Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel drove a masterful race to fend off Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas to win a nail-biting and thrilling Bahrain Grand Prix.
Vettel hung on from Valtteri Bottas to take victory and extend his lead over Lewis Hamilton at the F1 World Championship, Kimi Raikkonen hit his mechanic during a pit stop, Lewis Hamilton fought back and there were a miserable few seconds for Red Bull. The 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix had a bit of everything.
Hamilton, who started only ninth the Bahrain race, completed the podium places after Kimi Raikkonen retired following a nasty collision with one of his own mechanics during a pit stop, his rear wheel was not fully attached, forcing him to stop in the pit-lane and he made his way back into the garage to spell the end of his race.
The mechanic was knocked down and taken to the medical centre to be assessed in an incident which was not out of place during a chaotic race under the floodlights of the Sakhir circuit.
Verstappen launched his Red Bull up the inside into Turn 1 and gave Hamilton the squeeze. But in running the Mercedes driver out of road, the duo made contact and Verstappen picked up a puncture.
It was a disastrous few moments for Red Bull as Ricciardo pulled off track with a suspected electrical issue, triggering the virtual safety car.
Back on the track though and Vettel had clearly decided to stick it out on the soft tyres which he had put on his car on Lap 18.
Hamilton was losing pace towards the end of the race but Bottas managed to pick up pace and was within DRS range of Vettel in the final lap.
But it was too little too late for the Finn as Vettel managed to hold on for a spectacular win.
The German, Sebastian Vettel now has a 17-point lead over The Brit, Lewis Hamilton after two of 21 races this season.
Full race results for the Bahrain Grand Prix, the second round of the 2018 F1 season at the Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain.
2. Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport +0.699s
3. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport +6.512s
4. Pierre Gasly FRA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda +1m 2.234s
5. Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas F1 Team +1m 15.046s.
6. Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault Sport Formula One Team +1m 39.024s
7. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren F1 Team +1 lap
8. Stoffel Vandoorne BEL McLaren F1 Team +1 lap
9. Marcus Ericsson SWE Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team +1 lap
10. Esteban Ocon FRA Sahara Force India F1 Team +1 lap
11. Carlos Sainz Jr. ESP Renault Sport Formula One Team +1 lap
12. Charles Leclerc MON Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team +1 lap
13. Romain Grosjean FRA Haas F1 Team +1 lap
14. Lance Stroll CAN Williams Martini Racing +1 lap
15. Sergey Sirotkin RUS Williams Martini Racing +1 lap
16. Sergio Perez MEX Sahara Force India F1 Team +1 lap*
17. Brendon Hartley NZL Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda +1 lap**
Did not finish
Kimi Raikkonen FIN Scuderia Ferrari 35 laps
Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 3 laps
Daniel Ricciardo AUS Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 1 lap.
The next race is the FORMULA 1 2018 HEINEKEN CHINESE GRAND PRIX, Shanghai.
Fri 13 Apr – Sun 15 Apr 2018
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