And here’s our report – that all from me. Thanks for reading!
The bottom 10:
11 Raikkonen
12 Giovinazzi
13 Ocon
14 Russell
15 Vettel
16 Schumacher
17 Gasly
18 Latifi
19 Alonso
20 Mazepin
“Disappointing for sure,” mopes third-placed Valtteri Bottas, whose chances were scotched by a 10-second pitstop. Alas.
Max Verstappen, through gritted teeth: “I can see the positives, we’re really putting the fight on them. We scored good points.”
Lewis Hamilton speaks: “What a difficult race that was. Pitting early we knew would be difficult, it was going to take something really special. I just managed to hold him off - it was one of the hardest races I’ve had for a while.”
The final top 10:
1 Hamilton
2 Verstappen
3 Bottas
4 Norris
5 Perez
6 Leclerc
7 Ricciardo
8 Sainz
9 Tsunoda
10 Stroll
It sounds as if Red Bull’s decision to give up first place was an instruction from race control
Lewis Hamilton wins the Bahrain GP
And after a hugely intense final lap, Hamilton keeps his elbows out to hold first place until the finish line. But what a strange moment that was when Verstappen overtook Hamilton before letting him back through. Red Bull clearly thought he had it in him to do it again, but is wasn’t to be.
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Lap 56: Verstappen isn’t close enough to overtake on turn one, and Hamilton keep his nose ahead through the second DRS zone. This is his to lose now…
Lap 55: So after that remarkable pieces of sportsmanship, Verstappen has one more chance to win this Grand Prix.
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Lap 54: But the Dutchman took the position off the race track! So he pulls over and lets Hamilton back through, so it’s back as we were. Three laps to go and Hamilton still leads - and Verstappen declines to attack on turn one. The gap is 0.6seccs.
Lap 53: Verstappen makes his move on the outside on turn one, no joy. But he goes again on the next turn and, after some wheel-to-wheel duelling, he races past his rival into first. He just had the grip on Hamilton.
Lap 52: Verstappen looms in Hamilton’s rearview. Hamilton’s grip looks shaky. No DRS yet for the Dutchman. Perez picks off Leclerc for fifth.
Lap 51: Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo needs lapping by the two leaders – the gap between them 1.4secs, 1.3secs… Hamilton goes wide on turn 10 and that’s a needless mistake. Just 1sec now!
That’s the real quiz:
Another all-time record has been broken by @LewisHamilton 👀
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 28, 2021
He's now led for more laps in his career than any other driver in F1 history 👏#BahrainGP 🇧🇭 #F1 pic.twitter.com/G99rP6RIz4
Lap 49: The Ocon-Vettel episode has slowed Verstappen’s ascent, he’s has to clear back markers, but he’s whittled Hamilton’s lead to 2.4secs.
Lap 48: Verstappen has reeled Hamilton into within 2.9secs. He should be level with five laps to go – but needs to make sure his tyres are ready for the big attack.
Lap 47: The top 10: Hamilton, Verstappen, Bottas, Norris, Leclerc, Perez, Ricciardo, Sainz, Stroll, Tsunoda.
Lap 46: Perez roars past Ricciardo’s McLaren for sixth. “Front wing damage. Why did you have to change line? I lock up, he changes line?” moans Vettel.
Lap 45: Perez has seen off Ricciardo with DRS. Ocon and Vettel have collided! Vettel hits the Frenchman – poor from him. Both get going again, but that’s their races demolished. Meanwhile Hamilton completes his best lap. Eleven laps to go and 4secs the gap.
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Lap 43: Bottas is still third, Norris fourth, and Perez is eyeing Ricciardo in sixth. Russell heads into the pits for new tyres. Verstappen completes the fastest middle sector of the GP – 4.7secs is the gap.
Lap 42: Verstappen is screaming round the course on his new tyres, making that 10-lap prediction look conservative. Hamilton’s hards have done 12 laps already – he’s in trouble.
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Lap 41: “Verstappen forecast to catch us in about 10 laps,” Hamilton is told. There’s 15 to go.
Lap 39: Verstappen pits from leads – mediums off, hards on – and emerges less than 2secs later just behind Hamilton. The gap is eight seconds: game on.
Lap 38: Sainz pits to switch to the hard compound tyres and returns in ninth. Perez goes from hards to mediums, coming out behind Norris, Leclerc and Ricciardo, and just ahead of Stroll.
Lap 37: Raikonnen has snuck into the top 10, knocking out Tsunoda and Vettel. A point in his 20th year in F1?
