2018 Bahrain Grand Prix

The 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the Formula 1 2018 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix (2018 سباق جائزة البحرين in Arabic), was the second round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir on 8 April 2018. The race was the fourteenth Bahrain Grand Prix to be staged as part of the World Championship.
In qualifying, Sebastian Vettel went fastest last-minute to secure his fifty-first pole position ahead of his teammate Kimi Räikkönen, who scored his first front row start at the circuit. Valtteri Bottas qualified in third, whilst his teammate Lewis Hamilton was demoted from fourth to ninth on the grid with a five-place grid penalty as the result of changing his gearbox without reaching the minimum of using the same gearbox in six consecutive races.
In the race, Bottas overtook Räikkönen at the start whilst Vettel soared into the lead. Following the pit stops, Vettel kept his lead and was able to hold off Bottas in the final stages despite running on older, softer tyres, taking victory and his second consecutive win of the season. Hamilton, meanwhile, made his way through the midfield after he slightly fell behind at the start, while the retirements of Räikkönen, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen promoted him to third, completing the podium.
==Background==
The Bahrain Grand Prix would play host to the second round of the 2018 F1 season, swapping places with the Chinese Grand Prix on the final version of the 2018 calendar.Adam Cooper, '2018 Formula 1 calendar revised as Chinese and Bahrain GPs swap', autosport.com, (Motorsport Network, 29/09/2017), https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/132087/2018-formula-1-calendar-revised, (Accessed 04/04/2018) Otherwise, the event would take place as it had since 2011, with the Bahrain International Circuit remaining unchanged ahead of its fourteenth Grand Prix. Indeed, the race weekend would include a familiar support programme, including the opening round of the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship, as well as the final meeting of the Porsche GT3 Cup Middle East.'FORMULA 2 SET FOR ENTHRALLING OPENING ROUND AT NEXT WEEKEND’S BAHRAIN GP', bahraingp.com, (Bahrain International Circuit, 29/03/2018), https://www.bahraingp.com/formula-2-set-for-enthralling-opening-round-at-next-weekend-s-bahrain-gp.html, (Accessed 04/04/2018)
In terms of the entry list, there would be no changes after the Australian Grand Prix, meaning attention was instead focused on the tyre choices made by each driver.'TOP THREE MAKE SIMILAR TYRE CHOICES FOR BAHRAIN', grandprix247.com, (Grand Prix 247, 28/03/2018), https://www.grandprix247.com/2018/03/28/top-three-make-similar-tyre-choices-for-bahrain/, (Accessed 04/04/2018) Even in this there would be little variation, with Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen all choosing the same number of tyres. Indeed, the only change among the top three teams would be Valtteri Bottas, who opted to select one fewer "Medium" Pirelli compound to claim an additional "soft" in the #77 . Elsewhere, duo would go softest, both Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne choosing nine "super-soft" tyres, while Marcus Ericsson had the hardest selection with three "medium" tyre sets.
On the topic of tyres, there was conformation from that their double retirement in Melbourne had been caused by two cross threaded wheel nuts, meaning both cars were released with only three properly fitted wheels.Matt Beer, 'Big fine adds to Haas' misery after "heartbreaking" DNFs', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 25/03/2018), https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/haas-fined-10-000-for-australian-gp-incidents-1018672/?s=1, (Accessed 04/04/2018) As such, to compound their misery, the Haas team were slapped with a €10,000 fine, €5,000 apiece for Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, for releasing their cars in an unsafe condition. The FIA did note that the team had immediately instructed their drivers to stop in a safe place after realising their mistake, although Haas did decide to re-organise their crew and introduce a "fail-safe" ahead of the Bahrain race.Jonathan Noble, 'Haas pit crew reshuffled after Melbourne dramas', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 05/04/2018), https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/haas-pitstop-crew-reshuffle-failsafe-system-1021765/, (Accessed 05/04/2018)
Furthermore, Haas, and major supplier would receive further questioning regarding their relationship, with both McLaren and asking the FIA to investigate.Edd Straw, Scott Mitchell, 'Rivals call for Haas/Ferrari relationship investigation', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 28/03/2018), https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/rivals-call-for-haas-ferrari-relationship-investigation-1019469/?s=1, (Accessed 04/04/2018) Under the FIA's rules, Haas, as were any other team, were able to source up to 50% of their components from another Formula One team. In this instance, Haas take the Ferrari engine, gearbox and rear-suspension design from Maranello, before commissioning Dallara to design the rest of their car. However, after Haas' impressive testing and race performance at the season opener, both McLaren and Force India demanded that the relationship be investigated, particularly as the Haas VF-18 looked remarkably similar to the Ferrari SF70H.
