Sakhir, Bahrain (My Sportsbook) - Jenson Button's dream season in Formula One continued Sunday, as the Brawn GP driver captured his third victory in the first four races with a dominating performance in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Button started fourth on the grid in the scorching desert heat at Bahrain International Circuit, but after a flawless pit strategy in the first round of stops, he moved ahead of Toyota drivers Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock, who started on the front row. The Briton only relinquished the lead one other time, during his final stop, before finishing well ahead of Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull.

"It has been a tough weekend for the team which makes this win even more rewarding as we didn't have the pace that we expected," Button said. "I was really happy with my first lap. I knew that I had to overtake Sebastian quickly and got him round the outside on turn one. I had a couple of attempts at Lewis (Hamilton) round the first lap and almost got him at the last corner."

Button recorded his fourth career F1 victory, but his first where it wasn't behind the safety car. He has now accumulated 31 points in his early-season championship lead.

"It was a great race today, and I'm so happy to have seen the checkered flag without a safety car or red light in front of me," he said. "To achieve my third victory of the season is amazing, and we are going back to Europe with a strong lead in both championships. I couldn't wish for anything more."

Every driver who has won three of the first four races has gone on to win the F1 world championship that year.

Vettel, who won last week's rain-soaked Chinese Grand Prix, captured his third career podium finish with a second-place run.

"It was a good result and good points, but it was a difficult race," Vettel said. "The start was okay, but then suddenly Lewis was next to me. He must have pressed his special button and got an advantage. At the first corner we were three deep, me in the middle and Jenson on the outside, so I had to give way and lost two positions."

Trulli finished third, followed by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Rubens Barrichello from Brawn.

"I'm a little disappointed to be honest, because I thought we had a chance to take Toyota's first win this weekend," Trulli said. "But it was a hard race. I was slightly slower into the first corner than Timo, so I spent the first stint following him. I knew I was going longer than him, but it was still difficult."

Kimi Raikkonen finished sixth to finally give Ferrari its first points of the season. Glock came in seventh, while Renault's Fernando Alonso was eighth. Nico Rosberg from Williams and Nelson Piquet, teammate to Alonso, completed the top-10.

Barrichello is second in points with 19, followed by Vettel with 18.

Felipe Massa's disappointing season continued as the Ferrari driver finished 14th and has yet to score a point this year. Massa, who won the Bahrain GP in 2007 and '08, made contact with his teammate Raikkonen on the third lap, forcing the Italian driver to pit for repairs.

"My race was decided at the start," Massa said. "I was sandwiched between Kimi and Rubens, and the front wing got broken after making contact with my teammate's rear wheel. At first, I didn't realize what had really happened, so I came in after two laps to change the nose."

BMW Sauber drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld had a miserable race, with Kubica finishing 18th and Heidfeld coming in 19th.

Kubica and Kazuki Nakajima bumped on the first lap, with both drivers having to pit for a new nose on their cars. Kubica also spun after attempting to pass Nakajima for position on lap 47.

Heidfeld pitted early to make adjustments to the car and lost track position.

Nakajima was the only driver forced to retire with eight laps remaining.