As it happened: Bahrain 2013 - The race

• 12:00

  Hello, welcome, today is the day for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Are you ready?

• 12:01

  We have one hour to go before the race begins, plenty of time to prepare, to ponder and to predict.

• 12:02

  Tweet from @BobConstanduros: Happy 22nd birthday to Max Chilton; 200th Grand Prix for @aussieGrit and also (technically) for Fernando Alonso

• 12:02

  Lots of cake in the paddock today.

• 12:03

  Circuit Data

  Bahrain International Circuit
  Local timezone	+03:00 GMT
  First race	2004
  Number of laps	57
  Circuit length	5.412km
  Race distance	308.238km
  Start offset	0.246km

• 12:05

  Nico Rosberg starts the race from pole position, after a great lap in the Mercedes. Sebastian Vettel will line up on the front row alongside him.

• 12:05

  There were a couple of penalties left over from China, and Hamilton takes a five place gearbox drop, so the starting grid looks something like this: https://sidepodcast.com/post/bahrain-2013-starting-grid

• 12:07

  Starting Grid

  1	N Rosberg	Mercedes
  2	S Vettel	Red Bull
  3	F Alonso	Ferrari
  4	F Massa	Ferrari
  5	P di Resta	Force India
  6	A Sutil	Force India
  7	M Webber	Red Bull
  8	K Räikkönen	Lotus
  9	L Hamilton	Mercedes
  10	J Button	McLaren

• 12:09

  Tweet from @Marussia_F1Team: Where do those race day mornings go?! Less than 30 minutes before #BIAnCHI line up in P19 & P20 for the start of the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix

• 12:10

  Tweet from @GvanderGarde: Getting ready for the race... It's very hot here at the moment so we will sweat for sure... Enjoy the race #F1

• 12:18

  Force India have a good starting position, benefitting from strong qualifying and other drivers' penalties - fifth and sixth on the grid.

• 12:18

  Make your Bahrain predictions now! https://sidepodcast.com/post/bahrain-2013-predict-the-race

• 12:24

  Fastest Session Times

  Free Practice 1	F Massa	1:34.487
  Free Practice 2	K Räikkönen	1:34.154
  Free Practice 3	F Alonso	1:33.247
  Qualifying	N Rosberg	1:32.330

• 12:25

  It's also worth noting that the fastest lap of the race in Bahrain last year was set by Sebastian Vettel, a 1:36.379.

• 12:26

  Tweet from @WilliamsF1Team: Latest track and air temps: 42C and 34C with the wind picking up so there's a headwind on the main straight #BahrainGP

• 12:28

  Lap Data

  (data from Williams F1)
  Fuel consumption	2.5kg
  Fuel lap time penalty	0.4s/10kg
  Full throttle	66%
  Top speed	314kph
  Average speed	214kph
  Longest straight	1205m
  Pit lane loss	21s
  Pit lane length	420m

• 12:30

  The pit lane has opened, so engines are firing up and cars are leaving the garage to make their way to the grid.

• 12:35

  

  Adrian Sutil gets in the zone before heading to the grid, via @clubforce.

• 12:39

  Question from the comments: "on the lap data (factbyte factbox) is 2.5Kg of fuel consumption is per lap or sector ?" It is per lap.

• 12:42

  

  Valtteri Bottas takes up his fifteenth place grid slot, via @WilliamsF1Team.

• 12:43

  Ross Brawn: "Tyres, we all know are the big issue. Temperatures are just starting to drop now, but they've reached the highest we've seen all weekend. We're in the land of the unknown, it'll be tough."

• 12:44

  Adrian Sutil: "Very good grid position, I'm happy. Very good position to be for the race. My eyes are always to the front, there are good guys around here, but the podium is where I want to be. Hopefully, with the right strategy we can gain a few places more.

  "Massa has an interesting strategy, no one knows how it's going to be. Maybe on the start he will lose a little bit, but the tyres are very similar."

• 12:45

  

  Sergio Pérez exits the McLaren garage ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, via @TheFifthDriver.

• 12:46

  Stefano Domenicali: "We'll try to do the best race we can, but today the conditions are interesting - much more hot. We have two different specs of tyres on the grid, let's hope one is better than the other.

  "When the lights will be off, who knows what is going to happen? But it's good to start in this position, a consistent pace in qualifying, to start in the second row is not bad."