Lap 35: “If my pace is good, just keep me out,” bellows Verstappen. Bottas is in third, a nose ahead of Perez.
Lap 34: Mercedes tell Hamilton to put his foot down. “If I do that I’m not going to make it to the end,” comes the reply. This is real neck and neck stuff between him and Verstappen, who is 17secs ahead but will probably have to stop again. Hamilton might not.
Lap 33: Alonso’s race is over. His rear brakes seem to have given up, and that’s him finished. Welcome back to F1 Fernando!
Lap 32: Ricciardo is is overtaken by Perez for sixth. Verstappen with his type advantage now looks the favourite, with Hamilton 18secs behind after his second stop and 24 laps to go.
Lap 31: Bottas pits and it’s a horrible stop. The front right tyre won’t come off … and he come out 10 seconds later in fifth. That’s him out of the running up top.
Lap 29: Hamilton tells Mercedes: “I could have kept going a little bit longer I think.” Mercedes to Bottas: “Lewis is in the pits, Verstappen could have undercut him, so we are going long.”
Lap 28: So Hamilton re-emerges in third, with Verstappen back in the lead and Bottas, set to shadow the Dutchman’s strategy, in second. Alonso reports an issue with deployment over his radio.
Lap 27: And Hamilton pits. It’s all done in a tidy 2.2secs, and that a new set of hard types. What will Red Bull do?
Lap 26: Verstappen steps on the gas – or perhaps Hamilton takes his foot off it – and suddenly the gap is a mere 2secs. “I can’t go any quicker!” says Hamilton.
Lap 25: Tsunoda has raced ahead of Vettel and now sits in 12th, and sensing the whiff of a debut point.
Updated
Lap 25: The gap at the front has steadied at about 3.8secs. But Verstappen will have to stop again and Hamilton has already done 11 laps on his tyres… Watch this space.
Lap 24: Raikonnen overtakes Alonso, who has hit a rut after a great early start. He’s back down in 11th now, but remains ahead of his teammate Ocon in 14th. The top 10: Hamilton, Verstappen, Bottas, Norris, Leclerc, Ricciardo, Stroll, Sainz, Perez, Raikonnen.
Lap 22: Verstappen continues to close in, making up a second a lap on Hamilton. The gap is now under four seconds.
Lap 21: A great scrap as Sainz gains two places, leaving Vettel ninth and Alonso 10th.
Lap 20: Verstappen is making a game of it and eating into Hamilton’s lead, a second faster in that last lap. Sergio Perez is back in the pits, change on to the hards.
Lap 18: Lewis Hamilton leads the Bahrain Grand Prix, and it’s a lead of nearly 7secs. Verstappen is on fresher medium tyres but Mercedes look to have the upper hand hand. Meanwhile Bottas is pressuring Perez for second … and makes it.
Updated
Lap 17: “The wind is making it super hard for me now,” gripes Verstappen. Bottas, six seconds behind Verstappen, heads into the pits, and is followed the next lap by the leader. New mediums. So that’s a two-stop strategy.
Lap 16: Sainz pits. He has been undercut and comes out behind Stroll and Alonso. Hamilton completes the fastest lap of the race - 2.9secs quicker than the leader.
Lap 14: Hamilton is 1.4s faster than Verstappen in the middle sector. So he is the net leader here, and Verstappen stays out on track, playing the long game. We have ourselves a chess game.
Lap 13: Stroll and Giovinazzi also pit. Alonso comes out and overtakes Stroll. Hamilton pits and, 2.9 seconds later, steams away in a new set of hard tyres.
Lap 12: Norris and Leclerc follow Alonso’s lead and head into the pits. Sergio Perez has crept into 12th behind Kimi Raikkonen.
Lap 11: Alonso pits. A gaggle of McLaren towards the front. Top 10: Verstappen, Hamilton, Bottas, Norris, Leclerc, Ricciardo, Alonso, Stroll, Sainz, Giovinazzi
Lap 10: Alonso continues inching forward, slowly but surely. He is now seventh. Ten seconds separates the top six.
Lap 9: Norris goes again and this time makes it – he’s in fourth. Mick Schumacher is struggling in 18th after his early spin, ahead of only Gasly. A tough race for the debutants.
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Lap 8: Norris attacks Leclerc again round the outside but the Ferrari holds him off – just. The Briton remains in fifth.
Lap 8: “There is definitely something wrong. You better find it” – Verstappen to his team (clean version). He leads Hamilton by a second and a half.
