2016 Bahrain Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Nico Rosberg made it two wins from two in Bahrain, while Lewis Hamilton had to recover from first-corner contact. Kimi Räikkönen split the Mercedes drivers, and Stoffel Vandoorne marked his unexpected Formula 1 debut with a point.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Pole time	1:29.493
Fastest lap	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Fastest-lap time	1:34.482 on lap 41
First	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Second	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Third	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
1 April 2016	Practice 1	14:00 – 15:30
1 April 2016	Practice 2	18:00 – 19:30
2 April 2016	Practice 3	15:00 – 16:00
2 April 2016	Qualifying	18:00
3 April 2016	Race	18:00

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

Championship background

Nico Rosberg arrived at round 2 leading the 2016 F1 World Championship on 25 points, with Lewis Hamilton on 18. Mercedes headed the constructors’ standings with 43 points.

Race entries

Stoffel Vandoorne raced for McLaren, replacing Fernando Alonso. Alfonso Celis also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Unusually cool conditions encouraged extensive FP1 running, with teams finding temperatures more useful for the night race than expected. Nico Rosberg comfortably led Mercedes’ challenge. Stoffel Vandoorne began his stand-in McLaren appearance, while Alfonso Celis Jr. concentrated on gathering information for Force India after an excursion at Turn 3.

Nico Rosberg remained ahead in FP2, but Jenson Button’s third place provided the surprise as McLaren showed improved pace. Sebastian Vettel stopped early with a loose rear-left wheel nut, and Romain Grosjean needed a replacement front wing. Kevin Magnussen’s failure to stop for weighing would have a bigger consequence: a pit-lane start.

Ferrari moved ahead in the warmer FP3 conditions, with Sebastian Vettel leading Kimi Räikkönen. Mercedes’ drivers matched times on soft tyres before Nico Rosberg edged Lewis Hamilton on supersofts. Williams evaluated a shorter nose on Felipe Massa’s car, while Toro Rosso avoided supersoft runs, making its lower positions a poor guide to outright pace.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2016 Bahrain Grand Prix FP1, 1 April 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:32.294	24
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.505s	24
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.834s	16
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+2.167s	27
5	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+2.247s	30
6	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.307s	28
7	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+2.499s	21
8	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+2.566s	19
9	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.706s	18
10	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+2.712s	19
11	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+2.779s	14
12	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.880s	21
13	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	+3.015s	19
14	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+3.146s	28
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	+3.196s	27
16	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+3.434s	30
17	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	+4.077s	26
18	47	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+4.098s	25
19	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+4.425s	24
20	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+4.645s	28
21	34	Alfonso Celis	Force India	+4.993s	23
22	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	+5.420s	27

Free Practice 2 Classification

2016 Bahrain Grand Prix FP2, 1 April 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:31.001	38
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.241s	32
3	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.280s	32
4	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+1.405s	31
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.451s	38
6	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.649s	26
7	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+1.702s	34
8	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.791s	39
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.869s	23
10	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.872s	36
11	47	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+1.998s	30
12	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	+2.128s	31
13	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+2.176s	36
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.383s	23
15	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.405s	35
16	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	+2.446s	34
17	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.569s	37
18	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+2.639s	35
19	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	+2.952s	21
20	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+3.223s	31
21	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+3.476s	34
22	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	+3.561s	33

Free Practice 3 Classification

2016 Bahrain Grand Prix FP3, 2 April 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:31.683	22
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.040s	13
3	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.421s	18
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.477s	14
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+0.992s	18
6	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.399s	14
7	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+1.430s	10
8	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	+1.654s	14
9	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.680s	18
10	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.836s	20
11	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+1.886s	16
12	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	+1.934s	9
13	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+2.021s	12
14	47	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.061s	11
15	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+2.095s	20
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+2.320s	20
17	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+2.330s	15
18	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.445s	16
19	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.598s	15
20	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+2.741s	9
21	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	+3.863s	15
22	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	+4.041s	16

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton headed qualifying for Mercedes, with Nico Rosberg second and Sebastian Vettel third.

Elimination qualifying remained in place for a second and final weekend. Lewis Hamilton took pole ahead of Nico Rosberg, while Stoffel Vandoorne qualified ahead of McLaren team-mate Jenson Button as he substituted for the injured Fernando Alonso.

Qualifying Classification

2016 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying, 2 April 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:31.391	1:30.039	1:29.493	14
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:31.325	1:30.535	1:29.570	13
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:31.636	1:30.409	1:30.012	14
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:31.685	1:30.559	1:30.244	14
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:31.403	1:31.122	1:30.854	12
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:31.672	1:30.931	1:31.153	12
7	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:32.045	1:31.374	1:31.155	10
8	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:31.987	1:31.604	1:31.620	15
9	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:32.005	1:31.756	—	9
10	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:31.888	1:31.772	—	9
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:31.716	1:31.816	—	9
12	47	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:32.472	1:31.934	—	9
13	21	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas	1:32.118	1:31.945	—	9
14	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:31.976	1:31.998	—	9
15	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	1:32.559	1:32.241	—	9
16	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	1:32.806	—	—	6
17	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:32.840	—	—	6
18	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:32.911	—	—	7
19	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	1:33.181	—	—	3
20	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:33.438	—	—	6
21	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	1:34.190	—	—	3
22	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:34.388	—	—	4

Kevin Magnussen started the race from the pit lane as a penalty, after failing to stop for a mandatory weight check and the team instead conducting work on the car during free practice.

