Sebastian Vettel regained the top spot in the Formula One Championship after he beat Lewis Hamilton to win the Bahrain GP on Sunday. Vettel dominated proceedings as he beat Hamilton with ease. However, the Mercedes driver was also hit by a penalty for gamesmanship. Hamilton was penalised five seconds for driving slowly on pit entry to hold up Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.
Serving it at his second and final pit stop, Hamilton rejoined in third place. Teammate Valtteri Bottas, who came in third, was ordered to let Hamilton pass so he could chase Vettel, but 12 seconds in nine laps was near impossible.
Bottas began on pole position, a first of his career, was outclassed Hamilton and Vettel with his car seem to be lacking speed. Vettel’s win gives him a seven-point lead over Hamilton in the championship.
Vettel said, “It was a really great day. It was the last half of the out lap when all the fireworks were going off I was like: ‘I love what I do’. It was a great team effort today and I felt like we are quick. I tried to put Valtteri under pressure. But the early pit stop worked.”
Hamilton on the other hand apologized for his mistake. “Congratulations to Seb. The pitlane was my fault and apologies to the team. I tried my hardest to catch up. We will push hard together, keep fighting. Losing points for the team is definitely painful but it is what it is. I am getting old!” said the Brit.
The Ferrari team principal, Maurizio Arrivabene, was ecstatic after the hard fought win. “What is good is that the team demonstrated braveness, determination and a bit of craziness,” Arrivabene said. “These three qualities have been in the DNA of Ferrari for 70 years.” Even Ferrari president, Sergio Marchionne backed the team and said that they are going to fight it out till the end. “We are now completely confident that our victory in Melbourne wasn’t just a one-off,” he said. “And that we will be at the forefront of this world championship until the last.”
Toto Wolff, Mercedes team executive director said, “Today reminded us once again that we are in a very different competitive situation this year, racing against Ferrari. We need to get everything right in order to deliver.” Drivers have a two-week break before the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi on 28-30 April. Hamilton has won twice there. Vettel, however, crashed last year after being hit twice by Daniil Kvyat.
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