Bahrain Grand Prix 2015: as it happened

BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX

WRAP

Fraught, frantic, compelling, nerve-jangling stuff in Bahrain.

Nico Rosberg and Sebastien Vettel locked in a battle for second, gate crashed by Kimi Raikkonen who drove superbly and managed his tyres better than any other driver. You couldn't help but feel for Rosberg, let down by the brakes on his Mercedes on the penultimate lap, but nobody would deny Raikkonen deserved hi second spot. Further back Vettel got stuck behind Valtteri Bottas and finished fifth.

Ahead of it all, in serene calmness, Lewis Hmilton, winning for the third time in four races this season having qualified on pole and never coming close to relinquishing the position. Only the brake issue that affected his team mate could have stopped him, kicking in, as it did, on the final lap. But he'd built a sufficient gap to allow him to get out and push the car over the line if necessary and it didn't quite come to that.

Hamilton dominant then, but this was a thriller all the same.

Here's our man Daniel Johnson's report from Bahrain.

Problems for McLaren, and Daniil Kvyat, and why Sebastien Vettel may not necessarily be Ferrari's number one in Daniel's Five Things We Learned...

18.05

Sebastien Vettel understandably downbeat after his fifth-place finish.

I was trying to defend against Nico on the last corner, I ran a little wide and damaged the front wing. I felt I had a loss of grip and we decided to pit which was the right call. It was disappointing to get stuck and not get the fourth place. I felt I let the team down slightly today, but overall a good day for us. It would have been difficult to catch Nico because we were on the same tyre, but I didn’t get the chance to find out because I damaged the front wing.

18.01

Ferrari technical director James Allison: "Kimi was having a strong middle stint on those tyres so it’s natural to want to stay on them, but we knew he’d be better on the softs. I don’t think we stayed out too long. We have some useful software for figuring this out and we got it about right. As long as the tyre is behaving as you expect, the software is incredible accurate. Where it gets tricky is when the tyre gives up on you."

17.57

Driver standings look like this...

1 Hamilton 93

2 Rosberg 66

3 Vettel 65

4 Raikkonen 42

5 Massa 31

6 Bottas 30

7 Ricciardo 19

8 Nasr 14

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff admits: "It was a huge relief. Both cars lost brake by wire two laps from the end which leaves you unable to defend. It's a shame for Nico who had a terrific race. We had an overheating problem, they ran pretty hot all race on both cars. We monitored the brakes and the temperatures and we knew it was a critical stage – they had to overtake a lot of traffic, when it gets too hot it collapses. Ferrari are definitely catching up but we’ll do everything we can to beat them."

17.50

Sir Jackie Stewart the man with the mic for the interviews...

Lewis Hamilton: "The Ferraris gave us a run for our money it was difficult to look after the tyres in those conditions. I think my brakes got a bit warm when I was behind the back markers, it wasn’t really a problem."

Kimi Raikkonen: "You’re never happy to finish second but after a difficult start I’m pleased to get the result. We came through in the end very quickly but ran out of laps. We have to be happy after how we qualified. I was looking for a better result. I’m very happy how the team is working, after last hear where we are now is a big step. It’s working well and improving. We’ll get there as a team to a point where we’re always fighting for wins.

Nico Rosberg: "The overtaking was enjoyable, overtaking the red cars I like that a lot. I couldn’t catch Lewis as we’re quite similar, then I lost my brakes two laps from the end and lost out to Kimi which was disappointing. I’m happy with the car, the team has done a great job."

17.46

Great response for Raikkonen as he emerges for the 78th podium of his career. Lewis Hamilton bounds out after him. Quick blast of God Save The Queen and then it's grape-juice spraying time. Mercedes has confirmed both its drivers suffered brake issues at the end of the race.

17.43

Never rains but it pours - Rosberg is late to the podium because he can't get his steering wheel back on. A fine awaits.

17.41

The Rosberg mistake was owing to a brake problem, the same that afflicted Hamilton right at the death. A minor problem for Mercedes, and Hamilton, who win again. Rosberg's cat might want to make itself scarce when he gets home.

Hamilton wins

Raikkonen, who raced brilliantly on the hard tyres for the middle laps, deserved his second place ahead of Rosberg who will lament that wide turn on the penultimate lap having battled so hard to get past Sebastien Vettel on three separate occasions earlier in the day. Vettel eventually finished fifth behind Bottas.

Lap 57/57

Hamilton has a brake by wire problem going into the last lap. Dropped seven tenths of a second in the first sector. Plenty of space, but weaving on the back straight. Few nerves in what has been an otherwise faultless race for the Brit.

