Sebastian Vettel took his second win of the 2013 season after dominating the Bahrain Grand Prix once he passed pole sitter Nico Rosberg in the opening laps.
The Red Bull driver coasted to the checkered flag to finish nine seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen who, despite starting eighth, managed his tyre wear to cut through the field.
Romain Grosjean have Lotus a 2-3 finish and completed the all Renault-powered podium, stealing third from Paul di Resta in the closing laps.
Di Resta’s fourth equals his all-time best result.
The race began with a quick starting Fernando Alonso jumping Vettel to take second, but the German quickly claimed that place back at turn four before setting his sights on Rosberg who lacked race pace and eventually finished ninth.
Alonso’s race looked to be over after his DRS failed, forcing him to pit twice for his team to force it closed. He was unable to use the system throughout the race, but despite that, he hauled his F138 up to eighth.
The opening laps saw a myriad of overtakes, as did much of the race in fact – which the Bahrain race isn’t well known for producing – which saw a mixed up result come the final lap.
Contact between drivers was also a common theme. Jean-Eric Vergne retired with damage after colliding with Charles Pic’s Caterham, whilst Mark Webber banged wheels with Rosberg – a stewards investigation was duly announced.
As Rosberg fell back, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton began to climb the ladder after a rather quiet start to the race. He eventually finished fifth after duelling with Webber in the closing laps – the pair trading places on several occasions.
Webber also lost out to Sergio Perez on the final lap to finish sixth. His team-mate Jenson Button completed the top ten.
Felipe Massa’s endured worse luck than his team-mate in what will be a race to forget for Ferrari after the Brazilian encountered two tyre failures on his way to 14th.
Race Result – 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix:
| # | Driver | Team | Gap | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 25 | |
| 02. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | +9.1 | 18 |
| 03. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | +19.5 | 15 |
| 04 | P. di Resta | Force India | +21.7 | 12 |
| 05. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | +35.2 | 10 |
| 06. | S. Perez | McLaren | +35.9 | 8 |
| 07. | M. Webber | Red Bull | +37.2 | 6 |
| 08. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +37.5 | 4 |
| 09. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +41.1 | 2 |
| 10. | J. Button | McLaren | +46.6 | 1 |
| 11. | P. Maldonado | Williams | +66.4 | |
| 12. | N. Hulkenberg | Sauber | +72.9 | |
| 13. | A. Sutil | Force India | +76.7 | |
| 14. | F. Massa | Ferrari | +81.5 | |
| 15. | V. Bottas | Williams | +86.3 | |
| 16. | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | +1 lap | |
| 17. | C. Pic | Caterham | +1 lap | |
| 18. | E. Gutierrez | Sauber | +1 lap | |
| 19. | J. Bianchi | Marussia | +1 lap | |
| 20. | M. Chilton | Marussia | +1 lap | |
| 21. | G. van der Garde | Caterham | +2 laps | |
| 22. | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | Retired |
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