Elsewhere, there were some major changes at , who hired ex-Ferrari designer Jan Monchaux to be their head of aerodynamics.Adam Cooper, 'Former Ferrari man joins Sauber as new aero head', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 03/04/2018), https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/sauber-appoints-new-head-of-aerodynamics-1021129/, (Accessed 04/04/2018) Monchaux, whose career also included work with and Audi (in the World Endurance Championship), last worked in F1 with the Scuderia in 2013, but joined Sauber at the behest of partners . The move came in the midst of a fallout between teams over the hiring of ex-FIA officials, although there were no outward expressions of discontent at Sauber's hiring.
On the engine front there would be some changes made at , which decided to bring some updated MGU-H and Turbocharger components for .Scott Mitchell, 'Honda replaces engine parts for Bahrain GP', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 04/04/2018), https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/honda-replaces-engine-parts-bahrain-toro-rosso-1021470/, (Accessed 04/04/2018) Both Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly would receive the update, the latter having suffered an MGU-H failure in Melbourne, which Honda hoped would ease concerns regarding their parts around the engine punishing Bahrain circuit. Elsewhere, were calling for a freeze on engine development for the and seasons, citing that the engine rules were set to change for so there was little point in developing the current generation beyond 2018.Adam Cooper, 'Renault calls for F1 engine freeze in 2019-20', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 29/03/2018), https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/renault-calls-for-f1-engine-freeze-in-2019-20-1020042/?s=1, (Accessed 04/04/2018)
Unsurprisingly, given that he had won the season opening race in Australia, it was Vettel who led the World Championship hunt heading into Bahrain, seven clear of arch-rival Hamilton. Räikkönen completed the top three ahead of Ricciardo, with Alonso completing the top five. Verstappen, Nico Hülkenberg, Bottas, Vandoorne and Carlos Sainz, Jr. completed the top ten.
With Vettel and Räikkönen scoring a double podium in Melbourne it was Ferrari who led the charge in the Constructors' Championship, eighteen ahead of Mercedes. were next as the best Renault powered team, with the French firm themselves also sitting behind their other customer team McLaren-Renault. Force India headed the rest of the field as the best non-scorers after the race in Albert Park.
==Entry list==
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 	 	W09 EQ Power+ 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 	 	W09 EQ Power+ 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF71H 	 	062 EVO 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF71H 	 	062 EVO 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 	 	RB14 	 	TAG Heuer 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 	 	RB14 	 	TAG Heuer 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM11 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM11 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW41 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW41 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
27 	Hülkenberg 	Renault Sport Formula One Team 	 	R.S.18 	 	R.E.18 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	Renault Sport Formula One Team 	 	R.S.18 	 	R.E.18 	
28 	Brendon Hartley 	Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 	 	STR13 	 	RA618H 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 	 	STR13 	 	RA618H 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-18 	 	062 EVO 	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-18 	 	062 EVO 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL33 	 	R.E.18 	
2 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL33 	 	R.E.18 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 	 	C37 	 	062 EVO 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 	 	C37 	 	062 EVO 	
Source:https://www.fia.com/file/66923/download?token=M5kVCU5w	Source:https://www.fia.com/file/66923/download?token=M5kVCU5w	Source:https://www.fia.com/file/66923/download?token=M5kVCU5w	Source:https://www.fia.com/file/66923/download?token=M5kVCU5w	Source:https://www.fia.com/file/66923/download?token=M5kVCU5w	Source:https://www.fia.com/file/66923/download?token=M5kVCU5w	Source:https://www.fia.com/file/66923/download?token=M5kVCU5w	Source:https://www.fia.com/file/66923/download?token=M5kVCU5w
==Practice Overview==
===FP1===
===FP2===
===FP3===
===Practice Results===
No 	Driver 	Team 	FP1 	 	FP2 	 	FP3 	 	 	 	 	 	
No 	Driver 	Team 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	 	 	 	 	
