Cassidy Regains Form in Sakhir

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time
1	62	Dave Cassidy		1:23.046
2	1	Sebastian Vettel		1:23.204
3	2	Lewis Hamilton		1:23.551
4	63	Jules Bianchi		1:23.599
5	99	Kevin Magnussen		1:23.678
6	28	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		1:23.801
7	5	Valtteri Bottas		1:23.935
8	6	Matt Solomon		1:23.370*
9	90	Daniel Ricciardo		1:23.973
10	98	Salvatore Miccoli		1:24.369
11	30	Nico Hülkenberg		1:24.597
12	27	Nathan McKane		1:23.853*
13	29	Pastor Maldonado		1:24.633
14	32	Daniel Melrose		1:24.737
15	21	Stoffel Vandoorne		1:25.008
16	67	Pierre Gasly		1:25.056
17	55	Artem Markelov		1:25.162
18	43	Sergio Pérez		1:25.683
19	31	Rhys Davies		1:25.847
20	42	Davide Valsecchi		1:24.924*
21	22	Johnny Cecotto Jr.		1:26.021
22	12	Scott Dixon		1:26.035
23	91	Max Verstappen		1:26.123
24	66	Josef Newgarden		1:26.183
25	11	Daniël de Jong		1:26.689
26	56	Bradley Dagnall		1:26.597*

* demoted five places for changing engine/gearbox

Report:

Jules Bianchi has led the field through the first four races of the season, acquiring the lead in the championship. Precision-Mercedes has prepared a significant aero upgrade, as have done their main rivals, Caterham-Judd. It seemed obvious that they would be the only ones with a true shot at winning the Bahrain Grands Prix, especially since no other teams had prepared major new developments.

Whilst Matt Solomon proved able to annoy the big four during Q3, they ended up alone on the first two rows. As expected, the four disappeared at the start. Sebastian Vettel had the edge and collected a number of leading laps. Regrettably, he failed to win this race, as a driver error gave the win to Precision, Dave Cassidy was able to take advantage and win his first race of the season.

Driver errors were not uncommon, the surprisingly high temperatures for this time of the year seemed to fry some circuits in the heads of the F1 stars. Abovementioned Matt Solomon lost his good qualifying run in an incident with Daniel Ricciardo, the picture above depicts Rhys Davies and Lewis Hamilton (who dropped down the field after a mistake) crashing into each other for no gain.

As common in motorsport, when many drivers do stupid things, those who refrain from doing them get rewarded. Salvatore Miccoli has passed his teammate in the championship with a fourth place and Daniel Melrose, the debased legend, got Holden an extremely valueable and impressive sixth place finish. Unfortunately, no reward except the ego boost was available for Scott Dixon, whom’s supreme drive saw him end up eleventh.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Points
1	62	Dave Cassidy		43:33.330	17
2	1	Sebastian Vettel		+5.442	12
3	63	Jules Bianchi		+9.643	10
4	98	Salvatore Miccoli		+19.329	8
5	5	Valtteri Bottas		+14.981	6
6	32	Daniel Melrose		+27.983	5
7	90	Daniel Ricciardo		+30.265	4
8	67	Pierre Gasly		+37.549	3
9	99	Kevin Magnussen		+39.747	2
10	21	Stoffel Vandoorne		+44.273	1
11	12	Scott Dixon		+54.378	0
12	22	Johnny Cecotto Jr.		+59.102	0
13	29	Pastor Maldonado		+65.535	0
14	28	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		+67.250	0
15	66	Josef Newgarden		+68.240	0
16	30	Nico Hülkenberg		+70.124	0
17	55	Artem Markelov		+70.931	0
18	56	Bradley Dagnall		+75.006	0
19	91	Max Verstappen		+84.315	0
20	2	Lewis Hamilton		+1 Lap	0
21	42	Davide Valsecchi		+1 Lap	0
22	31	Rhys Davies		Collision	0
DNF	43	Sergio Pérez		Transmission	0
DNF	11	Daniël de Jong		Accident	0
DNF	27	Nathan McKane		Accident	0
DNF	6	Matt Solomon		Collision	0

Fastest Lap:

Lewis Hamilton – 1:24.324

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Daniel Melrose – The legend has returned to form, a good race.

Reject Of The Race:

Lewis Hamilton – Awfully silly errors by the three-times world champion.