2013 FORMULA 1 : VETTEL WINS AT BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX

2013 Formula 1 - Bahrain Grand Prix Champion : Sebastian Vettel (GER) Red Bull Racing RB9

Sebastian Vettel defied the experts to guide Red Bull to its second victory of 2013, amid a repeat of the 2012 Bahrain GP podium.

Sebastian Vettel's first win of 2013 was hard fought and contentious, but the German had no such worries as he cantered to victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Despite being squeezed out of second spot as the field headed into turn one, Vettel was barely troubled during the course of 57 laps where the main action took place further down the order.

The German made a good start, but his challenge for first place was firmly rebuffed by polesitter Nico Rosberg, who closed the gap between his Mercedes and the pit-wall and forced Vettel back into the clutches of Fernando Alonso, who duly claimed second place around the outside of turn one. The world champion was not to be denied, however, catching Alonso unawares with a move into turn five.

Rosberg, meanwhile, was unable to break away while his pursuers were squabbling, and Vettel took another look at his countryman heading into turn one second time around. Once again, the Mercedes held firm, but it was clear that Rosberg was already in trouble with his tyres, and it only took another lap for Vettel to assume control, passing the polesitter into turn three.

Although Alonso was also quickly by Rosberg, taking second spot under the dual influence of KERS and DRS down the main straight at the end of same lap, any hope of a battle royale between Ferrari and Red Bull was dashed, not only by Vettel's early pace, but also by Alonso's rear wing, which refused to return to its closed position after the DRS was activated.

Pitting at the end of lap seven, the Spaniard combined his first tyre stop with a hasty re-setting of the offending element but, when the wing jammed again the next time it was used, the ensuing stop effectively ended any hope of a follow-up to his success in Shanghai a week ago.

Vettel's progress at the front was interrupted only by his own pit-stops, the first allowing Paul di Resta to lead the grand prix for Force India, but the second and third only allowing his pursuers to close the gap for a while. Rejoining in front both times, it appeared that only Vettel or fate could affect the result and the German duly cruised to his 28th career victory, moving him ahead of fellow three-time champion Sir Jackie Stewart in the process.

di Resta's spell at the front lasted just four laps, but the Scot was enjoying his best showing of the season as Force India continued to build on a strong weekend. di Resta was flying the orange, green and white colours solo, however, as team-mate Adrian Sutil, who had started alongside the Scot on row three of the grid, had made contact with Felipe Massa at turn four on the opening lap and had to limp back to the pits. Although he rejoined after repairs to his car, the German was never a factor and eventually finished an unrepresentative 13th.

As the strategies unfolded, di Resta's candidature for a maiden podium became more real, with only the two Lotus drivers – recovering from an opening lap that saw them running seventh and eleventh – posing any real threat. Kimi Raikkonen, who actually slipped to the foot of the top ten early on, once again made his tyres last as well as anyone, clawing his way back up the order as he pressed on and others stopped, taking the lead from di Resta when the Scot pulled in on lap 14.

2013 Formula 1 : Bahrain Grand Prix Race result 

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault	57	Winner	2	25
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus-Renault	57	+9.1 secs	8	18
3	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	57	+19.5 secs	11	15
4	14	Paul di Resta	Force India-Mercedes	57	+21.7 secs	5	12
5	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	57	+35.2 secs	9	10
6	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren-Mercedes	57	+35.9 secs	12	8
7	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing-Renault	57	+37.2 secs	7	6
8	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	57	+37.5 secs	3	4
9	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	57	+41.1 secs	1	2
10	5	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	57	+46.6 secs	10	1
11	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams-Renault	57	+66.4 secs	17
12	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber-Ferrari	57	+72.9 secs	14
13	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	57	+76.7 secs	6
14	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Renault	57	+81.5 secs	15
15	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	57	+86.3 secs	4
16	19	Daniel Ricciardo	STR-Ferrari	56	+1 Lap	13
17	20	Charles Pic	Caterham-Renault	56	+1 Lap	18
18	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber-Ferrari	56	+1 Lap	22
19	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia-Cosworth	56	+1 Lap	19
20	23	Max Chilton	Marussia-Cosworth	56	+1 Lap	21
21	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham-Renault	55	+2 Laps	20
Ret	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR-Ferrari	16	+41 Laps	16

2013 Formula 1 : Drivers' Championship Standing

Pos	Driver	Nationality	Team	Points
1	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing-Renault	77
2	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Lotus-Renault	67
3	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	50
4	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	47
5	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing-Renault	32
6	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	30
7	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus-Renault	26
8	Paul di Resta	British	Force India-Mercedes	20
9	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	14
10	Jenson Button	British	McLaren-Mercedes	13
11	Sergio Perez	Mexican	McLaren-Mercedes	10
12	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India-Mercedes	6
13	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	STR-Ferrari	6
14	Nico Hulkenberg	German	Sauber-Ferrari	5
15	Jean-Eric Vergne	French	STR-Ferrari	1
16	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams-Renault	0
17	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams-Renault	0
18	Esteban Gutierrez	Mexican	Sauber-Ferrari	0
19	Jules Bianchi	French	Marussia-Cosworth	0
20	Charles Pic	French	Caterham-Renault	0
21	Giedo van der Garde	Dutch	Caterham-Renault	0
22	Max Chilton	British	Marussia-Cosworth	0

2013 Formula 1 : Teams' Championship Standing

Pos	Team	Points
1	Red Bull Racing-Renault	109
2	Lotus-Renault	93
3	Ferrari	77
4	Mercedes	64
5	Force India-Mercedes	26
6	McLaren-Mercedes	23
7	STR-Ferrari	7
8	Sauber-Ferrari	5
9	Williams-Renault	0
10	Marussia-Cosworth	0
11	Caterham-Renault	0

[Source : F1, CRASH.NET]