F1 - Bahrain Grand Prix - 03.04.2016



Nico Rosberg extends F1 points lead with Bahrain Grand Prix victory

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Nico Rosberg extended his Formula 1 championship lead with victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix as Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton recovered from a first-lap collision to finish third.

Rosberg made the most of polesitter Hamilton's slow getaway to lead into the first corner and then was relatively comfortable at the front, finishing 10.2 seconds clear of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen under the lights at Sakhir.

Hamilton bogged down at the start but was second into Turn 1 before the Mercedes driver was T-boned by Valtteri Bottas, dropping him to ninth.

The reigning world champion suffered front wing damage but was able to continue, carving his way back through the field to rescue third and remain within 17 points of title rival Rosberg.

Raikkonen also recovered from a poor getaway but didn't quite have enough pace to seriously challenge Rosberg for the lead in the closing stages.

Meanwhile, his team-mate Sebastian Vettel did not even make the start after suffering an engine failure on the formation lap.

Romain Grosjean continued Haas's brilliant start to the season with a superb fifth, having done three stints on the super-soft tyres, one place behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.

Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen bolted on a set of super-soft tyres late and surged past Felipe Massa to take sixth, with Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat also passing the Brazilian on the penultimate lap to take seventh.

Massa ran second early on after an impressive start, but dropped down the field as Williams opted for a two-stop strategy with two stints on the medium and he ended up eighth.

Bottas, who had a drive-through penalty for causing a collision with Hamilton at the start, was ninth while McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne, standing in for the injured Fernando Alonso, scored a point on his F1 debut with 10th.

Kevin Magnussen was 11th, ahead of Sauber's Marcus Ericsson, who had a feisty battle with team-mate Felipe Nasr, with the two making contact in the early stages.

The Swede came out on top and ended up 12th, with Nasr finishing down in 14th and complaining on team radio that the car "is terrible to drive".

Pascal Wehrlein finished an impressive 13th for Manor with the Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg 15th and 16th respectively.

Carlos Sainz Jr looked well-placed when the highest runner on the softs early on, but he picked up a puncture when he was clipped by Perez and later retired.

While Grosjean scored points for the second successive race, there was heartache for Haas team-mate Esteban Gutierrez who was running in the points one place behind Grosjean before pulling into the pits and retiring the car.

Jenson Button retired with an ERS problem while Renault's Jolyon Palmer pulled into the pits at the end of the formation lap with a hydraulics issue.

RESULTS - 57 LAPS
PosDriverCarGap
1Nico RosbergMercedes1h33m34.696s
2Kimi RaikkonenFerrari10.282s
3Lewis HamiltonMercedes30.148s
4Daniel RicciardoRed Bull/TAG Heuer1m02.494s
5Romain GrosjeanHaas/Ferrari1m18.299s
6Max VerstappenToro Rosso/Ferrari1m20.929s
7Daniil KvyatRed Bull/TAG Heuer1 Lap
8Felipe MassaWilliams/Mercedes1 Lap
9Valtteri BottasWilliams/Mercedes1 Lap
10Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren/Honda1 Lap
11Kevin MagnussenRenault1 Lap
12Marcus EricssonSauber/Ferrari1 Lap
13Pascal WehrleinManor/Mercedes1 Lap
14Felipe NasrSauber/Ferrari1 Lap
15Nico HulkenbergForce India/Mercedes1 Lap
16Sergio PerezForce India/Mercedes1 Lap
17Rio HaryantoManor/Mercedes1 Lap
-Carlos SainzToro Rosso/FerrariCollision
-Esteban GutierrezHaas/FerrariBrakes
-Jenson ButtonMcLaren/HondaPower Unit
-Sebastian VettelFerrariNot started
-Jolyon PalmerRenaultNot started

DRIVERS' STANDINGS
PosDriverPoints
1Nico Rosberg50
2Lewis Hamilton33
3Daniel Ricciardo24
4Kimi Raikkonen18
5Romain Grosjean18
6Sebastian Vettel15
7Felipe Massa14
8Max Verstappen9
9Nico Hulkenberg6
10Daniil Kvyat6
11Valtteri Bottas6
12Carlos Sainz2
13Stoffel Vandoorne1
14Kevin Magnussen0
15Jolyon Palmer0
16Marcus Ericsson0
17Sergio Perez0
17Pascal Wehrlein0
19Felipe Nasr0
20Jenson Button0
21Rio Haryanto0

CONSTRUCTORS' STANDINGS
PosConstructorPoints
1Mercedes83
2Ferrari33
3Red Bull/TAG Heuer30
4Williams/Mercedes20
5Haas/Ferrari18
6Toro Rosso/Ferrari11
7Force India/Mercedes6
8McLaren/Honda1
9Renault0
10Sauber/Ferrari0
11Manor/Mercedes0