Lewis Hamilton wins incredible night race in Bahrain - A safety car closes the field to allow great wheel to wheel action
Published by Christine
Mercedes scored their second consecutive 1-2 victory, with Hamilton leading Nico Rosberg home in what was an intense fight right from the start. Hamilton snatched the lead from polesitter Rosberg before the first corner, and the pair tussled for position during the early laps. A safety car period closed the gap towards the end of the race, seeing them dicing for position, wheel to wheel at almost every corner for a full seven laps.
The safety car was brought out due to an incident in which Pastor Maldonado exited the pit lane and at the following corner ran straight into the side of Esteban Gutiérrez. The contact tipped the Sauber up into the air, rolling a full 360 degrees, before landing back down on the ground. Gutiérrez was thankfully okay, although taken to hospital as a precaution.
The rest of the field also saw close action, particularly between teammates, as the Williams, Ferrari, Red Bull and Force India crews scrapped for position on track. Daniel Ricciardo just missed out on a podium, having made a strong comeback from 13th on the grid, whilst third place was reserved for Sergio Pérez. The result helped move Force India up to second in the championship standings.
