It’s two wins in two races for Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, but his victory isn’t without any hiccups as Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas challenged him in the final 10 laps of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The second race of the F1 season also provided plenty of live betting drama, with Lewis Hamilton defying betting odds to take a podium finish, a Ferrari mechanic getting injured after a pit stop accident, and the Red Bull drivers retiring five laps into the contest!
After surprising betting websites and taking the pole position, Vettel looked in total control of the race and was even seven seconds ahead of Bottas by Lap 40. While the German ace appeared to be cruising to an easy victory, however, the 28-year-old Finn stepped up in the closing stages to make it a nail-biter.
Bottas—who passed Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen into the first corner of the opening lap—had cut five seconds in five laps and was just a little over two seconds behind Vettel entering the final lap.
It didn’t help Vettel that his tyres were fading after opting not to stop for a fresher rubber. Despite that though, the 30-year-old showed his championship experience and ability to manage tyres well, eventually fending off Bottas to win by the skin of his teeth—0.699 seconds to be exact.
Ferrari’s win, nonetheless, was soured by a pit stop accident on Lap 36. Raikkonen attempted to leave before his left rear wheel had even been removed, causing it to hit the mechanic who was waiting to remove it.
Raikkonen retired from the race while the crew member was taken to hospital. Ferrari later confirmed that the man suffered from a broken leg.
On the other hand, Mercedes star Hamilton has gone into damage control after starting ninth from the grid due to a penalty. The Brit was up to sixth heading into Lap 5 before making his way to fourth by the eighth lap.
Hamilton was lucky that Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen retired early in a weekend to forget for the team. He then took third after Raikkonen’s error.
Toro Rosso and Haas, meanwhile, are undoubtedly happy as their drivers, Pierre Gasly and Kevin Magnussen, rounded off the top-five finishers.
With his win, Vettel is now 17 points ahead of Hamilton. Meanwhile, the Silver Arrows’ 2-3 finish allowed them to cut Ferrari’s lead to just 10 points in the constructors’ championship.
Next up is the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit where Hamilton will look to defend his title.
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