2 	Stoffel Vandoorne	 	1:33.364	13 	1:31.422	10 	1:31.860	17 	 	 	 	 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	1:31.060	1 	1:30.751	6 	1:30.452	3 	 	 	 	 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	1:31.470	4 	1:29.828	2 	1:30.719	5 	 	 	 	 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:31.458	3 	1:29.817	1 	1:29.868	1 	 	 	 	 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	1:32.516	6 	1:31.591	11 	1:31.513	12 	 	 	 	 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	1:33.508	17 	1:32.733	19 	1:31.859	16 	 	 	 	 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	1:32.779	7 	1:31.232	8 	1:31.438	10 	 	 	 	 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	1:33.662	18 	1:31.868	14 	1:31.564	14 	 	 	 	 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	1:33.223	11 	1:31.282	9 	1:31.445	10 	 	 	 	 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	1:33.278	12 	1:32.372	16 	1:32.047	18 	 	 	 	 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	 	1:33.379	14 	1:32.382	17 	1:32.865	20 	 	 	 	 	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	1:32.971	9 	1:31.969	15 	1:31.737	15 	 	 	 	 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	1:33.104	10 	1:31.220	7 	1:31.144	7 	 	 	 	 	
28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	1:33.497	16 	1:32.908	20 	1:31.460	11 	 	 	 	 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	1:33.794	19 	1:31.809	13 	1:31.554	13 	 	 	 	 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	 	No Time 	20 	1:30.745	5 	1:30.393	2 	 	 	 	 	
35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	1:33.467	15 	1:32.474	18 	1:32.463	19 	 	 	 	 	
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	1:32.272	5 	1:30.472	4 	1:30.691	4 	 	 	 	 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	 	1:32.885	8 	1:31.601	12 	1:31.200	8 	 	 	 	 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	1:31.364	2 	1:30.380	3 	1:30.781	6 	 	 	 	 	
Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
===Q2===
===Q3===
===Qualifying Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos 	Time 	 	Pos 	Time 	 	Pos 	Time 	Grid
1 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	2 	1:29.060 	 	1 	1:28.341 	 	1 	1:27.958 	1
2 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	1 	1:28.951 	 	3 	1:28.515 	 	2 	1:28.101 	2
3 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	 	3 	1:29.275 	 	4 	1:28.794 	 	3 	1:28.124 	3
4 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	5 	1:29.396 	 	2 	1:28.458 	 	4 	1:28.220 	9*
5 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	 	6 	1:29.552 	 	5 	1:28.962 	 	5 	1:28.398 	4
6 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	 	9 	1:30.121 	 	9 	1:29.836 	 	6 	1:29.329 	5
7 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	 	7 	1:29.594 	 	7 	1:29.623 	 	7 	1:29.358 	6
8 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	 	11 	1:30.260 	 	6 	1:29.187 	 	8 	1:29.570 	7
9 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	 	12 	1:30.338 	 	10 	1:30.009 	 	9 	1:29.874 	8
10 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	 	8 	1:29.893 	 	8 	1:29.802 	 	10 	1:29.986 	10
11 	28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	 	13 	1:30.412 	 	11 	1:30.105 	 	 	 	11
12 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	 	10 	1:30.218 	 	12 	1:30.156 	 	 	 	12
13 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	15 	1:30.530 	 	13 	1:30.212 	 	 	 	13
14 	2 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	 	 	14 	1:30.479 	 	14 	1:30.525 	 	 	 	14
15 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	 	4 	1:29.374 	 	15 	no time 	 	 	 	15
16 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	 	16 	1:30.530 	 	 	 	 	 	 	16
17 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	 	17 	1:31.063 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
18 	35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	 	18 	1:31.414 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
19 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	 	19 	1:31.420 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
20 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	 	20 	1:31.503 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20
107% time: 1:35.177	107% time: 1:35.177	107% time: 1:35.177	107% time: 1:35.177	107% time: 1:35.177	107% time: 1:35.177	107% time: 1:35.177	107% time: 1:35.177	107% time: 1:35.177	107% time: 1:35.177	107% time: 1:35.177	107% time: 1:35.177	107% time: 1:35.177	107% time: 1:35.177
Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
** Hamilton was given a five-place grid penalty after an unscheduled gearbox change.
===Grid===
* Note - Hamilton penalised five places for an unscheduled gearbox change.
