2013 Bahrain Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Sebastian Vettel won in Bahrain ahead of the two Lotus drivers, recreating the previous year’s podium. Fernando Alonso‘s DRS failure compromised Ferrari‘s challenge, while close midfield battles kept the action lively throughout.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Pole time	1:32.330
Fastest lap	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Fastest-lap time	1:36.961 on lap 55
First	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Second	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1
Third	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
19 April 2013	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
19 April 2013	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
20 April 2013	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
20 April 2013	Qualifying	14:00
21 April 2013	Race	15:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Sebastian Vettel arrived at round 4 leading the 2013 F1 World Championship on 52 points, with Kimi Räikkönen on 49. Red Bull Racing headed the constructors’ standings with 78 points.

Race entries

The 11 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Heikki Kovalainen, Rodolfo Gonzalez also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Felipe Massa led FP1 on a dusty circuit as teams waited before using their limited tyres. Caterham recalled Heikki Kovalainen to help assess its car and upgrades, while Sauber tested aerodynamic changes. Rodolfo Rodolfo Gonzalez’s Marussia outing was curtailed by gearbox trouble, denying the reserve driver much useful mileage.

Kimi Räikkönen led FP2 before Lotus concentrated on extending its medium-tyre run to understand durability. Rear grip was the central concern in the heat, with Felipe Massa reporting that his tyres struggled even over a single lap. Esteban Gutierrez suffered a puncture during a close encounter with Charles Pic, while most teams completed substantial longer runs.

Fernando Alonso recovered from a spin to lead FP3 as late medium-tyre runs followed earlier hard-compound preparation. Traffic held up Sebastian Vettel’s quick attempt, keeping the comparison close. Lewis Hamilton returned with a badly damaged rear tyre after the session, adding an unwelcome technical concern immediately before qualifying.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2013 Bahrain Grand Prix FP1, 19 April 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:34.487	11
2	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.077s	19
3	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.134s	22
4	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.303s	20
5	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+0.462s	17
6	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.582s	22
7	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.614s	19
8	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+0.632s	19
9	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.858s	17
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.124s	14
11	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+1.153s	23
12	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.296s	16
13	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+1.305s	16
14	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.527s	19
15	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.998s	20
16	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.011s	17
17	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+2.268s	20
18	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+2.727s	21
19	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+3.363s	20
20	21	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+3.914s	20
21	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+4.958s	12
22	22	Rodolfo Gonzalez	Marussia	+5.728s	7

Free Practice 2 Classification

2013 Bahrain Grand Prix FP2, 19 April 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	1:34.154	31
2	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.030s	26
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.128s	29
4	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.156s	29
5	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+0.389s	35
6	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.398s	34
7	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.477s	33
8	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.512s	37
9	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+0.778s	33
10	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.822s	29
11	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.202s	32
12	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.352s	36
13	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+1.435s	37
14	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.607s	33
15	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+1.979s	36
16	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.125s	33
17	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.425s	28
18	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+2.462s	34
19	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+2.907s	33
20	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+3.159s	33
21	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+3.209s	29
22	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+3.816s	34

Free Practice 3 Classification

2013 Bahrain Grand Prix FP3, 20 April 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:33.247	12
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.101s	15
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.133s	19
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.199s	21
5	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.208s	19
6	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.217s	19
7	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+0.349s	17
8	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+0.453s	15
9	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.517s	19
10	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+0.675s	17
11	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.702s	20
12	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.870s	17
13	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+1.035s	18
14	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.330s	16
15	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.364s	17
16	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.431s	16
17	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+1.586s	17
18	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+2.569s	16
19	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+3.484s	17
20	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+3.692s	16
21	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+4.383s	7
22	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+6.345s	29

Qualifying

Nico Rosberg headed qualifying for Mercedes, with Sebastian Vettel second and Fernando Alonso third.

Nico Rosberg took pole ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. Lewis Hamilton received a gearbox penalty, while Mark Webber and Esteban Gutiérrez carried penalties for incidents in China.

Qualifying Classification

2013 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying, 20 April 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:33.364	1:32.867	1:32.330	14
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:33.327	1:32.746	1:32.584	12
3	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:32.878	1:33.316	1:32.667	11
4	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:33.498	1:33.346	1:32.762	13
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:33.966	1:33.098	1:33.078	13
6	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:33.780	1:33.358	1:33.207	13
7	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:33.762	1:33.335	1:33.235	14
8	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:34.048	1:33.378	1:33.246	16
9	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	1:33.827	1:33.146	1:33.327	13
10	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:34.071	1:33.702	no time	11
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:33.498	1:33.762	—	7
12	6	Sergio Pérez	McLaren	1:34.310	1:33.914	—	9
13	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:34.120	1:33.974	—	14
14	11	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber	1:34.409	1:33.976	—	14
15	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:34.425	1:34.105	—	13
16	18	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	1:34.314	1:34.284	—	13
17	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:34.425	—	—	6
18	12	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	1:34.730	—	—	9
19	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	1:35.283	—	—	6
20	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	1:36.178	—	—	6
21	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	1:36.304	—	—	7
22	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	1:36.476	—	—	6

Lewis Hamilton was given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.

