Sunday, April 21, 2013

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]

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