Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton gifted 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix victory

Lewis Hamilton secured his first victory of the 2019 Formula 1 season by winning the Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton was nowhere near being the top driver throughout the Bahrain Grand Prix race weekend, the second of 21 Formula 1 race weekends on the 2019 schedule, but he ended up winning the race.

Hamilton won the 57-lap race around the 15-turn, 3.363-mile (5.412-kilometer) Bahrain International Circuit road course in Sakhir, Bahrain during a safety car period, marking the eighth race in Formula 1 history that has ended under a safety car period. This victory is the 74th victory of his Formula 1 career.

Hamilton won the race by 2.980 seconds ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas in second place, giving Mercedes two consecutive 1-2 finishes to open up the 2019 season, as Bottas won the season opener, the Australian Grand Prix, with Hamilton finishing in second.

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But what was a 1-2 finish for Mercedes very well could have been and should have been a 1-2 finish for Scuderia Ferrari, or at the very least, a 1-3 finish for the team. In a battle with Hamilton on lap 38, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel spun out before contact caused his front wing to come off, forcing him to to make another pit stop to replace his front. He rebounded to finish the race in fifth place.

Then there was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who started the race from the pole position, quickly fell back to third place behind Vettel and Bottas, respectively, but battled back a few laps later to pass Bottas for second place and then to pass Vettel for the race lead.

The 21-year-old Monegasque went on to dominate the race, and with only a handful of laps remaining, he led the race by more than 10 seconds over Hamilton. But an engine issue caused Leclerc’s pace to drop off significantly, and both Hamilton and Bottas were able to run him down and pass him with ease.

Leclerc ended up finishing in a career-high third place ahead of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen in fourth, but he likely would have finished lower, likely in fourth, had the late safety car period not taken place and ended the race.

McLaren rookie Lando Norris finished in a career-high sixth place ahead of Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen in seventh. Red Bull Racing’s Pierre Gasly, Scuderia Toro Rosso rookie Alexander Albon and SportPesa Racing Point’s Sergio Perez rounded out the top 10 by finishing in eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively.

This race featured a total of five lead changes among three drivers. Aside of Hamilton, who led only the race’s final 10 laps, two other drivers led at least one lap of the race. Those drivers were Leclerc and Vettel. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo also led the race, but he did not complete any laps as the leader. Leclerc led more laps than anybody else in the field with 41 laps led, and he scored one bonus point for recording the race’s fastest lap.

Ricciardo was one of the four drivers who ended up being forced to retire from the race. Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg was the other, and their retirements, which took place on the same lap, caused the safety car period that ultimately ended the race.

McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. and Rich Energy Haas’ Romain Grosjean were the other two drivers who were forced to retire from the race, meaning that 16 of the 20 drivers who started the race finished it. Of these 16 drivers, 11 finished it on the lead lap.

Here are the full race results of the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit.

Race Results
1st – Lewis Hamilton
2nd – Valtteri Bottas
3rd – Charles Leclerc
4th – Max Verstappen
5th – Sebastian Vettel
6th – Lando Norris
7th – Kimi Raikkonen
8th – Pierre Gasly
9th – Alexander Albon
10th – Sergio Perez
11th – Antonio Giovinazzi
12th – Daniil Kvyat
13th – Kevin Magnussen
14th – Lance Stroll
15th – George Russell
16th – Robert Kubica
17th – Nico Hulkenberg
18th – Daniel Ricciardo
19th – Carlos Sainz Jr.
20th – Romain Grosjean

The next race on the 2019 Formula 1 schedule is the season’s third race, the Chinese Grand Prix. This race is set to be broadcast live on ESPN2 from Shanghai International Circuit in Jiading, Shanghai, China beginning at 2:05 a.m. ET on Sunday, April 14.