• 12:50

  Jules Bianchi: "Looking forward to the race, it will be a tough race compared to the first three. We try our best and try to finish in the best position we can. It's been a bit more difficult here, we'll see in the race, it's different conditions in the race, tyre degradation, we'll see."

• 12:52

  Everyone's favourite Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley, stands on the grid fluttering the front of his red shirt - it's definitely hot out there.

• 12:55

  Five minutes left to the start now, mechanics making their last minute preparations and drivers jumping into the cars to get ready.

• 12:56

  The polls are closed and 41% think the winner will be Fernando Alonso, with 18% favouring Felipe Massa.

• 12:56

  73% of Sidepodcast readers think a three stop strategy will win the Grand Prix - which would make Pirelli's suggested ideal strategy correct.

• 12:57

  Hard and medium compounds from Pirelli this weekend.

• 12:57

  

  29°C

  Track	42°C
  Humidity	40%
  Wind speed	6.1mps

• 12:59

  Two DRS zones on the track today, the first is detected just before the final corner and activated down the long home straight. The second is on the parallel straight, halfway through the lap.

• 13:00

  The tyre blankets come off, and F1 personnel clear the grid. The formation lap is about to get underway.

• 13:01

  Rosberg has a slow getaway off the formation lap, but gets back ahead of Sebastian Vettel into the first corner.

• 13:01

  There's a lot of weaving from side to side down each available straight, trying to get temperature into that Pirelli rubber.

• 13:02

  The top ten are all starting on medium compounds, except for Felipe Massa who has the orange sidewalls attached to his car.

• 13:02

  Tweet from @redbullracing: It’s pretty windy out there on track with the breeze head on down the pit straight. Could make DRS use a bit trickier.

• 13:04

  Rosberg pulls to a halt on the first grid slot, the field form up behind him.

• 13:04

  Race started.

• 13:05 Lap 1

  Vettel gets a great start but Rosberg closes the door on him and sweeps in front to block the Red Bull. Alonso moves up to second.

• 13:05 Lap 1

  Felipe Massa has lost heaps of places off the start, but he's salvaged fifth for now.

• 13:05 Lap 1

  Alonso is hustling Vettel for second place, but the Red Bull has hold of the position for now.

• 13:05 Lap 1

  Sutil has dropped back to sixth place, the Force India is running quite slowly.

• 13:06 Lap 1

  Yellow flags as Sutil drops further and further back.

• 13:06 Lap 1

  Esteban Gutiérrez has pitted from last on the grid.

• 13:07 Lap 2

  As Rosberg crosses the line to start the second lap, Vettel moves up alongside him to try and take the lead. He hasn't got the pace there, but into turn four, he makes the move.

• 13:07 Lap 2

  Then the Red Bull driver runs wide at the next corner and Rosberg moves back in front. Alonso is closing up to join the fight too.

• 13:08 Lap 2

  It's nose to tail at the front, Rosberg doesn't have the pace to hold them off forever, but he's got his defensive driving moves down!

• 13:08 Lap 2

  Track is clear.

• 13:08 Lap 3

  DRS enabled.

• 13:08 Lap 3

  Vergne has been called into the pits due to a puncture, and Van der Garde has also taken an early pit stop.

• 13:09 Lap 3

  Vettel finally makes the move stick, sweeping past the Mercedes driver for the lead. Alonso now noses towards Rosberg.

• 13:09 Lap 3

  Behind them, Di Resta is in fourth, with Massa behind. Button has moved up to seventh, as Hamilton dropped back to 11th.

• 13:10 Lap 4

  Alonso makes a pass on Rosberg, but this Mercedes driver is not giving anything away easily, he takes the place back as they head into the first corner.

• 13:12 Lap 5

  Alonso makes the move on this lap, second place for the Ferrari as Vettel streaks away in the lead.

• 13:12 Lap 5

  Massa, meanwhile, on those harder tyres, sits fifth.

• 13:12 Lap 5

  Giedo van der Garde came in for a new nose, Sutil has rejoined the action, and Vergne is also back on track but one lap down already.

• 13:13 Lap 6

  Paul di Resta makes a pass on the Mercedes down, a Force India up into third! Impressive stuff.

• 13:14 Lap 6

  On board footage from Massa's car shows some front left fluttering, his front wing a little damaged, but not affecting the pace too much yet.