Lap 56/57

Never mind close it up, he's past him. Rosberg ran wide on turn three, Raikkonen saw his chance and nipped through. Good news for Ferrari there, bad news further back where Vettel still can't get past Bottas. Looking like a second and fifth for Ferrari, first and third for Mercedes.

Lap 55/57

Raikkonen not quite in DRS range. Going to have to close it up on lap 56. Massa drops another spot as Kvyat moves into ninth in his Red Bull.

Lap 54/57

Four laps to go, Raikkonen 1.7 seconds back from Rosberg, agonisingly close to DRS range. It's a race for second place. Gap cut to 1.2 seconds as I'm typing. "Nico now under pressure from Kimi," whispered into Lewis Hamilton's ear. I almost heard the laugh-snort from here.

Lap 53/57

Rosberg and Raikkonen now just three seconds apart but laps running out. Hamilton is coasting home. Vettel, desperately trying to pass Bottas on turn one, comes very close to smashing into the back of him - inches in it.

Lap 51/57

Rosberg 5.776 back from Hamilton the leader, Raikkonen 4.619 back from Rosberg in second. Sergio Perez the Force India passes Felipa Massa and his damaged Williams in eighth.

Lap 49/57

Raikkonen having his own issues with traffic. "Come on blue flags, they don't move these people," he says. Vettel still trying to find a way past Bottas.

Lap 48/57

"The gap back to Kimi now 8.5," Mercedes to Rosberg. "Ok, ok don't tell me the gap any more," he replies. He can feel the breath of the Fin on the back of his neck. It's a fight for second between the two of them and it's coming to a head in the next five minutes. He's finally cleared the traffic, but lost much of his time advantage in the process.

Lap 47/57

Ten laps to go, Hamilton seemingly heading for a third win of the season. Ferrari expecting Raikkonen to be catching Rosberg in five laps' time.

Lap 45/57

Rosberg warned that Raikkonen is on option tyres and on target to catch him before the end of the race. Bottas, 17 seconds off the lead in fourth, is still holding off Vettel in fifth.

Lap 42/57

Problem with the Lotus of Maldonado which is belching out smoke from its brakes. The engine has cut out after he locked up entering the pit lane. He is back underway. Team mate Romain Grosjean is in seventh.

Lap 41/57

Hamilton leads Rosberg in second by five seconds.

1 Hamilton

2 Rosberg

3 Raikkonen

4 Bottas

5 Vettel

6 Ricciardo

7 Maldonado

8 Grosjean

9 Massa

10 Perez

Lap 40/57

Raikkonen finally pitting. Soft tyres being readied despite that track temperature dropping. There are 17 laps to go and he'll be hitting these hard. Down to third, and some 19 seconds behind second. Let's see what he's got. Meanwhile Vettel in fifth after that nose change is chasing Bottas in fourth.

Lap 39/57

Some confusion here. Raikkonen's radio is playing up, so he's unsure of the strategy. The speed is slowing considerably, to the point where you wonder if it's just a tyre issue. Hamilton overtakes Raikkonen and retakes the lead overall. Track temperature coming down.

Lap 38/57

Raikkonen still throbbing around with a set of softs to take - 20 laps on his current set. Rosberg told by his team to expect a challenge from there at the end of the race.

Lap 37/57

Vettel has damaged the front wing of his car mounting the kerb on lap 35. He's pitting again for a nose change - could do with one of those myself.

Lap 36/57

Vettel runs wide in the final turn of lap 35, allowing Rosberg to take him for the third time and move back ahead. Thought he was going to get front grip that never came.

Things not getting a lot better for Torro Rosso. Max Verstappen has now withdrawn, quickly following Sainz's technical problem. Zero points for them.

Lap 35/57

Vettel emerges from his pit back in front of Rosberg, who is now going to have to pass him for a third time. Raikkonen, awaiting a second stop, is the new race leader.

Lap 33/57

Raikkonen's great pace on his hard tyres means Ferrari are pitting Vettel now, potentially intending to send him out now for a long stint. Raikkonen should be coming in for soft tyres soon, although given his pace on the hard one that might be premature. Hamilton is pitting as well now, onto the same tyres as Vettel.

Lap 31/57

Race over for Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso. He's pulled over on his first lap after a pit stop and is going nowhere. Difficult weekend, and a hard-won grid spot of ninth comes to nothing. Approaching turn eight he reported "feeling something strange in the car" with sparks coming off his front left tyre. Somebody involved in the previous pit will be getting the stern eye. Cut to a shot of Carlos Sainz's mother who looks like she's just taken the dog to be put down.

Lap 30/57

Raikkonen closing the gap, being urged to save power for the end. He's the threat to Mercedes here it seems.

