Vettel holds off late Hamilton charge to win Bahrain GP

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel held off a tremendous late charge from Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton to win the Bahrain Grand Prix yesterday and take the overall lead in the Formula 1 title race.

Hamilton was catching the German on every lap but ultimately ran out of time and finished almost seven seconds behind.

‘‘The car was really amazing to drive,’’ Vettel said. ‘‘Lewis was a threat towards the end and with the traffic you never know.’’

Vettel and Hamilton were level with a win each heading into this race, but Vettel’s second victory of the season and 44th of his career puts him in command.

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas finished third after starting from pole position for the first time in his career. It was his 11th podium. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was fourth. Bottas made a clean start but Hamilton was beaten for pace by Vettel, who overtook him heading into the first corner.

Hamilton’s hopes were also hit when the British driver was given a five-second time penalty early into the race for driving too slowly in the pit lane and holding up Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, who was fifth.

‘‘The pit lane was really my fault so apologies to my team for losing time there,’’ Hamilton said. ‘‘Ferrari did a great job today.’’

There is strong mutual respect between three-time F1 champion Hamilton and four-time champion Vettel, and Hamilton gave him a warm handshake after the race.

Vettel completed the 57 laps of the 5.4km track in 1h 33min 53ses, for his third win in Bahrain after success with Red Bull in 2012 and 2013.

‘‘The last half of the [final] lap, with the fireworks ... I love what I do,’’ Vettel said on the podium.

Bottas got away cleanly but crucially Hamilton was beaten for pace by Vettel, while Max Verstappen rocketed up from sixth to fourth after passing Raikkonen and Ricciardo.

With Bottas losing power in his rear tires, Vettel sensed it was the right time to pit for new tires on lap 11.

Verstappen asked his team to match that strategy and he came in on the next lap.

But moments later, the Dutchman’s brakes failed and he drifted across the track and into the wall, his race over. The 19-yearold Verstappen, who had driven so well from 16th place on the grid to finish third in China last weekend, climbed out and kicked the barriers in frustration.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso retired one lap from the end, making it a third straight race without a point for McLaren. His teammate Stoffel Vandoorne did not even start because of an engine failure.