10 Memorable Moments From The Bahrain Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton stormed to a clear victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix, extending his lead in the championship. The double world champion finished 3.4 seconds clear of a charging Kimi Raikkonen.

The Finn moved ahead of Nico Rosberg with two laps remaining, after the Mercedes driver suffered brake problems. A similar issue also struck Hamilton’s car but he was able to make the finish. Here are 10 memorable moments from the Bahrain Grand Prix:

Jenson Button’s nightmare Bahrain Grand Prix weekend continued. McLaren found an issue originating from the electrical problems suffered on Friday and Saturday, opting to not race the car.

Meanwhile Felipe Massa failed to leave the grid for the formation lap due to electrical woes. He was able to continue and started from the pit lane.

2. Hamilton holds off Vettel

The race start was pretty spectacular. Under the floodlights at the Bahrain International Circuit, round four of the season got underway, with sparks flying from the cars as the 2015 field headed towards Turn 1.

Hamilton managed to hold off Vettel, with the top two retaining their positions. Rosberg dropped behind Raikkonen and Grosjean stormed from 10th to seventh.

The opening laps saw plenty of changes in the order. Rosberg pulled off a late but aggressive move on Raikkonen to move up to third, while there were some good scraps in the midfield.

4. Lead cut short

Hamilton was the last of the front-runners to pit. A late stop and the undercut for Rosberg and Vettel meant he emerged just ahead of the battling duo, before asking on team radio where his lead had gone.

5. Pit stop jump

Lightning work from the Lotus crew meant Pastor Maldonado (who went off twice on lap one, just to let you know) leap-frogged both Felipe Nasr and Felipe Massa - or ‘the two Felipes’ - at their second pit stops.

Vettel made a few uncharacteristic errors during the race, one of which easily enabled Rosberg to move ahead and into second place. He ran wide at the final corner, dipping two wheels into the gravel trap, sparks flying as he returned to the track.

He damaged his front wing and returned to the pits, just a few laps after stopping for the second time. It screwed up his race and dropped him to fifth place.

Raikkonen pitted for the second and final time on lap 40, moving onto the soft compound tyre for a sprint to the chequered flag. Brake issues meant he easily passed Rosberg when he caught up to the German with two laps remaining, after some impressively quick lap times. However, he couldn’t take the fight to Hamilton.

8. Win number three

Hamilton took the chequered flag over three seconds clear of Raikkonen to win his third race of the year. It was his second victory at the Bahrain International Circuit, following his thrilling triumph in 2014.

Raikkonen scored his first podium since the 2013 Korean Grand Prix and Rosberg came home a distant third. Valtteri Bottas and Vettel completed the top five.

9. Up in smoke

Daniel Ricciardo’s power unit managed to hold on, but only just. As he crossed the line to finish sixth, his Renault engine gave up, with plumes of smoke pouring out of the back of his RB11. Quite a spectacular way to end the race, but far from ideal for Red Bull.

10. Happy Kimi

The only way to make Kimi Raikkonen happier would be a race victory. Oh, and champagne on the podium. When asked if he enjoyed the race, he said: “Yeah it was okay”. Classic Iceman, that is why we love him.