• 13:14 Lap 6

  Tweet from @MercedesAMGF1: Difficult start of the race for Nico struggling for pace, just lost a place to DIR. #SandySakhir #F1

• 13:15 Lap 7

  Massa is attempting to pass Rosberg, as Di Resta is hunting down Alonso for second position.

• 13:15 Lap 7

  Rosberg has all areas of the track covered, he may not have the pace, but he's making his car as wide as possible to defend himself.

• 13:16 Lap 7

  The DRS on Alonso's rear wing appears to be stuck open, he has to head into the pits.

• 13:17 Lap 8

  A quick pit stop for Ferrari and they give the rear wing a whack to close it. Last time we saw this, Schumacher's DRS was stuck open and he was forced to retire.

• 13:18 Lap 9

  Webber pits and Grosjean behind him. Meanwhile, Alonso tries out his DRS but it gets stuck again. He won't be able to use it this race.

• 13:18 Lap 9

  Felipe Massa makes it past Nico Rosberg to move up into third place.

• 13:19 Lap 9

  Alonso takes his second stop for the DRS to be closed, but he's way down the order and minus the benefit of DRS.

• 13:20 Lap 10

  Button, Ricciardo and Bianchi all pit.

• 13:20 Lap 10

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver
  1	1	S Vettel
  2	3	P Di Resta
  3	1	F Massa
  4	8	S Pérez
  5	3	K Räikkönen

• 13:21 Lap 10

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:42.161
  2nd	DIR	+5.856
  3rd	MAS	+9.706
  4th	PER	+10.386

• 13:21 Lap 10

  Vettel, Massa, Pérez, Hamilton, Maldonado all come into the pits. Busy moment for the mechanics!

• 13:22 Lap 11

  Paul di Resta moves into the lead of the race.

• 13:22 Lap 11

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	F Massa
  Team	Ferrari
  Pit lane	21.665s
  Stopped	2.5s

• 13:23 Lap 11

  As Pérez left the pit lane, he narrowly had to avoid Romain Grosjean who took the outside line to stay ahead. The McLaren looks ready to make a move though.

• 13:24 Lap 11

  Jenson Button makes a move on Rosberg, taking advantage of the DRS to squeak ahead of the Mercedes. Even with one stop under his belt, Rosberg is still struggling for pace.

• 13:26 Lap 11

  

  A quick stop from Williams, as Maldonado goes on his way, via @WilliamsF1Team.

• 13:26 Lap 12

  Massa, Grosjean and Pérez are scrapping for 8th, 9th and 10th - they are so close it's painful to watch!

• 13:28 Lap 13

  Pérez pulls alongside Grosjean, but has to give it up as he runs out of corner to make the move. It's a huge fight for 8th, but they're dropping back from the battle ahead now.

• 13:29 Lap 14

  Di Resta pitted which put Räikkönen into the lead of the race, but only momentarily as Vettel makes the move and recovers his P1 position.

• 13:30 Lap 15

  Kimi Räikkönen is the only driver not to have stopped yet.

• 13:30 Lap 15

  Fernando Alonso is up to 13th place now, he's got Pastor Maldonado ahead of him.

• 13:31 Lap 16

  Kimi Räikkönen comes into the pit lane, a long first stint for the Lotus.

• 13:33 Lap 17

  Blue flags starting to be shown at the back of the field already, as the leaders start to make their way through.

• 13:33 Lap 17

  Replays of the Lotus pit stop show a slow getaway for the car, with just a few tenths lost.

• 13:34 Lap 18

  Sergio Pérez appears to be driving around with part of his front wing missing, and Lotus appear to have a bit of a McLaren front wing in their garage after Perez's pit stop.

• 13:35 Lap 18

  Felipe Massa comes in for a stop, and they didn't change the front wing on that Ferrari, so they're happy with the compromise of broken front wing/pace.

• 13:35 Lap 18

  Jean-Éric Vergne has been called to the pit lane, he's being pushed back into the garage with too much damage from an earlier accident.

• 13:37 Lap 19

  Adrian Sutil pits from 20th place, he's tucked away at the back of the field after a collision with Massa earlier in the race.

• 13:38 Lap 20

  Jenson Button passes Rosberg for third, and before another corner has passed, Romain Grosjean has made the move as well.

• 13:38 Lap 20

  Felipe Massa is instructed to drive flat out, as fast as the car can possibly go, if he wants any hope of his strategy working.

• 13:39 Lap 21

  Nico Rosberg and Sergio Pérez come in for their second stops.

