Sebastian Vettel wins the 2018 Bahrain GP

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel beat the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas to win the Bahrain grand prix. Lewis Hamilton recovered after starting from 9th on the grid to finish 3rd, while Kimi Raikkonen was forced to retire on lap 36 following a pit stop incident (unsafe release).

Vettel started on pole ahead of Raikkonen. But, Bottas was quicker off the line and passed Kimi's Ferrari before turn 1. Hamilton had qualified 4th but a grid penalty for gearbox change dropped him down to 9th place. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo started from 4th but was out of the race on lap 2 due to an electrical issue. His team mate Max Verstappen, who started down in 15th was quick off the line and was soon challenging Hamilton. The scuffle between the two ended with Verstappen getting a puncture. He later retired.

After the first round of pit stops, it was clear that Mercedes were on a one-stop strategy, while Ferrari had committed to a two-stopper. With Kimi out and both Mercedes on a better strategy, Ferrari was forced to extend Vettel's stint on the soft tyres till the end of the race. Bottas, on the more durable rubber was catching up to Vettel and launched an attack on the penultimate lap but in the end, despite the lack of grip, Vettel managed to take the chequered flag just 0.6 seconds ahead of Bottas.

Torro Rosso's Pierre Gasly started behind Ricciardo and finished 4th - his best ever finish for the team. Kevin Magnussen finished 5th in the Haas ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in the Renault. McLaren's Fernando Alsonso and Stoffel Vandoorne finished 7th and 8th respectively. Alonso started in 13th place but quickly gained a few positions during the opening laps. He did catch up to Hulkenberg's Renault but was unable to pass the German driver. Marcus Ericsson who started down in 17th place finished 9th for Alfa Romeo Sauber ahead of Force India's Esteban Ocon. Both Sauber and Force India scored their first points of the season under the lights in Bahrain. Williams is the only team that is yet to score a championship point.

The third round of the 2018 Formula 1 world championship will be held in Shanghai on April 15, 2018.

World Drivers' Championship standings:

Sebastian Vettel - 50

Lewis Hamilton - 33

Valtteri Bottas - 22

World Constructors' Championship standings:

Ferrari - 65

Mercedes - 55

McLaren Renault - 22