Desert drama. The Silver Arrows finish 2nd and 3rd at the Bahrain Grand Prix

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Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS didn’t even dare dream about such a finish, after starting from P3 and P9 on the grid of the Bahrain Grand Prix. With Lewis Hamilton penalized for gear box change, Mercedes managed to snatch the second and the third position at the end of the season’s second race.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel achieved his 49th win in his 200th Grand Prix, joining an exclusive club where only Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button were. The German controlled the proceedings from start to finish, with a little scare for the last three laps, when the Mercedes driver, Valtteri Bottas was closing in on him. Vettel’s tires were worn out, because he couldn’t change them due to an incident involving Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn’s car was released before a mechanic managed to fit his rear right tire. The mechanic suffered a double bone fracture.

Bahrain Grand Prix (9)

It was double disaster for the Red Bull-s, as Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo had to retire during the same lap. The Aussie lost power in his engine, while the Dutch, following a clash with Hamilton in Turn 1, suffered a puncture. At the garage, the Red Bull squad was already packing to go home. It was their first double retirement since the 2010 Korean Grand Prix.

Hamilton’s Mercedes came to life and he passed three cars in a single corner. He engaged the DRS to pass Alonso as well on the straight. Then Ocon and Hulkenberg were his next victims, as the Brit hammered passed them. The champion then passed Gasly for the fourth sport.

There was a rough ending for the Ferrari’s. Kimi Raikkonen had to pull out after hitting a mechanic on the pit lane. Unable to receive Vettel, the team forced him to remain on the track with tires that were already worn. With an almost 8-second lead over Bottas, Vettel was not to have a light finish. Bottas kept cutting the gap, gaining ground every lap. The Finn and the German battled on to the end, a dramatic war in which Ferrari’s driver clinched to victory.

Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS put their both drivers on the podium, hoping to go one step higher next week, when the racing resumes with the Chinese Grand Prix.

 

Pos No Driver Car Laps Time/Retired Pts
1 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 57 1:32:01.940 25
2 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 57 +0.699s 18
3 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 57 +6.512s 15
4 10 Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda 57 +62.234s 12
5 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 57 +75.046s 10
6 27 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 57 +99.024s 8
7 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Renault 56 +1 lap 6
8 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Renault 56 +1 lap 4
9 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 56 +1 lap 2
10 31 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 56 +1 lap 1
11 55 Carlos Sainz Renault 56 +1 lap 0
12 16 Charles Leclerc Sauber Ferrari 56 +1 lap 0
13 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 56 +1 lap 0
14 18 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 56 +1 lap 0
15 35 Sergey Sirotkin Williams Mercedes 56 +1 lap 0
16 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 56 +1 lap 0
17 28 Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda 56 +1 lap 0
NC 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 35 DNF 0
NC 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 3 DNF 0
NC 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1 DNF 0