• 13:40 Lap 21

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	N Rosberg
  Team	Mercedes
  Pit lane	21.331s
  Stopped	3.1s

• 13:40 Lap 22

  Webber and Button are next to come in for their second stops of the day. Di Resta is back up into the podium positions again.

• 13:41 Lap 22

  Lewis Hamilton has been told to lift and coast, the Mercedes pit wall concerned about fuel consumption again.

• 13:41 Lap 22

  Rosberg's defensive driving getting ever more erratic, as Sergio Pérez passes him for tenth place.

• 13:42 Lap 23

  Hamilton, after complaining on the radio about his rear tyres, comes in for a pit stop.

• 13:43 Lap 23

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	1	S Vettel	1
  2	9	R Grosjean	1
  3	2	P Di Resta	1
  4	4	K Räikkönen	1
  5	9	N Hülkenberg	1

• 13:44 Lap 24

  Rosberg has managed to get back in front of Pérez, who in turn has his teammate Button behind him.

• 13:45 Lap 24

  Down the home straight, both McLaren's managed to get past Rosberg, Button had to fight into the first corner, but they both stay ahead.

• 13:47 Lap 25

  Vettel comes in for his second stop of the day, he'd managed to pull out a twenty second gap at the front, but where will he come out?

• 13:47 Lap 25

  Hard tyres go on the Red Bull in a super-quick stop, and Vettel returns to the track in the lead.

• 13:48 Lap 26

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	S Vettel
  Team	Red Bull
  Pit lane	21.290s
  Stopped	2.7s

• 13:48 Lap 26

  Hamilton is currently sitting in 12th place, just behind Bottas. Behind the McLaren driver is Fernando Alonso, not making much progress from 13th.

• 13:49 Lap 27

  Nico Hülkenberg pits from 12th place, as out on track, Paul di Resta passes Romain Grosjean to move back into second place.

• 13:51 Lap 28

  Grosjean pits and returns to the track behind Felipe Massa, ninth place for the Lotus. Teammate Kimi Räikkönen is currently third, but has only stopped once.

• 13:53 Lap 28

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:39.009
  2nd	DIR	+10.123
  3rd	RAI	+13.214
  4th	WEB	+18.756
  5th	BUT	+22.109

• 13:53 Lap 29

  Tweet from @Marussia_F1Team: Jules and Max lapping identically now

• 13:55 Lap 30

  Sergio Pérez pulls out alongside teammate Jenson Button down the home straight, the McLarens are side by side round the first couple of corners, but Button keeps the position.

• 13:55 Lap 30

  Pérez gets a bit too close to the car in front, and a bit of carbon fibre front wing goes flying. Martin Whitmarsh looks on from the pit wall.

• 13:56 Lap 31

  Team radio from Jenson Button: "He just hit me on the back. Calm him down."

• 13:56 Lap 31

  As the two McLaren drivers scrap between themselves, Nico Rosberg moves back towards them, hoping to recover some of his lost positions.

• 13:58 Lap 32

  They're at it again, Pérez and Button, side by side into the first few corners. Button pushes Pérez off the track, so Sergio has to back down again for now.

• 14:00 Lap 32

  Romain Grosjean is getting involved in the McLaren battle, fighting past Sergio Pérez to move up to 6th place.

• 14:01 Lap 33

  Kimi Räikkönen pulls out onto the dirty side of the track to pass Paul di Resta for second place. He's got a way to go to chase down Vettel though.

• 14:01 Lap 33

  Romain Grosjean passes another McLaren and moves up to 5th place.

• 14:03 Lap 35

  Jenson Button has given up and come into the pit lane, fresh tyres for the ongoing battle for fifth place!

• 14:03 Lap 35

  Quite a slow stop for McLaren, relatively speaking, 3.4 seconds.

• 14:04 Lap 36

  Rosberg takes 10th place from Maldonado just before turn 11.

• 14:05 Lap 35

  Lewis Hamilton has passed Sergio Pérez for tenth place, the two Mercedes drivers finding some pace at last!

• 14:06 Lap 37

  Felipe Massa has come in for his fourth stop of the day. Somehow Alonso was ahead of him, and has done less stops despite a broken DRS.

• 14:07 Lap 37

  Ah, it looks like a right rear puncture for Massa. The Ferrari mechanics pull off the shredded rubber and replace it with a fresh tyre.

