FERRARI IS BACK IN BUSINESS
F
errari’s Sebastian Vettel forged
seven points clear at the top of
the Formula One standings on
Sunday after winning a Bahrain Grand
Prix thriller that saw Lewis Hamilton
penalised for underhand tactics.
Hamilton, who had started the
floodlit race level on points with
the German, took second place for
Mercedes after staging a late chase
following the five-second penalty for
driving deliberately slowly into the pits.
Hamilton’s team mate Valtteri
Bottas was third after leading from his
first pole position, struggling with his
tyres and twice respecting team orders
to allow the faster Briton through.
The victory was Vettel’s second of
the season after the four-times world
champion won the opener in Australia.
Hamilton, who won in China last
weekend, crossed the finish line 6.6
seconds behind.
Vettel’s 44th win lifted him to 68
points, with Hamilton second on 61
and the championship looking ever
more likely to be an evenly matched
battle between the two with Ferrari and
Mercedes a cut above the rest.
“Yes guys, that’s what I’m talking
about,” whooped the German, who
was helped by a safety car after an
aggressive early pitstop.
“It was a really great day. It was on
the last half of the out lap when all the
fireworks were going off that I was like
‘I love what I do’,” he said.