Mark Webber was given a three-place grid penalty for his role in causing an avoidable accident with Jean-Éric Vergne at the previous round of the championship.

Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado recorded identical times during Q1. As Bottas set his time before Maldonado, he was considered to have placed higher than Maldonado, and so advanced to Q2 while Maldonado was eliminated.

Esteban Gutiérrez was given a five-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable accident with Adrian Sutil in the previous race.

What happened in the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix?

Rosberg held the lead initially, but Vettel passed Alonso and then the Mercedes to take control. Alonso’s rear wing repeatedly stuck open, forcing two early stops and leaving him to race without DRS.

Vettel managed his tyres and stops effectively as Rosberg dropped back. Kimi Räikkönen used a two-stop approach, while Romain Grosjean‘s different strategy brought him into contention for the remaining podium position.

The McLaren drivers fought closely, with Sergio Pérez and Jenson Button exchanging forceful attacks. Further ahead, Grosjean passed Paul di Resta late in the race to take third behind Vettel and Räikkönen.

Di Resta finished fourth, narrowly missing a first podium. Hamilton won his late battle with Webber for fifth, while Pérez also passed the Red Bull to take sixth. Alonso salvaged eighth after his early mechanical setback.

Further down the points places, Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button completed the scoring positions. Sebastian Vettel set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2013 rules.

After the race, Sebastian Vettel headed the drivers’ standings with 77 points, followed by Kimi Räikkönen on 67. Red Bull Racing led the constructors’ table on 109, with Lotus F1 on 93.

2013 Bahrain Grand Prix race results

The 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix was held on 21 April 2013, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	57	1:36:00.498	25
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	57	+9.111	18
3	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	57	+19.507	15
4	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	57	+21.727	12
5	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	57	+35.230	10
6	6	Sergio Pérez	McLaren	57	+35.998	8
7	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	57	+37.244	6
8	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	57	+37.574	4
9	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	57	+41.126	2
10	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	57	+46.631	1
11	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	57	+1:06.450	0
12	11	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber	57	+1:12.933	0
13	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	57	+1:16.719	0
14	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	57	+1:21.511	0
15	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	57	+1:26.364	0
16	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	56	+1 lap	0
17	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	56	+1 lap	0
18	12	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	56	+1 lap	0
19	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	56	+1 lap	0
20	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	56	+1 lap	0
21	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	55	+2 laps	0
Ret	18	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	16	Puncture damage	0

2013 Bahrain Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	55	1:36.961	200.938
2	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	44	1:37.070	200.712
3	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	41	1:37.204	200.436
4	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	48	1:37.588	199.647
5	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	52	1:37.627	199.567
6	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	49	1:37.743	199.330
7	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	41	1:37.913	198.984
8	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	57	1:38.164	198.476
9	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	57	1:38.192	198.419
10	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	45	1:38.202	198.399
11	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	48	1:38.204	198.395
12	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	57	1:38.336	198.128
13	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	52	1:38.557	197.684
14	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	50	1:38.756	197.286
15	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	43	1:38.770	197.258
16	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	42	1:38.839	197.120
17	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	57	1:38.962	196.875
18	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	50	1:39.279	196.246
19	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	49	1:39.334	196.138
20	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	37	1:39.546	195.720
21	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	51	1:39.579	195.655
22	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	4	1:43.107	188.960

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2013 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix.

2013 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	77
2	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Lotus F1	67
3	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	50
4	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	47
5	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	32
6	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	30
7	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	26
8	Paul di Resta	British	Force India	20
9	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	14
10	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	13
11	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	McLaren	10
12	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	6
13	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Toro Rosso	6
14	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Sauber	5
15	Jean-Éric Vergne	French	Toro Rosso	1
16	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	0
17	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams	0
18	Esteban Gutiérrez	Mexican	Sauber	0
19	Jules Bianchi	French	Marussia	0
20	Charles Pic	French	Caterham	0
21	Giedo van der Garde	Dutch	Caterham	0
22	Max Chilton	British	Marussia	0

2013 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Red Bull Racing	109
2	Lotus F1	93
3	Ferrari	77
4	Mercedes	64
5	Force India	26
6	McLaren	23
7	Toro Rosso	7
8	Sauber	5
9	Williams	0
10	Marussia	0
11	Caterham	0

2013 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2013 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	17 March
2	2013 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	24 March
3	2013 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	14 April
4	2013 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	21 April
5	2013 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	12 May
6	2013 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	26 May
7	2013 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	9 June
8	2013 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	30 June
9	2013 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	7 July
10	2013 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	28 July
11	2013 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	25 August
12	2013 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	8 September
13	2013 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	22 September
14	2013 Korean Grand Prix	Korea International Circuit, Yeongam	6 October
15	2013 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	13 October
16	2013 Indian Grand Prix	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida	27 October
17	2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	3 November
18	2013 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	17 November
19	2013 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	24 November