Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel has claimed his 28th Formula 1 victory in a thrilling Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of the two Lotuses of Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean in a top-three result which mirrors the 2012 race.
Vettel stamped his authority on the race in the early stages when he took the lead of the race from pole-sitter Nico Rosberg on lap-three after the Red Bull swept around the Mercedes which was already beginning to suffer with tire wear.
Alonso, after starting third, was able to take advantage of the ailing Rosberg and by the fifth lap, the Chinese Grand Prix winner had moved up to second with a move around the Mercedes into Turn 1.
The Ferrari driver was anticipated to challenge for the victory but a DRS flap which had jammed open on lap eight forced him back into the pits at the end of the lap, and once again on lap nine, pushed him out of contention despite being able to rejoin the race.
However, the Spaniard fought back to finish eighth despite not having any DRS for the remainder of the race.
Teammate Felipe Massa experienced an equally torrid afternoon to end his day in fifteenth following two rear punctures and contact at the start of the race with Adrian Sutil’s Force India.
The second Force India of Paul di Resta finished fourth ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, but will prove to be a disappointment for the Scot, given he looked set to score his first top-three finish in Formula 1. On lap 52 of 57, he was passed by Grosjean’s Lotus after the Frenchman made the most of the quicker medium tyre after his final pit-stop.
Further down the top-10, The McLarens of Jenson Button and Sergio Perez provided much of the race’s entertainment, with the silver and red cars racing each other hard and at one point, leading to Jenson Button calling for the McLaren team to “cool him [Perez] down” after the pair went wheel-to-wheel on lap 32.
The Mexican finished sixth ahead of Mark Webber after passing the Australian on the final lap, whilst Button finished 10th behind Rosberg.
At the back of the grid, Charles Pic continued his strong form in the revised Caterham after finishing in 17th. For the first time this season, a Caterham has lead home the two Marussias, which finished in 19th and 20th with teammate Giedo van der Garde in 21st.
Pic further impressed by finishing ahead of Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez, who endured yet another difficult race after losing his front wing in the early stages of the race.
Race results* – Bahrain Grand Prix
1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 57 laps 1.36'00"498
2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 9"111
3 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 19"507
4 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 21"727
5 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 35"230
6 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 35"998
7 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 37"244
8 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 37"574
9 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 41"126
10 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 46"631
11 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'06"450
12 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'12"933
13 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'16"719
14 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'21"511
15 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'26"364
16 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1 lap
17 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1 lap
18 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1 lap
19 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1 lap
20 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1 lap
21 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 2 laps
Fastest lap: 1'36"961 (Sebastian Vettel)
Retirement
Lap 16 - Jean-Eric Vergne
Drivers' championship
1.Vettel 77; 2.Raikkonen 67; 3.Hamilton 50; 4.Alonso 47; 5.Webber 32; 6.Massa 30; 7.Grosjean 26; 8.Di Resta 20; 9.Rosberg 14; 10.Button 13; 11.Perez 10; 12.Ricciardo, Sutil 6; 14.Hulkenberg 5; 15.Vergne 1.
Constructors' championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 109; 2.Lotus-Renault 93; 3.Ferrari 77; 4.Mercedes 64; 5.Force India-Mercedes 26; 6.McLaren-Mercedes 23; 7.Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7; 8.Sauber-Ferrari 5.
*Unofficial
Vettel stamped his authority on the race in the early stages when he took the lead of the race from pole-sitter Nico Rosberg on lap-three after the Red Bull swept around the Mercedes which was already beginning to suffer with tire wear.
Alonso, after starting third, was able to take advantage of the ailing Rosberg and by the fifth lap, the Chinese Grand Prix winner had moved up to second with a move around the Mercedes into Turn 1.
The Ferrari driver was anticipated to challenge for the victory but a DRS flap which had jammed open on lap eight forced him back into the pits at the end of the lap, and once again on lap nine, pushed him out of contention despite being able to rejoin the race.
However, the Spaniard fought back to finish eighth despite not having any DRS for the remainder of the race.
Teammate Felipe Massa experienced an equally torrid afternoon to end his day in fifteenth following two rear punctures and contact at the start of the race with Adrian Sutil’s Force India.
The second Force India of Paul di Resta finished fourth ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, but will prove to be a disappointment for the Scot, given he looked set to score his first top-three finish in Formula 1. On lap 52 of 57, he was passed by Grosjean’s Lotus after the Frenchman made the most of the quicker medium tyre after his final pit-stop.
Further down the top-10, The McLarens of Jenson Button and Sergio Perez provided much of the race’s entertainment, with the silver and red cars racing each other hard and at one point, leading to Jenson Button calling for the McLaren team to “cool him [Perez] down” after the pair went wheel-to-wheel on lap 32.
The Mexican finished sixth ahead of Mark Webber after passing the Australian on the final lap, whilst Button finished 10th behind Rosberg.
At the back of the grid, Charles Pic continued his strong form in the revised Caterham after finishing in 17th. For the first time this season, a Caterham has lead home the two Marussias, which finished in 19th and 20th with teammate Giedo van der Garde in 21st.
Pic further impressed by finishing ahead of Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez, who endured yet another difficult race after losing his front wing in the early stages of the race.
Race results* – Bahrain Grand Prix
1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 57 laps 1.36'00"498
2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 9"111
3 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 19"507
4 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 21"727
5 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 35"230
6 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 35"998
7 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 37"244
8 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 37"574
9 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 41"126
10 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 46"631
11 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'06"450
12 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'12"933
13 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'16"719
14 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'21"511
15 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'26"364
16 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1 lap
17 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1 lap
18 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1 lap
19 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1 lap
20 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1 lap
21 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 2 laps
Fastest lap: 1'36"961 (Sebastian Vettel)
Retirement
Lap 16 - Jean-Eric Vergne
Drivers' championship
1.Vettel 77; 2.Raikkonen 67; 3.Hamilton 50; 4.Alonso 47; 5.Webber 32; 6.Massa 30; 7.Grosjean 26; 8.Di Resta 20; 9.Rosberg 14; 10.Button 13; 11.Perez 10; 12.Ricciardo, Sutil 6; 14.Hulkenberg 5; 15.Vergne 1.
Constructors' championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 109; 2.Lotus-Renault 93; 3.Ferrari 77; 4.Mercedes 64; 5.Force India-Mercedes 26; 6.McLaren-Mercedes 23; 7.Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7; 8.Sauber-Ferrari 5.
*Unofficial