Motor Sport: Jenson Button won the Bahrain Grand Prix for the championship leader's third victory in four races with newcomers Brawn GP this season. Button's success dashed Toyota's hopes of a breakthrough first win after the Japanese manufacturer had started with both their cars on the front row of the grid.
Sebastian Vettel was second for Red Bull with Toyota's Jarno Trulli finishing third from pole position.
Button, with four career wins, now has 31 points to team-mate Rubens Barrichello's 19 and Vettel's 18.
Champions Ferrari finally opened their account with 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen finishing sixth for the Italian team's first points of the year.
McLaren's world champion Lewis Hamilton, whose team could receive a heavy punishment at a hearing in Paris on Wednesday for lying to stewards at the Australian season-opener, took fourth place after an aggressive start.
Barrichello was fifth, ahead of Raikkonen, with Toyota's Timo Glock seventh and Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso taking the final point on a hot afternoon with air temperatures around 35 degrees Celsius.
Glock, lighter on fuel than his team mate, made the quicker start and led for the first 10 laps before pitting and handing over to Trulli.
Button led for the first time in the race on lap 13, allowing Vettel and then Raikkonen to take brief turns at the front when he pitted, but was clearly in control for the final third of the race.
"We're going back to Europe with some very good points. Let's do it again in Barcelona," Button, who had started fourth, said as he took the chequered flag and punched the air in jubilation.
The Spanish Grand prix is next on May 10th.
BMW-Sauber, who had hoped to be challenging for the title this season, had a dismal afternoon at the circuit that brought them their first pole position last year with Poland's Robert Kubica.
Both cars were lapped just after the halfway mark, with Kubica 18th and Germany's Nick Heidfeld the last finisher in 19th place at the chequered flag.
Williams's Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima was the sole retirement.
Bahrain Result
1. Jenson Button (England) Brawn-Mercedes 1 hr 31 mins 48.182 secs
2. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) RedBull - Renault +00:07.187
3. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 00:09.170
4. Lewis Hamilton (England) McLaren - Mercedes 00:22.096
5. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Brawn - Mercedes 00:37.799
6. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 00:42.057
7. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota 00:42.880
8. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 00:52.775
9. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams - Toyota 00:58.198
10. Nelson Piquet (Brazil) Renault 01:05.149
11. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault 01:07.641
12. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren - Mercedes 01:17.824
13. Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 01:18.805
14. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1 lap
15. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Force India - Mercedes 1 lap
16. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India - Mercedes 1 lap
17. Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1 lap
18. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 1 lap
19. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 1 lap
Retired - Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams - Toyota 9 laps
Drivers’ Championship
1. Jenson Button (England) Brawn 31 points
2. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Brawn 19
3. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 18
4. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 14.5
5. Timo Glock (Germany) Toyota 12
6. Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull 9.5
7. Lewis Hamilton (England) McLaren 9
8. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 5
9. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 4
10. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) McLaren 4
11. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams 3.5
12. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 3
13. Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso 3
14. Sebastien Bourdais (France) Toro Rosso 1
15. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 0
16. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India 0
17. Nelson Piquet (Brazil) Renault 0
18. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Force India 0
19. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams 0
20. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 0
Constructors
1. Brawn - Mercedes 50 points
2. RedBull - Renault 27.5
3. Toyota 26.5
4. McLaren - Mercedes 13
5. Renault 5
6. Toro Rosso - Ferrari 4
7. BMW Sauber 4
8. Williams - Toyota 3.5
9. Ferrari 3
10. Force India - Mercedes 0