• 14:07 Lap 37

  Replays show the tyre just gave up, no contact with anyone or any kerbs.

• 14:08 Lap 38

  Räikkönen moves up again, he's up to fourth place. It was a shrewd move, saving the overtake for the second DRS zone so the McLaren has no recourse... yet.

• 14:10 Lap 39

  Hamilton comes in for his third stop of the day.

• 14:10 Lap 39

  Grosjean instructed to push over the radio, he's got clear air ahead of him as he's now in second place behind Vettel.

• 14:11 Lap 40

  Incident involving Webber and Rosberg under investigation - causing a collision.

• 14:11 Lap 40

  Pérez comes in for his third stop of the afternoon, and Alonso follows him in and out for his fourth.

• 14:13 Lap 41

  Eric Boullier from the pit wall on Grosjean's projected finish: "Should be fighting for fifth place with Mark Webber."

• 14:14 Lap 41

  Top Speeds

  Sector 1	F Alonso	235kph
  Sector 2	J Button	256kph
  Sector 3	F Massa	284kph
  Speed trap	P Di Resta	314kph

• 14:16 Lap 43

  Sebastian Vettel pits from the lead of the race, it's a reasonable stop and he's off again, back into the lead with no problems at all.

• 14:16 Lap 43

  Romain Grosjean comes in for his last pit stop, he left the track third and returns alongside Jenson Button, managing to muscle his way past the McLaren taking fifth.

• 14:17 Lap 43

  Incident involving Webber and Rosberg will be investigated after the race.

• 14:18 Lap 44

  Grosjean makes it past Webber, moving up to fourth place. That's one step more than his team principal expected!

• 14:19 Lap 44

  Vettel leading the race, then, with Räikkönen and Di Resta behind (two stops each), and Grosjean in fourth.

• 14:20 Lap 45

  Nico Rosberg managed to get past Button on the last lap, but then came into the pitlane. This time round, it's the other Mercedes of Hamilton that passes the McLaren for track position.

• 14:22 Lap 45

  Fernando Alonso has pushed his way past Jenson Button, moving up to eighth place. Button not looking at all happy right now.

• 14:22 Lap 45

  And the McLaren driver dives into the pitlane, Button taking his fourth stop of the day.

• 14:23 Lap 47

  Alonso is on a mission now, he overtakes Pérez for 7th place, although the McLaren driver isn't giving it up easily.

• 14:25 Lap 47

  Paul di Resta has been on the radio complaining about not seeing any blue flags, and of course, the telemetry and signalling system from Race Control is broken at the moment.

• 14:27 Lap 49

  Battle for 5th

  5th	M Webber	--
  6th	L Hamilton	0.663
  7th	F Alonso	0.967
  8th	S Pérez	1.113

• 14:29 Lap 51

  Grosjean is hunting down Paul di Resta for the final podium position, the gap is heading down to a second, where DRS will be enabled.

• 14:30 Lap 51

  Hamilton makes his way past Mark Webber, sneaking up the inside of the Red Bull to take fifth place.

• 14:30 Lap 51

  Incident involving Giedo van der Garde will be investigated after the race - unsafe release.

• 14:31 Lap 52

  Down the home straight, Grosjean closes the gap to the Force India, takes the slipstream, pulls alongside and past, moving up to third place.

• 14:32 Lap 53

  Replays of the Van der Garde pit stop show it was close with an incoming Marussia, but they didn't collide.

• 14:33 Lap 53

  Hamilton outbraked himself to allow Webber to close right up, the Red Bull takes his position back through turn 14, and Hamilton has to do it all over again.

• 14:34 Lap 54

  Recent Lap Times

  R Grosjean
  Lap 48	1:38.214
  Lap 49	1:38.475
  Lap 50	1:38.103
  Lap 51	1:37.924
  Lap 52	1:38.076
  Lap 53	1:37.627
  Lap 54	1:38.366

• 14:35 Lap 54

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	1	S Vettel	3
  2	6	K Räikkönen	2
  3	8	R Grosjean	3
  4	1	P Di Resta	2
  5	2	M Webber	3

• 14:35 Lap 55

  Sergio Pérez pulls alongside the Ferrari of Alonso, and they fight their way through several corners. Alonso is pushed off track and loses the position, but he's not giving up yet.

• 14:36 Lap 55

  The fight continues between Webber and Hamilton, they are side by side heading towards turn four and beyond.

