Mercedes driver leads from start to finish as Kimi Raikkonen sees off Nico Rosberg in an almighty scrap to take second spot.
There were fireworks behind throughout an enthralling Bahrain Grand Prix, but as he took the chequered flag the pyrotechnics in the sky were for Lewis Hamilton. The reigning champion kept calm amid an almighty scrap for the final two podium spots, Kimi Raikkonen eventually taking second.
Hamilton extended his championship lead to 27 points over his team-mate Nico Rosberg, who drove gallantly at times but ultimately succumbed to Raikkonen to finish third. Valtteri Bottas was fourth, with Sebastian Vettel fifth, after an off-colour afternoon for the German.
Although Hamilton was largely untroubled in the lead, taking his third victory of the season, it was a captivating race behind, with some daring overtaking from Rosberg and some scintillating speed in the closing stages from Raikkonen.
The ‘Iceman’, who recently became a father, opted for a different strategy to the other leaders, taking huge chunks out of the Mercedes pair in the final 15 laps.
Hamilton was delighted to be on the top step again. “A big thank you to my team,” he said on the podium. “The Ferraris gave us a really good run for our money. Fortunately I was able to keep the car together, but we need to keep pushing as a team.”
Before the race had even begun, it was another disaster for Jenson Button. McLaren fired the car up and realised it was very likely it would suffer the same electrical problem which has prevented him doing any significant running all weekend. All he could do was watch and turn Twitter pundit.
When the lights went out, Rosberg actually had the better getaway, but positioned himself poorly on the inside. It allowed Raikkonen to sweep round and take third place. The expletive-laden celebration came from the Finn’s team boss.
Rosberg’s mistake had allowed Hamilton to ease ahead at the front. But it was not long before the German was showing exactly the kind of resilience required. Two braves lunges into turn one dispatched the Ferraris in a matter of a few laps. With his resolve questioned, it was the perfect response.
Then, not for the first time under the lights, Rosberg was outfoxed by Ferrari strategy. The Scuderia pitted Vettel a lap earlier – after 13 – allowing him to close the gap. This combined with a slow Mercedes stop gave Vettel second place.
But again, Rosberg reacted superbly. On lap 16, with Hamilton exiting the pits, narrowly in the lead, the German pulled off yet another do or die move down the inside into the tight turn one. It paid off.
Vettel managed a similar trick after the second stops, but he ran wide at the final turn, damaging his front wing. A subsequent unscheduled stop took him out of contention.
Now the main danger for Mercedes was Raikkonen. The monosyllabic Finn chose the harder tyres for his middle stint – unlike the Silver Arrows – and managed to keep pace with Hamilton, albeit 13 seconds back. The plan was to make a late stop for the quicker rubber, put in some banzai laps and overhaul the Mercedes on the road.
Raikkonen pitted on lap 40, now more than 20 seconds behind Hamilton, and began the charge. The early indications were that he may do the unthinkable. He was lapping a remarkable two seconds quicker than the front pair.
“Be aware, Kimi is a threat and will catch us before the end of the race,” Rosberg was told by his engineers. With 10 laps to go, Raikkonen trailed Rosberg by just eight seconds, and was a further five back from Hamilton. The German was clearly concerned. “Don’t tell me the gap anymore,” he said.
Hamilton began to up his pace, diffusing the threat from Raikkonen, but Rosberg was still in the Iceman’s sights. Two laps from the end, a brake failure gifted Raikkonen second.
Hamilton was not disturbed on his path to victory. Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull blew as he went across the line, but the fireworks were for the reigning champion.
Story by and photo: The Telegraph