Lap 28/57

Halfway through then. Hamilton in front, teammate Rosberg three seconds behind, then the two Ferraris led by Sebastien Vettel. Interesting tactical dilemma facing Ferrari now as we go into the second half of the race.

Lap 26/57

Disaster for Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber whose front left wheel gets stuck on the car during a tyre change. He pits for the thick end of 50 seconds. Not ideal.

Lap 25/57

Felipe Nasr in the Sauber reads the situation perfectly, cuts past Felipe Massa and up another place. Massa struggling with a rear floor problem after that earlier prang. Another pit stop for him coming up. Nasr goes in as well, and Maldonado to and he's quickest out of the blocks and flies past both of them. Great pit stop from Lotus there, gaining two places in one go.

Lap 24/57

Perez in the Force India is the fastest in the midfield, and seemingly on a two-stop strategy. He's targeting Maldonado in twelfth.

Lap 21/57

Huelkenberg reporting sliding -"we're eating the tyres". Massa having mor eproblems with his car after taking a whack. Hamilton leads by just 1.6 seconds now.

Lap 20/57

1 Hamilton

2 Rosberg

3 Vettel

4 Raikkonen

5 Bottas

6 Ricciardo

7 Grosjean

8 Ericsson

9 Hulkenberg

10 Massa

11 Nasr

12 Maldonado

13 Perez

14 Kvyat

15 Alonso

16 Sainz

17 Verstappen

18 Stevens

19 Merhi

Lap 19/57

Williams keen for Bottas to target Raikkonen now he's on the harder tyres.

Lap 18/57

Raikkonen pits. Medium compound tyres applied, down into fourth for now.

Lap 17/57

Could Jenson Button be onto something with his earlier Tweet? Race leader, yet to pit, renowned for the care to his tyres, with an excellent record on this track.

Lap 16/57

Hamilton pits, meaning that Raikkonen is the new race leader until his stop. As the Brit emerges Vettel and Rosberg come roaring up behind him alongside each other, and Rosberg has nipped back in ahead of the Ferrari on the first corner for the second time already today. Fantastic stuff from Rosberg so far, controlled aggression.

Lap 15/57

Vettel has gone back past Rosberg after their respective pit stops. Hamilton comfortable up front, but Ferrari's strategy has paid off further back, lifting Vettel ahead of Rosberg once more.

Lap 14/57

Vettel, who had dropped to third, is the first of two Ferraris to pit. Rosberg is going to follow him in. Alonso switching to harder tires too. Grosjean has gone past Huelkenberg into tenth lower down the grid.

Lap 13/57

Grosjean the latest into the pits. Some debate about whether these early stops mean teams are going for three pits.

Lap 12/57

Sainz pits with his five second penalty to come. Marcus Ericsson from Sauber also stopping. Fernando Alonso climbs briefly into the points prior to his own stop. Jenson Button not starting today due to tehcnical problems with the car, so McLaren need a bit of good news.

Lap 11/57

We're starting to see the first of the two stops come in for aggressive early pits. Huelkenberg and Nasr both in. No sign of Ferrari or Mercedes as yet. Hamilton 6.2 seconds ahead.

Lap 9/57

Gets him second time around. Vettel goes wide on turn one, Rosberg takes him up the inside - aggressive speed, late on the brakes, attacks the inside line. We now have Mercedes one and two with Ferrari in three and four. Mercedes in good shape, asking Rosberg for more tyre management now that job is done and they're "going longer than target". All shaping up beautifully for Hamilton who is 5.3 seconds ahead.

Lap 8/57

Rosberg gets side by side with Vettel after he takes the first turn too wide, but he can't get past him. The aggression he spoke about in the build up in evidence there. Mercedes looking stronger than Ferrari early on. Massa has climbed to thirteenth after his disastrous beginning.

Lap 7/57

Damage to Verstappen's Toro Rosso suffered in the first turn sees him pit early for a new front wing, and a change onto harder tyres.

Lap 6/57

Daniel Ricciardo, seventh in the Red Bull, bemoaning a lack of grip. Maldonado will get a five second penalty for that mistake in position before the start.

Lap 5/57

First little mistake from Hamilton, but it hasn't cost him the lead and he's still 1.889 ahead of Vettel. Rosberg being told to manage his brakes before attacking Vettel.

Lap 4/57

Rosberg bites back. Takes on Raikkonen on turn three and regains third. Squeezed him out, in much the same way we saw Hamilton do on that same corner in last year's race. So, at least at the front of the grid, we're back to the qualifying line up of alternating Mercedes and Ferraris.

Lap 2/57

Hamilton stretching the lead early on, no sign of tyre saving tentativeness in the early stages. There's a suggestion that Pastor Maldonado may have been in the wrong position at the start - more on that as we get it.