• 14:37 Lap 55

  Webber keeps the position for now, Hamilton is still right there.

• 14:38 Lap 56

  It's close again at the same point of the track as last time, Hamilton doesn't seem to have the edge on the Red Bull this lap though.

• 14:40 Lap 57

  Vettel begins his final lap, and is instructed over the radio to keep control, stop pushing quite so hard.

• 14:40

  Sebastian Vettel wins the Bahrain Grand Prix!

• 14:41

  Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean follow along behind for a double Lotus podium.

• 14:41

  Looks like there was a fab battle between Webber, Hamilton and Pérez in that final lap but we weren't allowed to see it.

• 14:41

  Hamilton got fifth place, with Pérez behind him, and Webber losing two positions in the final lap.

• 14:43

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	1	S Vettel	3
  2	6	K Räikkönen	2
  3	8	R Grosjean	3
  4	1	P Di Resta	2
  5	4	L Hamilton	3
  6	6	S Pérez	3
  7	0	M Webber	3
  8	-5	F Alonso	4
  9	-8	N Rosberg	4
  10	0	J Button	4

• 14:44

  Race Winner

  Driver	Sebastian Vettel
  Team	Red Bull
  Race time	1:36:00.498
  Race distance	308.238km
  Average speed	192.632km/h

• 14:44

  Sebastian Vettel climbs from his car and... wait for it... yep, there's that finger again.

• 14:45

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:40.035
  2nd	RAI	+9.1
  3rd	GRO	+19.5
  4th	DIR	+21.7
  5th	HAM	+35.2

• 14:47

  The drivers take to the podium as the national anthem of Germany plays out.

• 14:48

  Tweet from @clubforce: A fantastic drive from Paul, bringing the challenge to the big teams and going ever so close. 12 points for the team. #FeelTheForce

• 14:49

  Retirements

  Driver	Reason	Lap
  JE Vergne	Accident damage	18

• 14:50

  

  Sebastian Vettel, race winner.

• 14:53

  Podium quotes - Sebastian Vettel: "Big, big thank you to the team today. Seamless race from start to finish. I knew it was crucial after the start to get into the lead if I can, then go from there, look after the tyres. The pace was phenomenal, the car was very quick. A beautiful race where you could push every single lap. Overall very happy.

  "It was tight in the first corner with Fernando on the outside, I had to give way, I wanted to line it up to get Nico on the next straight. Fernando squeezed in, but then I got him back... Nico was a tough one, he was quite quick on the straights. The headwind helped the cars behind... out of turn four, I managed to save KERS up and pass him on the inside. Then the track was clear and we managed to unfold the true pace of the car."

• 14:54

  Podium quotes - Kimi Räikkönen: "Yesterday wasn't ideal, so we plan to try to do two stops, today it worked well so we gained a lot of places. I didn't have a very strong first and second lap, so we lost two places, but after that the car started to come to me and I could start pushing more and more and the end was okay."

• 14:55

  Podium quotes - Romain Grosjean: "First three races have been consistent but not where we wanted. We worked hard, the whole team, it wasn't easy to find out what was missing... but basically today we got it. Started the race, the strategy a bit different to everybody... the race was a bit harder, we had to have some good fights on track, but that's why we're racing, what we enjoy. Very pleased to be here."

• 14:57

  Tweet from @MercedesAMGF1: Tough #Bahrain GP for the team, with Lewis in P5 and Nico P9. Work to do before #F1 moves back to Europe but we'll keep fighting as usual!

• 14:59

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	S Vettel	77
  2	K Räikkönen	67
  3	L Hamilton	50
  4	F Alonso	47
  5	M Webber	32

• 15:00

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Red Bull	109
  2	Lotus	93
  3	Ferrari	77
  4	Mercedes	64
  5	Force India	26

• 15:04

  What an incredible race, and in Bahrain as well! Previously known for its dull action, the event certainly delivered today. I, for one, am happily exhausted.

• 15:05

  Great result for Lotus, and Force India did well despite some difficult racing. They have moved ahead of McLaren in the standings again.

• 15:07

  We've got another three week break now before Formula One returns to Europe and the Spanish Grand Prix. There should be upgrades galore, so yet more unpredictability. I can't wait!

• 15:08

  Thanks for joining me this weekend, stay tuned to https://sidepodcast.com and http://f1minute.com for all the news and views you need - and be back here in three weeks for more factbyting fun!