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Lap 7: Bottas overtakes Leclerc in third while Alonso is flying on his soft tyres and closely eyeing Ricciardo in sixth.
Lap 6: Gasly’s front wing has gone. The virtual safety car comes and goes. A wobble from Schumacher, who spins and recovers, Verstappen still leads.
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Lap 4: Vettel’s good start has taken him from 19th to 14th, and the safety car departs us. And Hamilton and Verstappen go neck and neck but the Mercedes driver cant quite get ahead. Norris steams past Gasly round the outside on turn four and goes for Bottas! He doesn’t quite make it but that’s brilliant aggression.
Lap 3: Sergio Perez has come into the pits for a very early change of tyres
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Lap 3: Mazepin lost it on his own, his rear grip failing him after turn two, and that’s a grim start to his F1 career. “I feel something weird on the throttle on the low speed corners,” shouts Verstappen into his radio. His team promise to look into it.
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Lap 1: Verstappen holds first place after the first turn. And immediate drama as Nikita Mazepin spins his Haas is into the wall, his F1 debut over before it has begun – thankfully he is fine. And the safety car is deployed with Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc overtakes Bottas for third, followed by Gasly, Norris and then Ricciardo.
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Lap 1: Verstappen steamed around the formation lap making sure his rear tyres had felt some proper heat … and nearly a disaster for Sergio Perez, who stopped by the side of the track during the formation lap. So the drivers go round again while he revives his car, which he does successfully, and will start from the pit lane. No idea what the issue was there, but not a great omen for a driver whose energy store had been changed pre-race. The race will be a lap shorter. And at last, after a bizarrely delayed start, the most keenly anticipated F1 season for a decade is upon us.
The tyre warmers are off, and the formation lap is underway.
The behelmeted drivers are now all behind their wheels and ready to go. Not long now…
Want race strategies?
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) March 28, 2021
🔮🏁🏆#BahrainGP #Fit4F1 pic.twitter.com/zqJbmWVOR7
“It’s going to be a really tough race today,” says Hamilton. “The Red Bulls have done an amazing job. But we’re in a position to give them a hard time today I think.”
All drivers gather on the grid for a We Race As One messages. Some take the knee. Some, er, don’t.
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Sergio Perez’s Red Bull underwent a precautionary change of energy store earlier, but apparently it’s nothing to worry about. “Hopefully he can have a good debut race for Red Bull this afternoon,” says Christian Horner, who expects Mercedes to “throw the kitchen sink at it”. Perez starts in 11th.
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How they line up:
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri)
6. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
7. Lando Norris (McLaren)
8. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
9. Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
11. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
12. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
13. Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri)
14. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo)
15. George Russell (Williams)
16. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
17. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
18. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
19. Mick Schumacher (Haas)
20. Nikita Mazepin (Haas)
And another familiar name enters the fray today: Mick Schumacher, son of Michael, will take to the track for the Haas team as the most-scrutinised rookie F1 has seen for decades. As this interview shows, he talks a good game:
Fernando Alonso makes his F1 return today after two years away. “I have to get better myself first of all because even today it was like the very first time on these gritty tyres and gritty qualifying session,” he said yesterday. “It’s going to be the first time doing a formation lap, the traffic lights, the first corner action. It seems like simple things for a racing driver but after two years it’s going to feel again like new for me.”
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And here’s our report from yesterday’s qualifying, when Max Verstappen hinted at a very exciting season indeed:
And on that possible swansong – here’s Giles Richards’ piece on a big season for Lewis Hamilton:
Preamble
Rampant domination is all well and good, but sport is always best when there’s a healthy dose of stiff and bloodthirsty competition. Which is why the history of Formula One is, at heart, a history of rivalries: Senna and Prost, Hunt and Lauda, Hill and Schumacher.
Verstappen and Hamilton is unlikely to join that list of all-timers but, for now, a rivalry of any sort would be very welcome. And, with the new season upon us, the early signs are good. Lewis Hamilton has had a nice run of rampant domination. But now, all being well, he might just be in for a year of bloodthirsty competition.
All the talk before yesterday’s qualifying was that Max Verstappen and Red Bull could this season give Mercedes their toughest test since 2014 – talk that was vindicated by Verstappen’s superb pole, steaming in four-tenths of a second ahead of Hamilton. Whether him and Red Bull can make good on that early promise over the course of the season remains to be seen. But a win in Bahrain today would lay down an early marker that says Hamilton’s swansong – if that’s what this campaign proves – will be anything but a walk in the park.
Buckle up! Race starts at 4pm BST.
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