Bahrain GP: Ferrari Clinch Historic 1-2 Victory as Red Bull Disaster Gifts Hamilton Podium

Charles Leclerc delivered an A-class show to earn himself a well-deserved victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix. His Ferrari F1 teammate, Carlos Sainz, despite enduring a tad too much tire degradation throughout the night, managed to complete a 1-2 for the Reds.

Lewis Hamilton picked up the final podium spot for Mercedes after both the Red Bull driver suffered late DNFs. Hence, the Red Bull power trains department will certainly be scratching their heads over what’s going wrong with their engine.

How the race unfolded

Eventful race start as Perez & Bottas fall back

Both the Ferrari drivers managed to get a safe enough start to hold their positions intact and so did Verstappen. The Red Bull driver did try his best to beat Leclerc into turn 1, but the leading Ferrari was just too far ahead.

Behind the three drivers tussling for the lead, Hamilton enjoyed a strong getaway as the Briton wound up in P4, pushing Perez down to P5. Magnussen had a decent start too, briefly holding onto P5 before a late-braking around turn 3 cost him the position. The Danish driver made a similar mistake going into turn 1 on lap 5 and conceded another position to Russell.

WATCH THIS STORY: From Sensational Haas Comeback to Lewis Hamiltons Struggles: Best Moments from Bahrain GP Qualifying

Bottas, on the other hand, who started from P6 fell down the order into P14 before climbing up into P13 on lap 6 by pipping Schumacher.

Hamilton & others pit

It took just about 12 laps for Hamilton to burn out his soft tires and opt for a set of hard tires. In each of the following laps, Schumacher and Albon pitted for medium tires. Along with the Thai-Brit, Verstappen, and Sainz, too, pitted for fresh sets of soft tires.

Leclerc, too, had to pit on the very next lap to deny Verstappen an undercut. Lucky for the Monegasque, the Red Bull driver was barely 0.5s behind him. But, this laid the foundation for a breathtaking battle for the lead.

Leclerc vs Verstappen as the F1 pair battle for P1

Verstappen and Leclerc engaged in an impeccable battle for the lead which lasted for three good laps. The Dutchman would charge on Leclerc heading into turn 1. But, Leclerc managed to do the classic switcheroo and reclaimed the lead going into turn 3.

This unfolded over three back-to-back laps before Verstappen flat-spotted his front tires braking into turn 1 and had to back out of the battle. Of course, the second round of pit stops did offer Verstappen another shot at edging past Leclerc on lap 32.

But, only this time, the Ferrari pit crew achieved a blistering pit-stop time of 2.5s to help their provisional race winner hold on to the lead.

Red Bull force Ferrari F1 into late gamble

With barely 14 laps left in hand, Red Bull opted for a double-stack pit stop which forced Ferrari and Mercedes to bring in Sainz and Hamilton as well. Again, lucky for Leclerc, Gasly had to park his car on the straight between turn 2 and 3 after the AlphaTauri went up in flames, consequently bringing out the safety car.

This gave the Monegasque an awful lot of time to pit for a set of soft tires. Russell, too, followed the leading Ferrari into the pits, giving the top 10 drivers one final attempt to improve their positions.

Late twist during the safety car restart

Verstappen had trouble with his steering wheel which handed Sainz a glorious opportunity to claim P2. However, the Dutchman managed to keep Sainz behind for the time being as Leclerc continued to pull away at an impeccable pace.

Just a lap into the restart, Leclerc was already 2 seconds ahead of Verstappen. But, the problems got even worse for Verstappen as a battery issue forced him to retire from the race. Soon, Perez too complained of battery problems, and just a lap away from the chequered flag, the other Red Bull powertrain died going into turn 1.

READ MORE: WATCH: Charles Leclerc & Carlos Sainz’s Emotional Message to Ferrari After Magnificent 1–2 Finish at Bahrain GP

Hamilton, hence, picked up the scraps and clinched the final podium spot.

Updated F1 driver’s standings

Updated F1 constructor’s standings