Lewis Hamilton proved why he is the world champion after holding off Max Verstappen to claim victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The two top drivers on the grid went head-to-head in a titanic tussle at Sakhir, and it appeared the Dutchman had it won when he passed the Mercedes at Turn 4 with less than four laps to go.
However, Max was forced to hand the place back to Hamilton by the stewards after running off track on the exit and was unable to try and repass the Briton again.
Valtteri Bottas was a distant third in the second Mercedes.
Race Review
The race began with drama for Red Bull, as Sergio Perez’s engine cut on the formation lap, forcing the Mexican to start from the pitlane and requiring an extra formation lap.
When the lights went out, Verstappen held the lead from pole into Turn 1, as Charles Leclerc moved up to third on his soft tyres for Ferrari.
The action was short-lived though as Nikita Mazepin crashed by himself at the back of the field exiting Turn 3, causing a Safety Car.
Verstappen waited until the last moment to floor the throttle at the restart, holding off Hamilton and Leclerc on the run to Turn 1.
Behind, Pierre Gasly saw his strong qualifying ruined by contact with Daniel Ricciardo, knocking off his front wing.
Bottas moved back up to third leaving Leclerc and the two McLarens.
Despite questions over his differential, Max held Hamilton at bay out front until the pit-stop phase, when Mercedes tried the undercut.
Red Bull opted not to respond, however, meaning Lewis was seven seconds ahead after the Dutchman did eventually pit.
While both Mercedes’ moved to the hard tyres at their first stop, however, Verstappen stayed on the mediums.
After his early drama, Perez gradually worked his way back through the midfield to seventh and the nostalgia was real in the midfield as Fernando Alonso battled with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen through the pit-stop phase.
In 2021 though, Verstappen was putting his faster tyres to good use, closing the gap to Hamilton out front.
That led Mercedes to pit their two cars early for a second time for more hards, but a sticky front-right tyre at Bottas’ pitstop took him out of the battle.
With 16 laps to go, and 12 laps after Hamilton, Red Bull made their move calling in Verstappen for a second time for new hard tyres.
Eight seconds behind, the Dutchman immediately went on the prowl closing in on Hamilton out front.
As the laps ticked down, Max got closer and it was a mistake from Lewis at Turn 10 which put the Red Bull within DRS range.
Verstappen didn’t wait long to attack sweeping around the outside of the Mercedes at Turn 4, but after running completely off track in the process, race control told the team to hand back the place.
After that, another small error from Max at Turn 13 cost him DRS on the penultimate lap, and he couldn’t quite get close enough to launch one last bid for victory.
Bottas finished 36 seconds behind the top two in third, though much of that gap came after pitting for new tyres and setting the fastest lap on the final lap.
Norris took fourth for McLaren as Perez recovered to fifth after passing Leclerc and Ricciardo. Carlos Sainz also joined the fight in the second Ferrari but finished a second down on the Australian in eighth.
Yuki Tsunoda drove an impressive first race for AlphaTauri up to ninth, with Lance Stroll claiming the final point in 10th.
The two Alfa Romeo’s just missed out in 11th and 12th, as Esteban Ocon was caught up in a collision with Sebastian Vettel en route to 13th.
George Russell was 14th for Williams ahead of Vettel, as Mick Schumacher was the last finisher in 16th.
Gasly, Nicholas Latifi and Alonso all stopped with mechanical issues, joining Mazepin for an early bath after his Lap 1 crash.
Full results from the race can be seen below:
