For the second time in 2017, Ferrari conquered the silver arrows of Mercedes to head to victory lane, with Sebastian Vettel winning the Bahrain Grand Prix.
If the opening two race of the 2017 Formula One world championship have told us anything, it is that this year’s battle for the top is the closest in a long time. The silver arrows of Mercedes have finally met their match in the red dragons of Ferrari, and another battle between the two powerful teams shaped up in Bahrain.
Mercedes drew first blood in the fight, locking out the front row of the grid with Valtteri Bottas on pole on Saturday. But drama began further back on the grid as the cars rolled out on Sunday when McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne would not start the race due to engine trouble. This would eventually lead to yet another DNF for the Honda-powered team, as Fernando Alonso lost power near the end of the event.
The beginning of the Bahrain Grand Prix saw flying moves for position as Bottas got out front, while Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari passed Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes for second. Eventual pit strategy would see Vettel pit before the Mercedes duo, later taking advantage of a safety car period to take the lead. The incident involving a collision between Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lance Stroll is under investigation.
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Drama then built following pit stops under yellow, as Lewis Hamilton would receive a five-second penalty for intentionally slowing Daniel Ricciardo on the pit lane. That forced a change in strategy for Mercedes, and a switch from defense to offense. Hamilton would wait longer to make his final pit stop in hopes of catching Vettel on newer soft tires. And for a while, the plan appeared to be working.
In the end, Hamilton was unable to catch the speedy red dragon, with Sebastian Vettel taking his second win of 2017 and 44th of his career at Bahrain on Sunday. It was Vettel’s third Bahrain GP victory, tied now with Fernando Alonso for the most all-time.
Here are the full results from the Bahrain Grand Prix from the Sakhir Circuit:
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Scuderia Ferrari
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Mercedes AMG Petronas
- Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, Mercedes AMG Petronas
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Scuderia Ferrari
- Daniel Ricciardo, Tag Heuer, Red Bull Racing
- Felipe Massa, Mercedes, Williams Martini Racing
- Sergio Perez, Mercedes, Force India
- Romain Grosjean, Ferrari, Haas F1
- Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, Renault Sport
- Esteban Ocon, Mercedes, Force India
- Pascal Wehrlein, Ferrari, Sauber
- Daniil Kvyat, Renault, Scuderia Toro Rosso
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, Renault Sport
- Fernando Alonso, Honda, McLaren
- Marcus Ericsson, Ferrari, Sauber
- Carlos Sainz Jr., Renault, Scuderia Toro Rosso
- Lance Stroll, Mercedes, Williams Martini Racing
- Max Verstappen, Tag Heuer, Red Bull Racing
- Kevin Magnussen, Ferrari, Haas F1
- Stoffel Vandoorne, Honda, McLaren
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Next up for the best open wheel drivers in the world will be racing from a former Olympic host venue. Catch the Russian Grand Prix from the streets of Sochi on Sunday, April 30 live on NBCSN.