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With a new season comes new onsite assignments.

The Bahrain International Circuit was our home away from home as producer, cameraman and myself readied ourselves for the third race of the season. Having spent a few days in KL in the lead up to the Malaysian Grand Prix it was inevitable that comparisons be made between the two race venues and being a first timer to the Middle East made it all the more fascinating. I have to say Malaysia won hands down in terms of pre race buzz, sexy parties and glitzy gala events. Bahrain had all the buntings and billboards in place but was lacking in the cosmopolitan crowds that Malaysia enjoys every March.

As always when we attend any race, the early part of the week is spent putting together the color story for our Pre race show, Race Day. It's a chance to get a feel of the country, the colors, the people, the food and the culture and is one of my most favourite things to shoot. We play tourist and get lost in our rental car and make social faux pas along the way which is all part of the experience.

First thing that struck me was how sandy the place was...grit in your contact lenses, gobfuls of sand and developments in the middle of dusty deserts that stretched on for miles.

I wouldn't call Bahrain the prettiest place on the earth but it was fascinating none the less. Weather was beautiful and Bahrain International Circuit was well planned and of course makes for potentially interesting races with so much dust on the track. Ladies in burkhas, some with flashes of scarlet lipstick and regal Arab men in their flowing white robes made for great photos as we roamed the "F1 village", dodging stilt walkers and mime artists all the while inhaling the scent of flavoured tobacco from the shisha urns gurgling their way into the lungs of f1 fans.

It had a distinct harem-esque flavour with colored cushions littering the way behind the grandstand and was terribly trendy without meaning to be. It was the peace of the east in all it's maroon and gold glory. And all I wanted to do was sit back and dip my pita bread into my hummus and Arab watch. But work is work and the paddock is our "office" from practice days through the rest of the weekend.

The paddock was abuzz with the Max Mosley Sexual revelations and not an hour went by without someone making Nazi or orgy references. Couple that with the face that he wasn't present due to his legal woes- or the fact that the Bahrain Crown Prince thought it inappropriate for him to be present meant it was a big white elephant.

The other hot topic was Felipe Massa simply because he has been so not hot in his first two races with Malaysia providing a truly horrendous weekend for him. He really needed to come out of this race on top but the start of the weekend belonged fully to Robert Kubica who gave BMW their first pole on Saturdays qualifying.

So Kubica was the hero on the Saturday but Massa was the man on Sunday. His victory was much needed for him on so many levels and speculation was rife that he was beginning to feel the pressure which could have had an adverse effect. But he showed em' and out came his winning smile as he beamed from the podium. The relief evident for all to see. " I've still got it"...is what he seemed to be saying.

Lewis on the other hand couldn't not have started off his race any worse. His wrongly timed use of the anti-stall mechanism at the start of the race meant he could only sit back in horror as car after car overtook him on the starting grid. Finishing in p13 is not something our English boy is used to and he was understandably bummed out in post race interviews.

All in all, the race was pretty unremarkable and after getting the necessary post-race grabs and bits and pieces needed for various news bulletins it was time to leave. A friend and I were sitting in the paddock watching the mechanics go about their jobs as the sun set over Sakhir.

The Ferrari zone still abuzz with press, and Mario Thiessen also swarmed with mics and cameras in his face and various beautiful race attendees strolling through, ladies teetering in their wedges and rich, slightly older boyfriends or husbands who almost always seem to wear navy blue blazers.

At about 5pm after a race the paddock is one of the most delicious places to be and people watch. I was given a strong shot of Arabic coffee, a sticky date and new friends who would fill me in on all the F1 gossip according to whichever personality or driver would stroll by...

A job just can't get any better than that.