2018 Bahrain Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Sebastian Vettel held his nerve on ageing tyres to win the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix, finishing just ahead of a charging Valtteri Bottas. Under the lights at the Bahrain International Circuit, Ferrari‘s victory was tempered by a pit-lane accident, while Pierre Gasly delivered a breakthrough fourth place for Toro Rosso.

Pole position
Driver	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Time	1:27.958
Fastest lap
Driver	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Time	1:33.740 on lap 22
Podium
First	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Second	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Third	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
6 April 2018	Practice 1	14:00 – 15:30
6 April 2018	Practice 2	18:00 – 19:30
7 April 2018	Practice 3	15:00 – 16:00
7 April 2018	Qualifying	18:00 – 19:00
8 April 2018	Race	18:10

All times are local (UTC+03:00). The race time is the scheduled start.

Championship background

Vettel arrived seven points ahead of Lewis Hamilton after Australia. Ferrari had won the opener through strategy, but Bahrain offered the opportunity to demonstrate outright pace. Mercedes needed to respond before the championship gap grew.

Race entries

The same 20 drivers returned for the second round. Lewis Hamilton required an unscheduled gearbox change and carried a five-place grid penalty, complicating his challenge before qualifying began.

Free Practice

Daniel Ricciardo led FP1 in 1:31.060, followed by Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen. Red Bull Racing began the weekend with an encouraging turn of speed.

Räikkönen topped FP2 in 1:29.817, only 0.011 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel. Bottas was third as Ferrari showed its pace in the more representative evening conditions.

Räikkönen remained fastest in FP3 with a 1:29.868. Max Verstappen and Ricciardo followed, keeping Red Bull Racing in the mix before qualifying.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2018 Bahrain Grand Prix FP1, 6 April 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:31.060	14
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.304s	24
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.398s	18
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.410s	17
5	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+1.212s	21
6	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.456s	23
7	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.719s	26
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.825s	21
9	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.911s	19
10	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.044s	18
11	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.163s	24
12	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+2.218s	20
13	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.304s	25
14	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+2.319s	22
15	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+2.407s	29
16	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+2.437s	27
17	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.448s	22
18	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.602s	26
19	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+2.734s	23
20	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	No time	2

Free Practice 2 Classification

2018 Bahrain Grand Prix FP2, 6 April 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:29.817	32
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.011s	37
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.563s	31
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.655s	32
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.928s	32
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.934s	31
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.403s	34
8	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.415s	38
9	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.465s	29
10	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+1.605s	35
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.774s	33
12	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.784s	34
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+1.992s	31
14	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.051s	34
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.152s	35
16	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+2.555s	37
17	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+2.565s	30
18	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+2.657s	37
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.916s	32
20	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+3.091s	38

Free Practice 3 Classification

2018 Bahrain Grand Prix FP3, 7 April 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:29.868	15
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.525s	8
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.584s	8
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.823s	14
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.851s	8
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.913s	16
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.276s	11
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.332s	12
9	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.570s	18
10	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.577s	13
11	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+1.592s	18
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.645s	14
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+1.686s	17
14	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.696s	14
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.869s	14
16	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+1.991s	17
17	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+1.992s	14
18	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+2.179s	19
19	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+2.595s	11
20	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+2.997s	12

Qualifying

Sebastian Vettel took pole in 1:27.958, with Kimi Räikkönen completing a Ferrari front-row lockout. Valtteri Bottas was third and Lewis Hamilton fourth fastest, although Hamilton’s penalty moved him to ninth on the grid.

Pierre Gasly reached Q3 and qualified sixth, an excellent result for Toro Rosso. Max Verstappen crashed in Q1 and could not continue into Q2, leaving him fifteenth. Fernando Alonso advanced from Q1 ahead of Romain Grosjean after setting their identical times first.

Qualifying Classification

2018 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying, 7 April 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:29.060	1:28.341	1:27.958	13
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:28.951	1:28.515	1:28.101	13
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:29.275	1:28.794	1:28.124	16
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:29.396	1:28.458	1:28.220	16
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:29.552	1:28.962	1:28.398	12
6	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:30.121	1:29.836	1:29.329	18
7	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:29.594	1:29.623	1:29.358	16
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:30.260	1:29.187	1:29.570	15
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:30.338	1:30.009	1:29.874	16
10	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	1:29.893	1:29.802	1:29.986	18
11	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1:30.412	1:30.105	—	15
12	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:30.218	1:30.156	—	11
13	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:30.530	1:30.212	—	12
14	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:30.479	1:30.525	—	12
15	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:29.374	No time	—	4
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:30.530	—	—	7
17	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:31.063	—	—	9
18	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:31.414	—	—	8
19	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:31.420	—	—	8
20	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:31.503	—	—	8

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

Fernando Alonso and Romain Grosjean set identical lap times in Q1. As Alonso was the first to set his time, he was considered to have qualified ahead of Grosjean and advanced to Q2.

What happened in the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix?

