Following a dash through the night at the Bahrain Grand Prix, it was Mercedes driver, Nico Rosberg who again triumphed over the rest of the grid to secure victory in the east. Following victory in Australia and Bahrain, this is one of the strongest starts to a season that Rosberg has made, securing two successive wins placing him into first place in the World Drivers’ Championship, ahead of teammate, Lewis Hamilton.
Mercedes Triumph in Bahrain
Following Rosberg to the line was Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, again finishing on the podium in Bahrain, leaving him with eight podiums at this circuit in his career, securing 18 points on this occasion. Most surprisingly however, it was Raikkonen’s team mate, Sebastian Vettel who retired from the Grand Prix in explosive fashion, with the German’s engine detonating during the formation lap after qualifying third on the grid.
Rounding up the podium was reigning world champion, Lewis Hamilton after starting from pole position. The Britain made a poor start to the race, being jumped off the line by Rosberg and being tangled in a collision in turn 1 with Valtteri Bottas, damaging Hamilton’s car and putting him well into the midfield. Despite this initial hard knock, Hamilton fought his way back through the grid to achieve a podium finishing position.
For two races in succession, it was Romain Grosjean who was again the surprise of the weekend, securing 5th place, attaining 10 points behind Daniel Ricciardo in fourth. This marks a very strong start to the debut season of Haas F1, having 18 points, placing Romain Grosjean in fifth position in the Drivers’ Championship and the team also in fifth in the Constructors’ Championship. On the other side of the garage, success has not been as evident, with Esteban Gutierrez failing to finish the second race of the 2016 season, meaning that the Mexican has failed to finish any race so far.
Following the debut of Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren Honda achieved their first points of their 2016 campaign, securing 10th place, thereby gaining one point in the standings. Despite this small victory in the McLaren garage, it was a particularly frustrating day for Jenson Button after experiencing a race ending issue in his McLaren whilst running in front of his stand in and temporary team mate. If the 2009 champion had finished the race, it was expected that he would finish in around seventh position according to McLaren boss, Eric Boullier. This is particularly disappointing to see after the strong performances of McLaren in Friday practice, with Button finishing in third place in FP2.
In terms of the driver of the day in my eyes, it is quite clear that one man is the only candidate. Romain Grosjean. After a sixth place finish in Australia and now a fifth place finish in Bahrain, one can only wonder if Grosjean can achieve greater results and gain one position in China. Not only was Grosjean’s finishing position alone astonishing, the Frenchman’s race craft was very good, bringing the challenge to Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo frequently throughout the race.
Race results from the Bahrain GP:
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 25 points
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 18 points
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 15 points
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 12 points
- Romain Grosjean, Haas, 10 points
- Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 8 points
- Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull Racing, 6 points
- Felipe Massa, Williams, 4 points
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 2 points
- Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, 1 point
- Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 0 points
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 0 points
- Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 0 points
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 0 points
- Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 0 points
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 0 points
- Rio Haryanto, Manor, 0 points
- Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, Ret
- Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, Ret
- Jenson Button, McLaren, Ret
21.Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Ret
22. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, Ret
Main Photo:
