Lewis Hamilton has won the Bahrain Grand Prix for a second time ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
In a race which was ultimately controlled by the reigning world champion, strategy was key in deciding who finished on the podium as Raikkonen opted for the soft tyre in the final stint.
Nico Rosberg came home in third, in another disappointing race for the German.
Valtteri Bottas came home a brilliant fourth ahead of Sebastian Vettel who made several rookie errors throughout the race which ultimately damaged the front-wing of his Ferrari and forced him to make an unscheduled pit-stop.
Daniel Ricciardo finished sixth ahead of Romain Grosjean, Sergio Perez and Daniil Kvyat.
Felipe Massa was forced to start from the pit-lane after he stalled his Williams on the grid, he eventually finished tenth, 3.9 seconds ahead of Alonso who finished eleventh.
Prior to the race, McLaren had announced Button’s car suffered a mechanical issue which meant the Brit was unable to start the race.
Hamilton maintained his lead of the start whilst Raikkonen overtook Rosberg for third position.
The German-made light work of Raikkonen and Vettel as he overtook them into turn one on lap four and lap eight.
Vettel made good use of the undercut as on lap 14 he once again got ahead of Rosberg. Hamilton pitted a lap later and nearly lost his lead to the Ferrari driver.
Lap 35 saw Vettel run wide at the final turn, damaging his front wing and forcing him to make an unscheduled pit-stop where he fell behind the Williams of Valtteri Bottas who he was unable to pass for the remainder of the race.
Raikkonen fitted the soft tyres for the final 17 laps as he began his pursuit of the Mercedes duo. With three laps remaining, Rosberg ran wide at turn one due to a brake issue resulting in Raikkonen gaining a place.
All was running smoothly for Hamilton up until the last lap as he suffered a brake failure however he managed the situation and secured his third victory of the season.
Pastor Maldonado and Marcus Ericsson’s races were compromised with pit-stop problems whilst both Toro Rosso’s retired due to engine related issues.
Images Courtesy of Mercedes AMG F1 Team
