MRT Leads Standings as Vettel Wins Bahrain Grand Prix for the Seventh Time

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Diff.
1	20	Kevin Magnussen		1:35.580	1:38.641
2	39	Sho Tsuboi		1:35.728	1:38.168	+0.148
3	18	Sebastian Vettel		1:35.863	1:38.573	+0.283
4	88	Robert Kubica		1:35.907	1:38.604	+0.327
5	94	Pascal Wehrlein		1:36.099	1:38.089	+0.519
6	57	Dean Stoneman		1:36.265	No Time	+0.685
7	23	Jules Bianchi		1:36.543	1:38.573	+0.963
8	56	Einar Ármannsson		1:36.579	1:39.238	+0.999
9	7	Charles Leclerc		1:36.614	No Time	+1.034
10	63	George Russell		1:36.804	1:39.238	+1.224
11	60	Ritomo Miyata		1:37.182	1:38.842	+1.602
12	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		1:37.216	No Time	+1.636
13	4	Robin Frijns		1:37.249	1:40.074	+1.669
14	47	Lando Norris		1:35.893	No Time	+0.313*
15	1	Victoria Desai		1:37.663	1:40.203	+2.083
16	26	Robert Shwartzman		1:38.328	1:40.959	+2.748
17	10	Alessio Lorandi		1:38.371	1:41.233	+2.791
18	33	Max Verstappen		1:37.580	No Time	+2.000*
19	81	Malik Zidan		1:38.775	No Time	+3.195
20	29	Roger Ibe		1:37.805	No Time	+2.225*
21	95	Beitske Visser		1:39.008	1:41.672	+3.389
22	70	Pastor Maldonado		1:39.007	1:41.074	+3.428
23	80	Raven Roth		1:39.399	1:41.067	+3.819
24	98	Colton Herta		1:39.613	1:42.603	+4.033
25	11	Terry Hawkin		1:40.845	No Time	+5.265
26	21	Théo Pourchaire		1:42.307	1:44.357	+6.727

Report:

After an early prologue in New Zealand, Formula One took a month off to prepare itself for the actual meat of the season. Lots of kilometres in testing altered the landscape of competitiveness, but as expected Caterham remained on top.

Behind him, however, exciting racing took place as the Bridgestones were tasked on one of the most abrasive asphalts on the calendar. Multi-stop strategies and exciting racing make for a thrilling combination which had fans excited.

A number of drivers like Lando Norris and Einar Ármannsson had to work their way back up the order, which added more overtaking for a spicy Grand Prix. The final stage even added political drama, as Vettel got involved in a Red Bull vs. Toyota fight.

Sebastian Vettel extends his championship lead by winning the second Grand Prix of the year, but it is MRT who lead the championship – giving a BMW-powered team the lead of the championship for the first time since BMW Sauber won the 2009 titles.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	18	Sebastian Vettel		59:14.059	3	10
2	23	Jules Bianchi		+30.824	7	8
3	56	Einar Ármannsson		+40.710	8	6
4	94	Pascal Wehrlein		1 Lap	5	5
5	33	Max Verstappen		1 Lap	18	4
6	29	Roger Ibe		1 Lap	20	3
7	1	Victoria Desai		1 Lap	15	2
8	81	Malik Zidan		1 Lap	19	1
9	10	Alessio Lorandi		1 Lap	17
10	70	Pastor Maldonado		1 Lap	22
11	95	Beitske Visser		1 Lap	21
12	39	Sho Tsuboi		1 Lap	2
13	26	Robert Shwartzman		1 Lap	16
14	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		1 Lap	12
15	7	Charles Leclerc		1 Lap	9
16	63	George Russell		1 Lap	10
17	60	Ritomo Miyata		1 Lap	11
18	98	Colton Herta		1 Lap	24
19	4	Robin Frijns		1 Lap	13
20	80	Raven Roth		1 Lap	23
21	11	Terry Hawkin		1 Lap	25
22	21	Théo Pourchaire		2 Laps	26
Ret	47	Lando Norris		Motor	14
Ret	57	Dean Stoneman		Motor	6
Ret	20	Kevin Magnussen		Suspension	1	1
Ret	88	Robert Kubica		Loose Wheel	4

Fastest Lap:

Lando Norris – 1:37.714

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Malik Zidan – a clever one-stop strategy helped him get a valuable point for Loonmotor.

Reject Of The Race:

Sebastian Vettel – so overcome with joy at winning that he blindly drives into another driver on the cooldown lap.