Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa give Ferrari one-two finish in Bahrain

Ferrari’s decision last season to give up on the title chase and begin looking ahead paid off when Fernando Alonso led the Italian team to a one-two finish at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir on Sunday.

The two-time world champion from Spain passed teammate Felipe Massa at the second corner after the start, then overtook pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel on the 34th lap for the lead, which he never relinquished.

After two frustrating years with Renault, Alonso pounded his chest after jumping on top of his car as Ferrari got off to its best start since 2004, when Michael Schumacher led a 1-2 start. Alonso was signed in the off-season to replace Kimi Raikkonen, who also won in his Ferrari debut three years ago.

“A very special day for me. Coming back to the top of the podium is always special, but also more special with Ferrari and the history of the team and the expectations,” Alonso said. “There is no better way to start the relationship.”

Affected by an engine problem, Vettel was soon after passed by Massa, who finished second in his return to racing after a life-threatening crash last July in Hungary.

Lewis Hamilton overtook Vettel at the same spot, and the McLaren driver finished third ahead of his Red Bull opponent.

Power wins IndyCar season opener

Will Power made a late pass to take the lead from Ryan Hunter-Reay and win the rain-shortened IndyCar season opener on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The Australian passed the American with three laps to go, clinching the inaugural Sao Paulo Indy 300 for his second career victory.

Power crossed the line 1.858 seconds ahead of Hunter-Reay when the race ended at the two-hour time limit with 61 of the 75 scheduled laps completed.

The race had to be red-flagged near its halfway point after heavy rain made track conditions unsafe, marking another setback for the track, which had been hailed as one of the highlights of the season but faced problems throughout the weekend.

Home-crowd favorite Vitor Meira was third, followed by compatriot Raphael Matos at the 2.6-mile, 11-turn Anhembi temporary circuit in South America’s biggest city.

Danica Patrick lost control of her car as it started raining and finished 15th.

Schumacher is first in top fuel

Tony Schumacher finished first in top fuel at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. Tim Wilkerson won in funny car, and Jason Line and Eddie Krawiec won in pro stock and pro stock motorcycle, respectively.