipe Massa's apparent progress in China. Already before the Chinese Grand Prix, La Stampa correspondent Stefano Mancini was calling on Ferrari to axe the struggling Brazilian driver. Massa then qualified twelfth in Shanghai, equaling his Sepang achievement, but dropped to thirteenth by the time the checkered flag waved. "I think that as far as my race was concerned, this was a step forward compared to the first two races," he insisted. Mancini, however, is continuing to severely criticize the 30-year-old. "A Ferrari that would like to introduce a third car is still racing with just one driver," he wrote. "Massa is a useless presence; not yet scoring a point and only wasting petrol."

No One In F1 Wants To Go To Bahrain - Journalist: No one in Formula One really wants to go to Bahrain, according to the correspondent for The Times newspaper. Kevin Eason has admitted he was harangued by the low-profile FIA president Jean Todt in Shanghai last weekend, after a series of articles criticizing the decision to plough ahead with the Grand Prix. "Todt admitted that he will have to live with his decision," wrote Eason, "and he will be in Bahrain to oversee events at the Grand Prix." The British journalist insisted, however, that he has "talked at length to team personnel, team principals, secretaries, motor home catering staff, public relations men -- and I cannot find anyone who truly wants to go to Bahrain." One female member of Williams' catering staff has had her contract terminated for refusing to go to Bahrain on moral grounds. But the Austrian legend Niki Lauda said he has no qualms. When asked if he's traveling from Shanghai to Bahrain to work as usual as a pundit for German television RTL, he insisted: "Yes of course. "The FIA and Ecclestone have made a decision, as they believe it is safe enough to go. So we go." On Monday, a photo emerged on the internet showing protesters burning down the largest F1 billboard on capital Manama's main highway. It is also reported that a teenage boy is lying in intensive care after being shot by Bahrain police at a funeral. "Nobody has been shot," F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone snapped at a reporter for AFP news agency in China. "What are you talking about?" The reporter said: "He (Ecclestone) then swore and stormed off."

Alguersuari Unsure Of 2013 F1 Grid Return: Jaime Alguersuari has admitted he is not sure if he will be able to return to Formula One in 2013. After his ousting at Toro Rosso, the young Spaniard is keeping up appearances in the paddock this year as a co-commentator for British radio. And he recently signed on as Pirelli's new F1 test driver. But "Everyone knows the desire I have to return to competition," Alguersuari is quoted by the Spanish sports daily AS. "Honestly, right now, today, I don't know where I will be in 2013."If I cannot be competing next year then I will try to continue the path of my life somewhere that will make me happy," he added. When Toro Rosso's new drivers slumped in qualifying last weekend, the similarly-deposed Sebastien Buemi made the point that, in Shanghai a year ago, he and Alguersuari had been in Q3. As for whether he would be doing a better job now than Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne, Alguersuari said: "I'll let you answer that question."

Winning 'Easier Now' For Rosberg - Lauda, Tambay: More wins could quickly follow for F1's newest race victor, Nico Rosberg. The Mercedes driver began the 2012 season with more than a century of races under his belt, causing some pundits to predict he will never taste winning champagne. But he broke through in China just a day after his maiden pole. "I took 113 (races to win) and he's on 111," 2009 world champion Jenson Button smiled in Shanghai. Niki Lauda thinks Rosberg's next wins will be easier. "It (winning) gets easier," the Austrian legend said in China late on Sunday, "because he know you can do it, and you've proved it. "The next victories come quite quickly," Lauda told the German broadcaster RTL. Patrick Tambay won just two Grands Prix in consecutive seasons, 1982 and 1983, but he said the first one - achieved in Keke Rosberg's championship year - came with "a sense of completion". "After that, things seem easier," said the Frenchman, "especially so when you've waited 110 Grands Prix! "It will feel like a relief," Tambay told RMC Sport. "Now, he's still young at 26 but with a lot of experience; he has everything he needs to reproduce this victory. "The first is the most difficult."

Mercedes Reaches F1 Summit With 'Small Budget' - Haug: Norbert Haug said he is proud Mercedes has reached the top of Formula One in a short space of time and with a small budget. The German carmaker's works team is often lumped together with F1's other grandees including Ferrari and McLaren, but Haug insists the Brackley based outfit is in fact "a small team, with a small budget". Mercedes' competition boss, who on Sunday collected the winning constructors' trophy on the Shanghai podium, also said some of the team's rivals - undoubtedly Red Bull - "took five years to win". "We have done it in two and a quarter," the German told the RTL broadcaster. "That's not bad at all. "And there are other teams that still have not made it." So is Mercedes now a contender for the world championship, despite Haug's earlier protestations that the team needs a few more campaigns under its belt for that? "It is too early to make a prediction," he told Auto Motor und Sport. "I hope so, but so far we have seen three different winners in three races."