Google+ Jack Leslie F1: 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix Weekend Report

17 April 2015

2015 Bahrain Grand Prix Weekend Report

The fourth round of the 2015 Formula 1 season took place at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain.
© Lotus F1 Team

It was the 11th running of the event and the second Bahrain Grand Prix night race, under 495 floodlights.

With just a few days separating the previous event in China and the fourth race on the schedule, there was very little time to reflect on Lewis Hamilton's victory, as focus quickly switched to Bahrain.

FP1
First practice took place in unrepresentative conditions compared to qualifying and Sunday's race, but it was a busy start to the session. The Force India duo were the first to emerge onto the circuit. Grip levels were low and track temperatures were incredibly high.
© Scuderia Ferrari

The majority of the field headed out in the opening minutes to complete installation laps. Jenson Button suffered a spin at Turn 1 and was forced to climb out of his car, cutting short his session after an electrical issue. Nico Rosberg put in the first timed lap with a 1:40.077. 

The two Mercedes drivers had the track to themselves early on, before pitting. Marcus Ericsson went fastest with a 1:39.676 but was quickly displaced by Sebastian Vettel, who then reported a "loss of power" and limped back to the pits. Kimi Raikkonen was briefly quickest, before Sergio Perez moved to the front. 

A number of drivers held the top spot on the timesheets, but Raikkonen returned to first place in the closing stages, finishing fastest from Vettel - who returned to the track - and Valtteri Bottas. Carlos Sainz Jr, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were next up. Rosberg and Hamilton finished 15th and 16th, focusing on higher fuel runs.

FP2
Under the bright lights of the Bahrain International Circuit and in much more representative conditions, second practice got underway. It was a quite start, with Felipe Massa being the first out on track for Williams. The Brazilian also put in the opening timed lap with a 1:38.540, before being beaten by 0.001 seconds by Bottas. 
© Daimler Mercedes

Vettel briefly went fastest, with Hamilton then moved to the front with a 1:36.795. Button's nightmare day continued when he stopped after just three laps at Turn 11. Raikkonen was the first driver to switch to the soft tyre, putting in a 1:35.512 to go quickest with one hour of the session remaining. 

Rosberg and Hamilton then returned to the top of the timesheets on the option compound, with the former putting in a 1:34.647. Focus then switched to long runs for the final part of practice two. The red flag emerged with 10 minutes remaining after Vettel damaged his front wing. 

The German reported a brake problem and collided with Perez as he exited the pit lane. The debris was quickly cleared and the session resumed. Rosberg remained fastest at the chequered flag, with Hamilton, Raikkonen, Vettel and Bottas next up. Ricciardo, Pastor Maldonado, Felipe Nasr, Daniil Kvyat and Massa completed the top 10.

FP3 
Will Stevens, Romain Grosjean, Vettel and Raikkonen were the first to take to the track for third practice. High winds and track temperatures meant conditions were tricky throughout the 60-minute session. Button put in the opening timed lap with a 1:39.127.
© Daimler Mercedes

Nasr was momentarily fastest for Sauber, before Maldonado moved to the top of the timesheets. Raikkonen and Vettel then improved to first and second, with Bottas going third as the 2015 field completed laps on the medium compound.

Kvyat's session was cut short with 30 minutes remaining after spinning into the Turn 4 gravel trap. His stranded RB11 also brought out a brief red flag. The order changed considerably in the final minutes of the session as drivers emerged on the option tyre.

Hamilton ended the session fastest with a 1:34.599, just 0.069 seconds faster than Vettel. Rosberg and Raikkonen were third and fourth, ahead of Bottas. Massa, Maldonado, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg and Nasr completed the top 10. Button and Alonso were 11th and 15th for McLaren, while Stevens and Roberto Merhi rounded out the results. 

Qualifying
Q1
The slowest five drivers were eliminated from the fight for pole position in the opening segment of qualifying. The 18-minute session got off to a quiet start, with Raikkonen being the first to emerge onto the circuit and set a timed lap - a 1:36.731.
© Red Bull Racing

Bottas was briefly fastest, before normal service resumed. Rosberg displaced Hamilton with a 1:35.657, while Button's difficult weekend continued. He was forced to stop his car on the run to Turn 4, having just exited the pit lane for the first time in Q1.

The Ferrari and Mercedes drivers took to the track with six minutes to go on the soft tyre, feeling slightly under pressure due to the large time difference between the two Pirelli compounds. There were plenty of improvements, with Hamilton moving to the front with a 1:33.928 - four tenths clear of Rosberg. 

Bottas split the two Mercedes drivers to go second, with Massa ending the session in fourth. Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Vettel, Grosjean, Alonso and Nasr completed the top 10. An engine issue saw Maldonado fall into the drop-zone, joining Kvyat, Stevens, Merhi and Button.

Q2
Five drivers were also eliminated from the 15-minute second segment of qualifying. It was a fairly dull start to the session, with no one venturing out on track in the opening two minutes. Perez broke the silence and was the first to exit the pit lane.
© Sahara Force India F1 Team

The Mexican also put in the opening lap time, with a 1:36.354. He was quickly beaten by Hulkenberg, before the Mercedes duo moved to the front. Hamilton put in a stunning lap to displace his team-mate with a 1:32.669. Massa also bettered Rosberg's time, with Bottas going fourth.

With six minutes remaining, the majority of the Q2 field pitted for a fresh set of tyres. Raikkonen and Vettel went second and fourth, before returning to their pit garages. The top six failed to re-appear in the closing minutes of the session.

Grosjean and Ricciardo remained seventh and eighth, with Hulkenberg and Sainz Jr just sneaking through to the top 10 shoot-out. Perez, Nasr, Ericsson, Alonso and Verstappen were all eliminated.