==Race==
===Report===
Pietro Timpini Ferrari team joined on the podium to receive the winning manufacturer's award.
===Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	57 	1h 32m 01.940s 	1 	25
2 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	57 	+ 0.699s 	3 	18
3 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	57 	+ 6.512s 	9 	15
4 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	57 	+ 62.234s 	5 	12
5 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	57 	+ 75.046s 	6 	10
6 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	57 	+ 99.024s 	7 	8
7 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	56 	+ 1 Lap 	13 	6
8 	2 	Stoffel Vandoorne	 	56 	+ 1 Lap 	14 	4
9 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	56 	+ 1 Lap 	17 	2
10 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	56 	+ 1 Lap 	8 	1
11 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	 	56 	+ 1 Lap 	10 	
12 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	56 	+ 1 Lap 	19 	
13 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	56 	+ 1 Lap 	16 	
14 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	56 	+ 1 Lap 	20 	
15 	35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	56 	+ 1 Lap 	18 	
16 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	56 	+ 1 Lap* 	12 	
17 	28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	56 	+ 1 Lap† 	11 	
Ret 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	35 	Retired 	2 	
Ret 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	3 	Accident damage	15 	
Ret 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	1 	Gearshift 	4 	
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:
** Pérez was originally twelfth, but was given a thirty-second time penalty for overtaking on the formation lap.
*† Hartley was originally thirteenth, but was given a thirty-second time penalty for not taking back his original starting position before reaching the safety-car line at the end of the formation lap.
==Milestones==
*Sebastian Vettel made his 200th Grand Prix start.'BAHRAIN PREVIEW – the stats and info you need to know', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 04/04/2018), https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/features/2018/4/bahrain-preview--the-stats-and-info-you-need-to-know.html, (Accessed 04/04/2018)
*Lewis Hamilton started his 100th race for .
**Hamilton therefore became the first driver to compete in 100 races for two teams, having raced 110 times for .
*Valtteri Bottas' 100th entry (99th start).
* started their 600th race as an engine supplier.'2. Bahrain 2018', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2018), http://www.statsf1.com/en/2018/bahrein.aspx, (Accessed 09/04/2018)
*Vettel claimed his 51st pole position.
*49th victory for Vettel.
* claimed their 231st victory as a constructor.
**It was also the Italian firm's 232nd win as an engine supplier.
*Maiden points finish for Pierre Gasly.
* earned their best finish since rejoining F1 in .
*Marcus Ericsson set a new record for the longest gap between points finishes (50 races).'Ericsson relieved to end record points drought', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 09/04/2018), https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2018/4/ericsson-relieved-to-end-record-points-drought.html, (Accessed 09/04/2018)
==Standings==
Victory for the second race in succession ensured that Sebastian Vettel left the second round of the season with 50 points to his name, leaving defending Champion Lewis Hamilton trailing by seventeen points. The Brit was a secure second, eleven ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas, while Fernando Alonso snuck up into fourth ahead of Kimi Räikkönen. Elsewhere, Pierre Gasly was level with senior team racer Daniel Ricciardo after his maiden score, while Marcus Ericsson, Kevin Magnussen and Esteban Ocon also added their names to the score board.
Into the Constructors' Championship and left Bahrain with their lead intact, albeit down to ten points over arch-rivals . The German squad themselves could already look ahead of them rather than behind, for were already 33 points behind in third. Behind them came after their disastrous evening, with factory just three ahead of the engined team. 
 
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Sebastian Vettel 	50 	
2 	Lewis Hamilton 	33 	
3 	Valtteri Bottas 	22 	5
4 	Fernando Alonso 	16 	1
5 	Kimi Räikkönen 	15 	2
6 	Nico Hülkenberg 	14 	1
7 	Daniel Ricciardo 	12 	3
8 	Pierre Gasly 	12 	10
9 	Kevin Magnussen 	10 	8
10 	Max Verstappen 	8 	4
11 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	6 	2
12 	Marcus Ericsson 	2 	7
13 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	1 	3
14 	Esteban Ocon 	1 	2
Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	65 	
2 	 	55 	
3 	 	22 	1
4 	 	20 	1
5 	 	15 	
6 	 	12 	3
7 	 	10 	3
8 	 	2 	1
9 	 	1 	3
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
==References==
Images and Videos:
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References:
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:2018 Grands Prix
Category:Bahrain Grand Prix