Lap 1/57

So a dramatic start. Rosberg fourth, Raikkonen third, Vettel second and Hamilton out in front. Massa, meanwhile, told by his Williams team to "have a bit of fun and get through this as quickly as possible" after his forced pit lane start due to electrical problems prior to the formation lap.

START

Disaster for Rosberg on turn one. Trying to target Vettel and move from third to second, he actually gets caught on the inside by Raikkonen. So it's Rosberg down to fourth now, and the two Ferraris behind Hamilton who held his pole.

16.03

There's life in Massa yet. He will start from the pits.

16.00

Dead on 18.00 local time, the formation lap begins. Bad news for Williams, Felipe Massa - who qualified in sixth - hasn't moved. Mechanics tearing about all over the place.

It's an electrical problem apparently, and Williams are now rushing to get him ready for a pit lane start.

Meanwhile, five-second penalty goes to Carlos Seinz from Torro Rosso for exceeding the time allowed for the reconnaissance lap. You don't see that every day.

15.55

Sun setting, drivers in positions, lights on. We're ready to go.

A reminder of how the drivers line up following yesterday's final qualifying session...

15.40

Twenty minutes to go, here's a timely reminder of what happened yesterday...

Of that qualifying, and strategy today, Rosberg says...

I need to learn to put setbacks behind me and move on with full attack today. I have such an awesome car that even when it’s not a great day I’m still starting third. Maybe I can get round the outside on turn one, and there will be further opportunities around the pit stops because there will be a lot of tyre degradation. It’s an aggressive strategy I can’t afford to be safe starting third. It’s about risk management - you don’t know what will come at the start.

15.30

Given we're in Bahrain this week, this all seems rather ironic from our man in the pits...

"Bernie Ecclestone did one of his customary wanders into the media centre this afternoon. He did not have anything particularly astonishing to say, another than that Azerbaijan will have to undergo F1's new human rights "due diligence" before it joins the calendar next year. When that means anything in practice, who knows."

15.15

All eyes on Nico Rosberg today, given the way the race panned out in China a week ago, with Hamilton's deliberately slow - tyre saving - pace backing his team mate into the chasing pack.

Even worse for the German this time, his qualifying time is good enough only for third on the grid, letting Sebastien Vettel and his Ferrari in between the supposed team mates.

"

The start is important in every race but especially so here for Nico Rosberg. He looks a little short on ideas at the moment, being outclassed by Hamilton in every department.

"So he needs to get past Vettel on the first lap and keep chase with Hamilton. If he can overhaul the Briton (I have a sinking feeling he has almost no chance), then it will turn the dynamic of this championship around."

15.00

Four poles from four qualifying sessions, two wins from three races so far, is there any stopping Lewis Hamilton this season? We'll know more after today's night race in Bahrain, where Ferrari are being hotly tipped to pose a big challenge to Mercedes' dominance so far.

It's Clive Whittingham here in London and our man Daniel Johnson trackside in Bahrain to take you through the whole build up and race this afternoon. Get in touch via the Twitter @loftforwords or on the e-mail clive.whittingham@yahoo.co.uk

Daniel says: "Good evening from a cool Bahrain. It is amazing what making this a night race has done for the place. Before, frankly, it looked like a fairly average track in the middle of nowhere. Now, after 2014, it has a definite charm about it.

"On the subject of 2014, that was probably the race of the year (one of my colleagues suggested it was the race of the century, although I think that's taking it a bit far). Will today deliver? The dynamic between Hamilton, Vettel and Rosberg should be fascinating."

Hello, Clive will be here at about 15.00 to bring you all the action, but before then have a gander at the articles below and a little preview below.

Preview: Lewis Hamilton had this to say after qualifying yesterday: "I feel great, very happy."

"Coming into the weekend the target was to master this track, get comfortable, and that generally is how the weekend has gone.

"I'm really grateful to have this beast under me, to be able to really attack the corners."

Hamilton, though, is wary of Ferrari as he said: "They'll be hard to beat. They've great race pace.

"We'll be taking all measures to make sure the tyres last as long as they do, but we're in a good position."

Sebastian Vettel also declared himself "very happy" with second, and feels he can give Hamilton a run for his money.

"It was a tough session," the German said. "At the beginning I didn't find the rhythm I had in practice, but it was getting better - I was feeling happier in the car.

"I felt more comfortable to push. We're on the front row, and in the race I feel we can get closer."

Nico Rosberg, on pole for the previous two years for this race, blamed poor tyre management on his side for his third-place grid slot.

"I got it wrong, thinking too much about the race and I underestimated Seb's speed," he said.

"I just lacked rhythm, and I'm disappointed Seb beat me.

"If I'd been second that would have been damage limitation, but third is not really not ideal." Via PA.