Deutsche Welle (English edition)
Lewis Hamilton wins Bahrain Grand Prix
In a thrilling and tactical battle, Max Verstappen couldn't overcome Lewis Hamilton in the final laps of the race. The Briton sealed the first win of the 2021 season and his third consecutive victory in Bahrain.
A brilliant defensive performance from Lewis Hamilton saw him hold off the charge of Max Verstappen and seal top spot in the opening race of the season.
In a back-and-forth contest that ultimately turned on the teams' pit strategy, Verstappen looked set to overcome defending championHamilton in the final laps.
And with three laps to go,
Verstappen overtook Hamilton but had to allow the Briton back in front having gone off track to overtake — a controversial decision given drivers were told track limits at Turn Four were not to be
enforced during the race.
Bahrain GP Podium
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) Max Verstappen (Red Bull) Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
Bahrain GP Fastest Lap
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) — 1:32.090
Quote of the day at the Bahrain GP
"There is definitely an issue so you better f****** find it." — Max Verstappen on his early car problems.
Drive of the day at the Bahrain GP
Sergio Perez ( Red Bull) — Another season, another great performance by the Mexican. Having struggled in qualifying, Perez forced another warm-up lap and had to start from the pit lane after his car cut out during the first formation lap. Despite that, he raced his way through the field as has become his style. A fifth-placed finish was
his reward.
Best team performance at the Bahrain GP
Mercedes — Although they have long been the gold standard in the sport, they looked second best to Red Bull all weekend long. To seal top and third as a team was a testament to their performance.
Hamilton drove brilliantly to win and Bottas overcame a slow pit stop after 31 laps to seal the final podium spot and the fastest lap.
Best of the rest at the Bahrain GP
Although he finished second last, Sebastian Vettel had fun on the track and both McLarens looked fast. Off all the debutants, Yuki Tsunoda in the AlphaTauri impressed the most, claiming ninth and two points in his first race. Both Haas struggled, Mick Schumacher finished last and teammate Nikita Mazepin spun out on the opening lap. Current drivers' standings Hamilton (Mercedes) — 25 points
Verstappen (Red Bull) — 18 Bottas (Mercedes) — 16 Norris (McLaren) — 12
Perez (Red Bull) — 10
Qualifying roundup
Max Verstappen edged out champion Lewis Hamilton by 0.39 seconds on his final qualifying lap to claim a fourth career pole position and secure a strong start for his Red Bull team on Saturday.
Hamilton will start in second, with his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in third and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in fourth. With Mercedes having dominated the sport in recent years, the Red Bull car has been tipped by many observers to pose a serious threat this season, particularly with a driver as talented as Verstappen at the wheel.
But the two Germans in the field will start some way behind. Sebastian Vettel, who endured a tough season with Ferrari last time out was among the five drivers eliminated from Q1 and starts 18th for Aston Martin.
One spot back from him, Michael Schumacher's son, Mick Schumacher, starts from 19th at the track where his father won the inaugural race in 2004.
What they said
Verstappen: "We had a good week of testing. There are no guarantees but it's been great so far, really enjoyable to drive. ... The car has been steady on the short and long runs, we have a good car. We need a good, clean start."
Hamilton: "I absolutely gave it everything I had, but unfortunately it wasn't good enough. There's always more, but it was the best I could do, I got everything I could from the car."
The course
The Bahrain International Circuit is a 5,412-kilometer course that presents opportunities for overtaking, especially in the start-finish straight.
The hot weather often a significant factor in Bahrain and sand has proved a big issue on the desert track. The race has been run in the evenings since 2014.
reach a ball that looks to be running out for a goal kick and manages to squeeze a low cross to Gnabry. It's a difficult one to take for the winger and he takes an air shot at it.
28' - Flicks and tricks from Sane and Gündogan present Kimmich with a chance to shoot from just inside the box. But his low effort is blocked. The second goal is in the post though.
26' - Back to the game and Germany are looking pretty comfortable, though Neuer has just had to make a save. Havertz and Gnabry both look particularly threatening.