What happened in the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix?

Sebastian Vettel‘s engine failed on the formation lap, and Jolyon Palmer also failed to start. Nico Rosberg beat Lewis Hamilton away from the line before Valtteri Bottas made contact with Hamilton at the first corner.

Hamilton dropped down the field with damage, leaving Rosberg free to establish control. Kimi Räikkönen recovered from a slow getaway and worked past the Williams cars to become the leading challenger.

Rosberg maintained a comfortable advantage through the tyre changes. Hamilton climbed back into the podium positions, but could not displace Räikkönen, leaving Ferrari between the two Mercedes cars at the finish.

Romain Grosjean followed his Australian result with fifth for Haas, behind Daniel Ricciardo. Stoffel Vandoorne took tenth and McLaren‘s first point of the season, while Jenson Button‘s race ended with an energy-recovery problem.

Further down the points places, Daniil Kvyat, Felipe Massa, Valtteri Bottas and Stoffel Vandoorne completed the scoring positions. Nico Rosberg set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2016 rules.

After the race, Nico Rosberg headed the drivers’ standings with 50 points, followed by Lewis Hamilton on 33. Mercedes led the constructors’ table on 83, with Ferrari on 33.

2016 Bahrain Grand Prix race results

The 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix was held on 3 April 2016, with a scheduled start of 18:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	57	1:33:34.696	25
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	57	+10.282	18
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	57	+30.148	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	57	+1:02.494	12
5	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	57	+1:18.299	10
6	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	57	+1:20.929	8
7	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	56	+1 Lap	6
8	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	56	+1 Lap	4
9	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	56	+1 Lap	2
10	47	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	56	+1 Lap	1
11	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	56	+1 Lap	0
12	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	56	+1 Lap	0
13	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	56	+1 Lap	0
14	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	56	+1 Lap	0
15	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	56	+1 Lap	0
16	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	56	+1 Lap	0
17	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	56	+1 Lap	0
Ret	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	29	Collision Damage	0
Ret	21	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas	9	Brakes	0
Ret	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	6	Engine	0
DNS	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	0	Engine	0
DNS	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	0	Hydraulics	0

2016 Bahrain Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	41	19:11:35	1:34.482	206.210
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	43	19:15:06	1:34.677	205.785
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	39	19:08:29	1:35.158	204.745
4	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	53	19:33:18	1:35.188	204.681
5	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	49	19:26:46	1:35.360	204.312
6	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	43	19:16:37	1:35.448	204.123
7	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	49	19:25:48	1:35.504	204.004
8	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	36	19:04:32	1:35.678	203.633
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	44	19:17:23	1:36.064	202.814
10	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	39	19:10:11	1:36.067	202.808
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	42	19:14:18	1:36.095	202.749
12	47	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	44	19:17:59	1:36.121	202.694
13	88	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing	47	19:23:46	1:36.685	201.512
14	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	40	19:11:33	1:36.730	201.418
15	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	37	19:06:25	1:37.077	200.698
16	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	31	18:56:11	1:37.560	199.704
17	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	32	18:58:07	1:38.003	198.802
18	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	22	18:42:23	1:38.408	197.983
19	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	2	18:07:08	1:39.341	196.124
20	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	3	18:08:49	1:39.427	195.954

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

2016 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix.

2016 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	50
2	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	33
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing	24
4	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	18
5	Romain Grosjean	French	Haas	18
6	Sebastian Vettel	German	Ferrari	15
7	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams	14
8	Max Verstappen	Dutch	Toro Rosso	9
9	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Force India	6
10	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	Red Bull Racing	6
11	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	6
12	Carlos Sainz	Spanish	Toro Rosso	2
13	Stoffel Vandoorne	Belgian	McLaren	1
14	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	Renault	0
15	Jolyon Palmer	British	Renault	0
16	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Sauber	0
17	Pascal Wehrlein	German	Manor Racing	0
18	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Force India	0
19	Felipe Nasr	Brazilian	Sauber	0
20	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	0
21	Rio Haryanto	Indonesian	Manor Racing	0
–	Esteban Gutiérrez	Mexican	Haas	0
–	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	McLaren	0

2016 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	83
2	Ferrari	33
3	Red Bull Racing	30
4	Williams	20
5	Haas	18
6	Toro Rosso	11
7	Force India	6
8	McLaren	1
9	Renault	0
10	Sauber	0
11	Manor Racing	0

2016 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2016 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	20 March
2	2016 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	3 April
3	2016 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	17 April
4	2016 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	1 May
5	2016 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	15 May
6	2016 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	29 May
7	2016 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	12 June
8	2016 European Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	19 June
9	2016 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	3 July
10	2016 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	10 July
11	2016 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	24 July
12	2016 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	31 July
13	2016 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	28 August
14	2016 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	4 September
15	2016 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	18 September
16	2016 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	2 October
17	2016 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	9 October
18	2016 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	23 October
19	2016 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	30 October
20	2016 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	13 November
21	2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	27 November