Sebastian Vettel celebrated his 200th Formula 1 race in style, nursing a pair of soft tyres on a bold one-stop strategy to claim a narrow victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver had started from pole and led the early portion of the race, but stopped for tyres before his closest rival, Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas. The Finn showed strong pace on harder compound tyres after his planned sole stop and, in response, Ferrari opted not to pit Vettel again.
Bottas reeled in Vettel as the German’s tyres began to fade but was unable to close in quite enough, allowing Vettel to claim his second win of the season to build his points lead.
“I came on the radio with 10 laps to go and said: ‘I have everything under control,’” said Vettel, after the win. “That was a lie. When they told me the pace of Valtteri at that time, there was no way I thought I could do that.
“I tried to make the tyres last, nurse them as much as I can, and it worked. But just.”
It was arguably the second race in a row that Mercedes could - perhaps should - have won, had Bottas been able to close slightly faster.
Here’s what else we learned from the Bahrain Grand Prix:
Ferrari mechanic injured
Ferrari’s race didn’t entirely go to plan. Francesco Cigarini, one of its pit crew, suffered a broken leg after being struck by Kimi Räikkönen’s car when the Finn was mistakenly told to leave his pit box early.
Cigarini underwent surgery on Sunday evening. He posted on Instagram that the operation went well.
Räikkönen was forced to retire due to the incident and Ferrari was fined for an unsafe release penalty.
Hamilton limits the damage
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Emporer's new clothes
Cooler climates.........
I wonder if cooler temps in Europe will suit the Ferrari team better....?
We actually sat and watched
We actually sat and watched some of the F1 race on Channel 4 for the first time since it left the BBC (how long ago was that???) and in all honesty, the bit we saw led me to a few conclusions (it was between lap 42 and 49 - got bored and switched to the BTCC)
1) It still strikes me as a procession, not a race - no real "drama" towards the end
2) What have they done with the cars? I know they were developing new aero, engines etc, but the current look with the big fin running along it's spine and the halo at the front, make sit look like it was designed by Billy age 7 from Cheltenham in a competition.
3) Did i mention it was dull?
After switching to ITV4 for the BTCC, the ensuing 20 odd laps were proper nose to tail racing. Sorry F1, but i doubt i wil be watching again....