Q3
The final segment of qualifying decided the top 10 positions on the Bahrain Grand Prix grid. Vettel and Raikkonen were the first drivers onto the circuit for Ferrari, with Ricciardo quickly following suit.
© Daimler Mercedes

It was a busy opening two minutes of the session, with Rosberg and Hamilton also emerging from the pit lane. The first timed lap was set by Vettel, putting in a 1:34.522. He was beaten by Ricciardo, Rosberg and Bottas, before Hamilton displaced them all to go quickest.

The Q3 runners then pitted for new tyres and returned to the Bahrain International Circuit with just a few minutes left on the clock. A late improvement saw Hamilton storm to his fourth consecutive pole, with Vettel beating Rosberg to the final spot on the front row.

Raikkonen was one tenth behind the 2014 championship runner-up in fourth, with Bottas and Massa fifth and sixth for Williams. Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Sainz Jr and Grosjean completed the top 10 in the final segment of qualifying.

Full qualifying results can be found here. 

The Race
The Bahrain Grand Prix started under bright floodlights and the setting sun, but only 19 cars lined up on the grid. 

Button's problems continued and McLaren opted to not run the car in the race, leaving Alonso as the sole MP4-30. Hamilton was on pole position, with Vettel in second. Could Ferrari take the fight to Mercedes?

The revs rose, the lights went out and round four of the 2015 season got underway. Off the line, Hamilton had a strong start to retain the lead into Turn 1. Vettel just stayed ahead of Rosberg, who fell behind Raikkonen in the opening few corners.
© Daimler Mercedes

Grosjean ran wide at Turn 4 but stayed seventh after a strong first corner, while Maldonado went off track twice in the second part of the lap. Massa failed to get away from the line for the formation lap and started from the pit lane.

Hamilton's lead was eight tenths of a second after the opening tour, with Vettel just ahead of Raikkonen. The fight in the midfield was close; while at the back Massa displaced Kvyat for 16th. The gap at the front continued to increase and Vettel was outside DRS range by lap three.

Rosberg moved ahead of Raikkonen on lap four after a late overtake. The Finn tried to fight back but couldn't find a way back through, falling to fourth place. Maldonado and Sainz Jr were both given five-second time penalties. Verstappen was the first to pit at the end of lap six, moving onto the medium compound tyre.

Having displaced Raikkonen, Rosberg closed in on Vettel - after a mistake from the German - and attempted a move at Turn 4 on lap eight. He failed to pull off the overtake, but successfully passed the Ferrari driver at the first corner on the next tour. 

Hulkenberg was the next driver to stop on lap 10, with Nasr, Massa and Maldonado following the Force India driver into the pit lane. By lap 13, Hamilton's race lead over Rosberg was 5.8 seconds, with Vettel pitting and emerging on the option tyre. 

Mercedes reacted on the following lap, with Rosberg pitting and returning to the track on a new set of the soft Pirelli compound. The undercut worked for Ferrari, with Vettel moving ahead of the second Mercedes driver. However, he didn't stay ahead for long.

Hamilton pitted one lap later and emerged just ahead of the scrapping Vettel and Rosberg, with the four-time world champion losing out to last year's runner-up at the first corner. Raikkonen stayed out until the end of lap 18 and moved onto the medium tyre, unlike the top three drivers.
© Sahara Force India F1 Team

Hamilton, Rosberg and Vettel were separated by just 3.2 seconds by the 22nd lap. Raikkonen was matching their pace despite being on the 'slower' Pirelli compound, while further back Massa and Nasr battled over 10th place. The Sauber racer found his way through but fell behind his countryman and Maldonado at his second pit stop.

Hulkenberg displaced Alonso for 11th on lap 29, with the Spaniard failing to put up much of a fight. Vettel fell to 4.1 seconds behind Rosberg, with Raikkonen moving to within five seconds of his team-mate by the 31st tour of the Bahrain International Circuit. Sainz Jr was the race's first official retirement after pulling off track at Turn 8.

Vettel pitted for the second time at the end of lap 33 and moved onto the medium compound. Mercedes covered the Ferrari driver's stop, with Hamilton moving onto the prime tyre on the following lap. Rosberg pitted on the next tour and once again emerged behind Vettel.

However, the Ferrari driver didn't stay ahead for long. He went wide at the final corner and dropped to fourth place. Verstappen retired from the race on lap 35, bringing Toro Rosso's race to an early end. Vettel reported front wing damage and pitted for a new one, losing a considerable amount of time and dashing his podium hopes.

Hamilton returned to the lead of the race after moving ahead of Raikkonen. The Finn pitted and moved onto the soft tyre on lap 40, emerging in clean air. He quickly started to chip away at the gap to Rosberg, while his team-mate battled Bottas for fourth place. 

Vettel almost ran into the back of Bottas at Turn 1 after locking up on lap 52. Raikkonen closed to within two seconds of Rosberg with four laps remaining. He easily moved into second place after Rosberg went off track at the first corner with two laps left to go.
© Daimler Mercedes

Despite a late brake problem, Hamilton took the chequered flag to score his third win of the season. Raikkonen came home in second place to score his first podium since the 2013 Korean Grand Prix. Rosberg also suffered a brake issue but completed the podium, with Bottas just holding off Vettel to take fourth.

Ricciardo's race ended in spectacular style. His engine failed as he crossed the line, with plumes of smoke pouring from the back of his Red Bull RB11. Grosjean, Perez, Kvyat and Massa completed the top 10. Alonso was 11th, ahead of Nasr, Hulkenberg, Ericsson, Stevens and Merhi.

Full race results can be found here.

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