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Nico Rosberg wins Bahrain Grand Prix

Rosberg extends F1 points lead with Bahrain Grand Prix victory
3 min read3 Apr '16
Staff WriterStaff Writer
2K+ views
Nico Rosberg extended his Formula 1 championship lead with victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix as Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton recovered from a first-lap collision to finish third.
 
Rosberg made the most of polesitter Hamilton's slow getaway to lead into the first corner and then was relatively comfortable at the front, finishing 10.2 seconds clear of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen under the lights at Sakhir.
 
Hamilton bogged down at the start but was second into Turn 1 before the Mercedes driver was T-boned by Valtteri Bottas, dropping him to ninth.
 
The reigning world champion suffered front wing damage but was able to continue, carving his way back through the field to rescue third and remain within 17 points of title rival Rosberg.
 
Raikkonen also recovered from a poor getaway but didn't quite have enough pace to seriously challenge Rosberg for the lead in the closing stages.
 
Meanwhile, his team-mate Sebastian Vettel did not even make the start after suffering an engine failure on the formation lap.
 
Romain Grosjean continued Haas's brilliant start to the season with a superb fifth, having done three stints on the super-soft tyres, one place behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.
 
Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen bolted on a set of super-soft tyres late and surged past Felipe Massa to take sixth, with Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat also passing the Brazilian on the penultimate lap to take seventh.
 
Massa ran second early on after an impressive start, but dropped down the field as Williams opted for a two-stop strategy with two stints on the medium and he ended up eighth.
 
Bottas, who had a drive-through penalty for causing a collision with Hamilton at the start, was ninth while McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne, standing in for the injured Fernando Alonso, scored a point on his F1 debut with 10th.
 
Kevin Magnussen was 11th, ahead of Sauber's Marcus Ericsson, who had a feisty battle with team-mate Felipe Nasr, with the two making contact in the early stages.
 
The Swede came out on top and ended up 12th, with Nasr finishing down in 14th and complaining on team radio that the car "is terrible to drive".
 
Pascal Wehrlein finished an impressive 13th for Manor with the Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg 15th and 16th respectively.
 
Carlos Sainz Jr looked well-placed when the highest runner on the softs early on, but he picked up a puncture when he was clipped by Perez and later retired.
 
While Grosjean scored points for the second successive race, there was heartache for Haas team-mate Esteban Gutierrez who was running in the points one place behind Grosjean before pulling into the pits and retiring the car.
 
Jenson Button retired with an ERS problem while Renault's Jolyon Palmer pulled into the pits at the end of the formation lap with a hydraulics issue.
 
RESULTS - 57 LAPS
 
Nico RosbergMercedes1h33m34.696s
2
Kimi RaikkonenFerrari10.282s
3
Lewis HamiltonMercedes23h26m25.s
4
Daniel RicciardoRed Bull/TAG Heuer23h26m25.s
5
Romain GrosjeanHaas/Ferrari23h26m25.s
6
Max VerstappenToro Rosso/Ferrari23h26m25.s
7
Daniil KvyatRed Bull/TAG Heuer1 Lap
8
Felipe MassaWilliams/Mercedes1 Lap
9
Valtteri BottasWilliams/Mercedes1 Lap
10
Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren/Honda1 Lap
11
Kevin MagnussenRenault1 Lap
12
Marcus EricssonSauber/Ferrari1 Lap
13
Pascal WehrleinManor/Mercedes1 Lap
14
Felipe NasrSauber/Ferrari1 Lap
15
Nico HulkenbergForce India/Mercedes1 Lap
16
Sergio PerezForce India/Mercedes1 Lap
17
Rio HaryantoManor/Mercedes1 Lap
-
Carlos SainzToro Rosso/FerrariRetirement
-
Esteban GutierrezHaas/FerrariRetirement
-
Jenson ButtonMcLaren/HondaRetirement
-
Sebastian VettelFerrariNot started
-
Jolyon PalmerRenaultNot started

DRIVERS' STANDINGS

Nico Rosberg50
2
Lewis Hamilton33
3
Daniel Ricciardo24
4
Kimi Raikkonen18
5
Romain Grosjean18
6
Sebastian Vettel15
7
Felipe Massa14
8
Max Verstappen9
9
Nico Hulkenberg6
10
Daniil Kvyat6
11
Valtteri Bottas6
12
Carlos Sainz2
13
Stoffel Vandoorne1
14
Kevin Magnussen0
15
Jolyon Palmer0
16
Marcus Ericsson0
17
Sergio Perez0
17
Pascal Wehrlein0
19
Felipe Nasr0
20
Jenson Button0
21
Rio Haryanto0

CONSTRUCTORS' STANDINGS

Mercedes83
2
Ferrari33
3
Red Bull/TAG Heuer30
4
Williams/Mercedes20
5
Haas/Ferrari18
6
Toro Rosso/Ferrari11
7
Force India/Mercedes6
8
McLaren/Honda1
9
Renault0
10
Sauber/Ferrari0
11
Manor/Mercedes0

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