SAKHIR, Bahrain – Sebastian Vettel marked his 200th Formula One race with a thrilling and brilliantly-judged victory for Ferrari in Sunday’s dramatic Bahrain Grand Prix.
The four-time former champion crossed the line with Valtteri Bottas on his tail, and the Finn’s Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in third in a nail-biting finish to an intriguing contest.
It was Vettel’s second win in as many races this season, and extended his lead ahead of Hamilton in the drivers’ championship, after the Englishman delivered a dazzling drive from ninth on the grid to finish only six seconds adrift.
200 GPs, winning #Seb5 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/0kMyJOdcmw
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 8, 2018
Another superb drive by Frenchman Pierre Gasly took him to a stunning fourth place for the Honda-powered Toro Rosso team ahead of Dane Kevin Magnussen of Haas.
Vettel’s Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen failed to finish after colliding with a mechanic at a pit stop, while both Red Bulls driven by Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo also retired.
Relentless pressure from Bottas, but Vettel prevailed 💪
A perfect 50 points for the @ScuderiaFerrari man after two rounds #BahrainGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Jl0oNDTjuQ
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 8, 2018
Nico Hulkenberg was sixth for Renault ahead of Fernando Alonso and his McLaren teammate Stoffel Vandoorne.
Marcus Ericsson grabbed two points for Sauber by finishing ninth ahead of Esteban Ocon, who was 10th for Force India.