DEFENDING champion Jenson Button heads the standings after the opening four races of an already fascinating F1 season.
Wins in Australia and China have helped McLaren driver Button to 60 points. He is 10 clear of Mercedes' Nico Rosberg, and 11 clear of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and team mate Lewis Hamilton.
Sebastian Vettel lies fifth in the standing on 45 points but the German really would be doing better than that if his Red Bull was more reliable.
Vettel has qualified in pole position in three of the four races so far, and the only time he missed out - in Malaysia - team mate Mark Webber took the honours.
But, except for an excellent 1-2 in Malaysia, it has been a feature of the season that the Red Bulls have failed to turn strong positions into more points.
The season had an inauspicious start in Bahrain which, not for the first time, produced a dreadfully drab race. It was won eventually by Alonso in a Ferrari 1-2 after a surprise twist.
Bahrain was definitely a race that Vettel should have won and the German led from the start and looked set for a comfortable win.
But a spark plug failure hampered him midway through the race, and Alonso and his team mate Felipe Massa passed the Red Bull driver with ease.
Vettel eventually finished fourth, behind 2008 champions Lewis Hamilton, but holding off Mercedes pair Rosberg and returning seven-time champion Michael Schumacher in fifth and sixth.
That sixth place represents Schumacher's best result of the season and the excitement generated in the build-up to his comeback has so far not been matched on the track.
At least, F1 recovered from the slow start in Bahrain with a typically dramatic Australian GP around Melbourne's Albert Park.
The scene of Button’s first win in his championship season last year returned more happy memories for him this year.
With rain falling, Button crucially opted for slick tyres in an early tactical pit stop.
His decision to pit was vindicated as he scythed through the field and into second place behind Vettel who had qualified on pole.
Red Bull’s Vettel had once again controlled the early stages of the race, having stayed out of trouble.
But, again his challenge ended prematurely as he suffered brake failure and slid off into the gravel on lap 26
As a result, Button gained a precious lead and, with a clear track ahead, he was able to build a clear gap ahead of Renault’s Robert Kubica and Ferrari pair Massa and Alonso.
Alonso’s fourth-place finish was a major feat after the Spaniard fell to the back of the grid following contact with Button but the glory was with the Briton.
In Malaysia, Red Bull finally delivered. This time, it was Vettel’s Australian team mate Webber who provided the pole position.
But, at the very first corner, Vettel forged ahead before both cars cruised to the chequered flag.
The Red Bulls were aided by strategic errors by McLaren and Ferrari who misjudged the wet weather in qualifying, leaving Button, Hamilton Alonso and Massa well down the grid.
The race proved to be just as frustrating for the quartet who all had their problems.
Alonso suffered a broken clutch and eventually retired on lap 54, while Hamilton and Massa could not find a way past Force India's Adrian Sutil. Button struggled with his tyres to eighth place.
But Button's disappointment and Red Bull's delight were short-lived as the Briton hit the top of the standings for the first time this season with victory in a tough race in China.
He described the win as his best yet and it will have been even sweeter that he finished just ahead of team mate Hamilton.
There were many who doubted the wisdom of Button's move to McLaren where Hamilton was recognised as the team's number one last season.
But Button has more than held his own in the early stages of this year and again he made the better tyre choice in another unpredictable wet race.
Over the course of the most dramatic race so far in 2010, he made two pit stops, as compared to Hamilton's four.
Indeed most of the field pitted twice early on to change to intermediate and then slick tyres.
Button had already chosen slicks and, along with Kubica and Rosberg, he secured a commanding early advantage.
In the second half of the race, Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel tore through the field to finish among the leading drivers while Russian Vitaly Petrov gained a credible seventh in his Renault.
Webber, who had started on the front row, eventually had to settle for eighth ahead of Ferrari's Massa and Mercedes' Schumacher who disappointed once again.
The F1 circuit takes a three week break before moving to Europe for three races in May, including the Monaco GP on 16 May - volcano ash clouds permitting, of course.
PODIUMS
Bahrain GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
2 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
Australian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault
3 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
Malaysian GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP
Chinese GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP
STANDINGS
Drivers' Championship
1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 60 (2 wins)
2 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 50
3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 49 (1 win)
4 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 49
5 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 45 (1 win)
6 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 41
7 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault 40
8 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 28
9 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Mercedes 10
9 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes 10
11 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India-Mercedes 8
12 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault 6
13 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams-Cosworth 5
14 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2
15 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Williams-Cosworth 1
Nine drivers have yet to score
Constructors' Championship
1 McLaren-Mercedes 109
2 Ferrari 90
3 Red Bull-Renault 73
4 Mercedes GP 60
5 Renault 46
6 Force India-Mercedes 18
7 Williams-Cosworth 6
8 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2
Four teams have yet to score
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