SAKHIR, Bahrain — The podium press conference at the Bahrain Grand Prix certainly lacked the spike and conflict of the previous three races this season but was nonetheless an intriguing one in terms of the landscape of the grid.

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A supremely happy and confident Lewis Hamilton exuded self belief and delight following a second successive Bahrain victory and his third win of the season.

His Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, edged out of second place by Kimi Raikkonen in dramatic fashion with just two laps remaining, cut a more dejected figure.

Resigned to a weekend in which his own errors denied him a higher finish than third, Rosberg was humble in his own failure to topple the Ferrari and Hamilton in Sakhir but obviously frustrated in the end result.

Raikkonen, who extended his overall podium record at the Bahrain Grand Prix to seven, was in typical ‘Ice Man’ mode, refusing to allow the slightest bit of pleasure emanate from his demeanour.

 

 

Speaking in hushed, unexcited tones after securing his first top-3 of the season, which failed to reflect the strides made by Ferrari over the course of a weekend in which the team showcased their ability to challenge Mercedes week-in week-out.

Between Hamilton’s gleeful presence, Rosberg’s visible disappointment and Raikkonen’s  ‘same s***, different day’ approach we may well have been given a glimpse of things to come across the rest of the 2015 F1 season.

While Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel will surely compete for a third podium place among their Mercedes opposite numbers, Hamilton will take some beating at every turn of every circuit this year.

For Rosberg, the annoyance previously aimed at his team and team-mate took a more inward turn – something more likely continue as the weeks wear on as his desire to be top dog goes unfulfilled.

That search for a first F1 championship may well prove elusive once more for the German while Hamilton continues on his merry way to a third title.