Victory for Vettel
> … as he marks 200th race in Bahrain
SEBASTIAN VETTEL marked his 200th Formula One race with a thrilling and brilliantly-judged victory for Ferrari in yesterday’s dramatic Bahrain Grand Prix.
The four-time ex champion, on severely-worn tyres, came home narrowly ahead of Valtteri Bottas and the Finn’s Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in a nail-biting finish to an intriguing contest.
French rookie Pierre Gasly took a stunning fourth place for the Hondapowered Toro Rosso team ahead of Kevin Magnussen of Haas.
It was Vettel’s second win in as many races this season, the 49th of his career and extended his lead ahead of Hamilton in the drivers’ championship to 17 points after the Englishman delivered a dazzling drive from ninth on the grid to finish only six seconds adrift.
Both have won four championships and, this season, are battling to secure an historic fifth title.
“Wow!” screamed Vettel as he crossed the line. “These tyres were done – they were done for the last 10 laps.
“I came on the radio to say everything was under control, but that was a lie! I thought Bottas would catch me and I just tried to keep it as clean as possible.”
Bottas said: “We were on the harder compound and I knew there was a chance. I tried to catch him, but it was just not enough. Extremely disappointing.”
Hamilton, who started ninth after being given a five-place penalty for a gearbox change, said he was satisfied. “I am happy,” he said. “It was damage limitation. I started ninth so third is not that bad…”
But it was not all good news for Ferrari as Vettel’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen failed to finish after colliding with a mechanic at a pit stop.
The mechanic was taken to the circuit medical centre with a suspected broken leg.
Both the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo also retired after the opening laps.
Nico Hulkenberg was sixth for Renault ahead of Fernando Alonso and his McLaren team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne.
Marcus Ericsson grabbed two points for Sauber by finishing ninth ahead of Esteban Ocon, who was 10th for Force India. – AFP 1. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari), 2. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes), 3. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes), 4. Pierre Gasly (FRA/Toro Rosso), 5. Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas), 6. Nico Huelkenberg (GER/Renault), 7. Fernando Alonso (ESP/McLaren), 8. Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL/McLaren), 9. Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber-Ferrari), 10. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Force India), 11. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Renault), 12. Sergio Perez (MEX/Force India), 13. Brendon Hartley (NZL/Toro Rosso), 14. Charles Leclerc (MON/ Sauber), 15. Romain Grosjean (FRA/ Haas), 16. Lance Stroll (CAN/Williams), 17. Sergey Sirotkin (RUS/Williams).
1. Sebastian Vettel 50 pts, 2. Lewis Hamilton 33, 3. Valtteri Bottas 22, 4. Fernando Alonso 16, 5. Kimi Raikkonen 15, 6. Nico Huelkenberg 14, 7. Pierre Gasly 12, 8. Daniel Ric- ciardo 12, 9. Kevin Magnussen 10, 10. Max Verstappen 8, 11. Stoffel Vandoorne 6, 12. Marcus Ericsson 2, 13. Carlos Sainz Jr 1, 14. Esteban Ocon 1.
1. Ferrari 65 pts, 2. Mercedes 55, 3. McLaren 22, 4. Red Bull 20, 5. Renault 15, 6. Toro Rosso 12, 7. Haas 10, 8. Sauber 2, 9. Force India 1.