BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
Mercedes Dominate
Lewis Hamilton led home a 1-2 for Mercedes in the third grand prix of the season. The Bahrain race, held for the first time at night, was one of the best to watch in recent years.
The Mercedes drivers had been closely matched all weekend; Nico Rosberg took pole position, but it was Hamilton who took the lead off the line and into the first corner. On lap 18, Rosberg dived down the inside of Hamilton into turn 1, but the Briton was able to take a wide line and cutback to retake the lead. The following lap, Rosberg tried again and this time was successful in holding the lead; however, Hamilton tucked into the slipstream and was able to repass the German into turn 4.
The first round of pitstops brought a temporary end to the Mercedes in-team battle, with Rosberg electing to go on the Prime tyre, while Hamilton was able to use the faster Option tyre to eke out a 10 second lead over his teammate.
On lap 41, Maldonado t-boned Gutierrez, flipping the Sauber, resulting in the safety car being deployed. Both Mercedes made their second pit stops and the stage was set for a thrilling showdown, with Hamilton in the lead but on the slower tyre and with 11 laps left.
What followed was some truly amazing wheel to wheel racing, with Rosberg repeatedly attempting to pass but Hamilton using excellent defensive driving to stay in front and hold on for his 24th career win.
When asked how difficult it was to defend from Rosberg, Hamilton said “It was incredibly tough... one of the toughest situations I’ve been in for a long time. The Option tyre for us we believe is worth six-and-a-half tenths. To hold that behind, to keep him out of my slipstream and the DRS was very, very hard. To be pushing flat out for ten laps... it was an exceptional race.”
Rosberg said of the battle: “I thought I’d got him about nine times, but they didn’t work. He always got the run back on me.”
This was the first time this season Mercedes has shown their true pace advantage. After the safety car, the two Mercedes pulled away from the field by over two and a half seconds per lap, and this was despite Hamilton being on the slower tyre and both cars being slowed by battling each other. This would greatly dwarf the pace advantage Red Bull has had in recent years and even Schumacher’s most dominant year in 2002. Even at this early stage of the season, it is easy to say that both World Championships are Mercedes’ to lose.
Force India best of the rest
Sergio Pérez managed to hold off a charging Daniel Ricciardo to take the final spot on the podium. Hülkenburg took 5th place, and Vettel 6th. The Williams cars placed 7th and 8th after struggling with tyre degradation.
The Ferrari drivers rounded out the points paying positions, a result which displeased Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo, who left the track before the race even finished, and it proved to be the last race in charge for team principal Stefano Domenicali.
Both McLaren drivers retired with clutch problems.
By By Nathan Idoine