2018 F1 Round 2 Bahrain GP — Vettel holds on as Ferrari opens with back-to-back wins

The Bahrain Grand Prix took place over 57 laps at Sakhir on 8 April 2018. Starting from pole, Sebastian Vettel stayed out for a long stint and resisted Valtteri Bottas’s sustained late pressure. He crossed the line less than a second ahead to secure his second victory in the opening two races of the season.

Vettel won in 1:32:01.940, with Bottas second, 0.699 seconds behind, and Lewis Hamilton third, 6.512 seconds behind the winner. Hamilton had started ninth following a gearbox penalty and worked his way onto the podium. Bottas provided Mercedes’ main challenge to the leader.

Early in the race, Max Verstappen and Hamilton made wheel-to-wheel contact. The Red Bull driver subsequently retired with a car problem. Daniel Ricciardo also went out early, quickly removing both Red Bulls from the contest. Ferrari and Mercedes became the direct rivals for victory, while safety-car considerations and strategy calls gained importance as the tyre windows evolved.

Bottas reduced Vettel’s advantage in the second half of the race and moved within attacking range in the closing laps, but he could not find a sufficient opportunity to pass. Vettel nursed his older tyres to the finish, managing grip while protecting his lead. He avoided a mistake under pressure and converted pole into victory.

The standout midfield result came from Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly. Starting fifth, he finished fourth, 62.234 seconds behind the winner. It was a major personal breakthrough and, at the time, Honda’s best race finish since returning to F1 in 2015.

Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg finished fifth and sixth, followed by McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne in seventh and eighth. Marcus Ericsson took ninth for Sauber, with Esteban Ocon tenth. Brendon Hartley was classified seventeenth after a collision penalty, as drivers from several midfield teams reached the finish.

Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen retired following a serious pit-stop accident in which a member of the pit crew was injured. The incident also cost Ferrari the chance to score with both cars. Verstappen and Ricciardo likewise failed to finish, leaving 17 of the 20 starters with classified finishing positions.

Vettel strengthened his start to the season with a second victory, ahead of Bottas and Hamilton, while Gasly’s fourth place was one of the weekend’s biggest highlights. The table below follows F1’s official final classification and lists the results or retirement status and points for all 20 drivers. Retirements are marked NC.