24' - Another T-shirt stand? Germany's players turned their T-shirts round for the prematch team photo and it was unclear why. A subsequent tweet from the team account suggests it is again related to human rights (the 30 basic human rights). Some are suggesting 30 people (players and staff) took part.
20' - Romania want a freekick just outside the box by Germany's left byline as Rüdiger sends Hagi tumbling. Nothing given but it did look like a little nudge.
19' - Woodwork!
The Romanian crossbar is still vibrating after a Kimmich strike takes a slight deflection. Germany stepping on the accelerator.
16' Goal! Romania 0 - 1 Germany (Gnabry)
Rüdiger spots Havertz' run just in time and floats a long ball to his Chelsea teammate on the right. Havertz takes a couple of touches, looks up and rolls across for Gnabry, flying in from the opposite wing, to tuck home from close range. Nicely worked, but the home side offered little resistance.
12' - Chance!
They've barely had a kick but suddenly Romania have the best chance of the game. Chiriches launches a fairly straight ball from the back that totally turns the Germany defense. Mihaila is on to it ahead of Ginter but his first touch is a little heavy and his shot skews high and wide. Best chance of the match so far though.
9' - Germany again work some space on the right, but the keeper deals with Gnabry's effort easily enough.
8' - A wild hoof from Can almost has Germany in trouble, but they clear and break quickly, finding Sane after another strong run from Havertz. But the
Bayern winger can't find space to get a shot off. At the other end, Romania have a glimmer as Keserü swings a left leg at one from outside the box on the counce. But it flies over.
5' - A loose ball breaks to Can on the edge of the box. It's set nicely for the makeshift leftback on his favored right foot and he tries to curl it towards the top corner, but it's a little too high.
2' - Havertz drives unchallenged through midfield and shifts the ball to the right. But Klostermann's cross is blocked. Germany dominating possession early on.
1' - Kick off
And we're off, Gnabry gets us underway.
-- Stand or stunt?
Our man for all things German national team, Jonathan Harding, was unimpressed by how the German football association (DFB) tried to market their players' actions after the Iceland game. Are you with him on this?
-- Unchanged side for Germany
Joachim Löw sticks with the same side that brushed off Iceland last week. Understandably so to some degree, though with the games coming thick and fast some rotation may have been expected. Danger man Ianis Hagi starts for Romania, who are captained by former Spurs and Napoli defender Vlad Chiriches.
-- Löw on opponents
Germany coach Joachim Löw won't be around for the Qatar World Cup but he did say in his press conference that a boycott would be misguided. He also spoke about Sunday's opponents, who he believes will ask questions of Germany's shaky defense.
"The Romanians are a different team than Iceland," he said. "They are much more offensive than the Icelanders. We will be presented with many challenges. "
-- Gündogan in the goals
Ilkay Gündogan managed 16 goals in seven seasons in the Bundesliga but has already managed more than that in the current campaign. He carried his goalscoring form from Manchester Cityin to the national team last week, can he repeat the dose tonight?
-- Kimmich on Qatar
Germany's decision to follow Norway's lead in wearing Tshirts highlighting their desire for greater scrutiny of the human rights situation in Qatar has captured headlines worldwide, with the Netherlands following suit on Saturday.
But, speaking in a pre-match press conference, Joshua Kimmich said he felt the discussion should have been had much earlier.
"I think we're 10 years too late to boycott the World Cup," the Bayern Munich midfielder said. "It wasn't allocated this year, but a couple of years ago. One should have thought about boycotting back then.
"Now we need to take the opportunity and use our publicity to raise awareness about things. But it's not just down to us footballers ... we should work together."
-- Germany look for 18 in a row
Hello and welcome to DW's live coverage of Germany's second qualifier for World Cup 2022. Germany impressed against Iceland on Thursday and are expected to record an 18th consecutive World Cup qualifying win against a side ranked 37th in the world.
Romania let a two goal lead slip against North Macedonia in their Group J opener before an 85th-minute strike from Ianis Hagi, son of Romanian icon Gheorghe Hagi, secured all three points.