Vettel holds on for Bahrain victory ahead of Mercedes

Sebastian Vettel pulled off an improbable one-stop strategy to take a spectacular Bahrain Grand Prix victory from Valtteri Bottas. Vettel was forced to nurse soft tyres long beyond their expected lifetime, but was able to hold off a last-lap surge from the Mercedes.

• Red Bull suffer early double DNF
• Raikkonen out after running over mechanic

Vettel drove for 39 laps on soft tyres designed to only run around 30 tours after Mercedes' strategy, and Kimi Raikkonen's retirement looked to have left the German helpless.

Forced into a disadvantageous one-stop run, Vettel made his way through traffic impressively, although Bottas' inability to make a pass stick in time will raise questions over his long-term future at Mercedes.

However, Vettel was able to nurse his tyres to the end and Bottas could not outperform him on more durable medium rubber in the closing stages.

Victory was the perfect way for Vettel to cap his 200th Formula 1 race start.

Lewis Hamilton took third place after starting in ninth, but the reigning champion spent much of his race bickering with his team over strategies, while Ferrari were scrambling to cover the Silver Arrows.

After a tense affair with little action in Australia, this race was far more thrilling, with Hamilton and Max Verstappen making contact at turn one on the second lap, the Red Bull sustaining damage which would ultimately force his retirement after Daniel Ricciardo had come to a halt after just one lap.

Raikkonen also retired in shocking scenes, running over a mechanic as he was released from his pit-box without having a wheel replaced. The mechanic was taken to hospital.

However, Ferrari were left celebrating regardless as Vettel somehow managed to hold on and start his season with a second-straight victory, despite admitting his tyres were "done" as he crossed the line.

With half of the front-running teams out, Pierre Gasly took an exceptional fourth place for Toro Rosso, with Marcus Ericsson also a surprise points-scorer in the Sauber.

200 GPs, winning #Seb5 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/0kMyJOdcmw — Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 8, 2018

TOP 10

1. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 1:32:01.9840
2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) + 0.699 seconds
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) + 6.512secs
4. Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso) + 62.234secs
5. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) + 75.046secs
6. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) + 99.024secs
7. Fernando Alonso (McLaren) +1 LAP
8. Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren) +1 LAP
9. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) +1 LAP
10. Esteban Ocon (Force India) +1 LAP

GOOD DAY

Gasly backed up an excellent Saturday with a supreme Sunday, staying out of any early danger and then maintaining his spot as the best of the rest behind Ferrari and Mercedes. After a difficult race in Australia for Toro Rosso and Honda, this is a result that will delight those in Faenza and Tokyo alike - especially with McLaren only managing seventh and eighth.

BAD DAY

A double DNF inside six laps. There haven't been many worse days in F1 for a while than Red Bull's here!

Ummm what?! ???? Safe to say that wasn't in our script... — Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) April 8, 2018

WHAT DID WE LEARN?

• Bottas will need to pull out some special performances in the next few races to convince Mercedes don't need to look elsewhere. With one lap to get the job done on Vettel, he opted against going aggressive. It could cost him.
• The Ferrari is definitely just as fast as the Mercedes now, though. As much as Bottas let it go, Vettel was able to cling onto the win and he will be a big title favourite now after taking maximum points from two races.
• Fernando Alonso is still right about McLaren! They secured another double points finish despite failing to reach Q3. If they can solve Saturdays, they could be in serious business.