Sebastian Vettel led away, while Valtteri Bottas passed Kimi Räikkönen for second. Further back, Max Verstappen made contact with Lewis Hamilton as he tried to move forward, suffering a puncture. Daniel Ricciardo retired with an electrical failure, and Verstappen soon joined him on the sidelines.

Hamilton began an energetic recovery, including a move past three cars on the main straight. He worked his way into contention behind the Ferraris and Bottas, keeping Mercedes‘ prospects alive despite his starting position.

The race took a serious turn during Räikkönen’s second stop. Ferrari released him before the left-rear tyre change was complete, and a mechanic suffered a broken leg. Räikkönen stopped in the pit lane and retired; Ferrari was fined for the unsafe release.

Vettel continued on his soft tyres while Bottas approached on more durable mediums. The Ferrari‘s advantage steadily disappeared, and Bottas reached striking distance on the final lap. Vettel defended successfully and crossed the line 0.699 seconds ahead.

Hamilton completed the podium, while Gasly took a superb fourth and his first Formula One points. Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg followed, ahead of Alonso, Stoffel Vandoorne, Marcus Ericsson and Esteban Ocon.

Post-race formation-lap penalties affected Sergio Perez and Brendon Hartley, as reflected in the final table. Vettel’s second victory from two races extended his lead over Hamilton to 17 points, but the winning margin showed how close Ferrari had come to losing it.

2018 Bahrain Grand Prix race results

The 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix was held on 8 April 2018, with a scheduled start of 18:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	57	1:32:01.940	25
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	57	+0.699s	18
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	57	+6.512s	15
4	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	57	+62.234s	12
5	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	57	+75.046s	10
6	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	57	+99.024s	8
7	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	56	+1 lap	6
8	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	56	+1 lap	4
9	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	56	+1 lap	2
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	56	+1 lap	1
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	56	+1 lap	0
12	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	56	+1 lap	0
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	56	+1 lap	0
14	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	56	+1 lap	0
15	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	56	+1 lap	0
16	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	56	+1 lap	0
17	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	56	+1 lap	0
Ret	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	35	Wheel	0
Ret	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	3	Transmission	0
Ret	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1	Electrics	0

Sergio Perez originally finished in twelfth place but had thirty seconds added to race time for overtaking on the formation lap.

Brendon Hartley originally finished in thirteenth place but had thirty seconds added to race time for failing to retake his original starting position before reaching the safety-car line on the formation lap.

2018 Bahrain Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	22	18:50:12	1:33.740	207.842
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	51	19:36:17	1:33.953	207.371
3	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	47	19:31:58	1:34.053	207.151
4	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	47	19:31:12	1:34.168	206.898
5	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	29	19:02:17	1:34.327	206.549
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	22	18:50:14	1:34.337	206.527
7	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	21	18:48:30	1:34.453	206.274
8	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	42	19:24:12	1:34.563	206.034
9	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	50	19:35:54	1:34.667	205.807
10	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	44	19:27:00	1:34.689	205.759
11	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	46	19:29:14	1:34.863	205.382
12	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	38	19:17:09	1:35.043	204.993
13	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	40	19:20:43	1:35.058	204.961
14	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	35	19:12:25	1:35.075	204.924
15	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	26	18:57:32	1:35.093	204.885
16	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	30	19:04:11	1:35.131	204.803
17	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	32	19:07:58	1:35.266	204.513
18	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	35	19:12:18	1:35.535	203.937

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h. No championship point was awarded for fastest lap in 2018.

2018 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix.

2018 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	50
2	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	33
3	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	22
4	Fernando Alonso	ESP	McLaren	16
5	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Ferrari	15
6	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Renault	14
7	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Toro Rosso	12
8	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Red Bull Racing	12
9	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	10
10	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	8
11	Stoffel Vandoorne	BEL	McLaren	6
12	Marcus Ericsson	SWE	Sauber	2
13	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Renault	1
14	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Force India	1
15	Sergio Perez	MEX	Force India	0
16	Charles Leclerc	MON	Sauber	0
17	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	0
18	Lance Stroll	CAN	Williams	0
19	Brendon Hartley	NZL	Toro Rosso	0
20	Sergey Sirotkin	RUS	Williams	0

2018 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	65
2	Mercedes	55
3	McLaren	22
4	Red Bull Racing	20
5	Renault	15
6	Toro Rosso	12
7	Haas	10
8	Sauber	2
9	Force India	1
10	Williams	0

2018 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2018 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	25 March
2	2018 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	8 April
3	2018 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	15 April
4	2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	29 April
5	2018 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	13 May
6	2018 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
7	2018 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	10 June
8	2018 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	24 June
9	2018 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	1 July
10	2018 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	8 July
11	2018 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	22 July
12	2018 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	29 July
13	2018 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	26 August
14	2018 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza	2 September
15	2018 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	16 September
16	2018 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	30 September
17	2018 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	7 October
18	2018 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	21 October
19	2018 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	28 October
20	2018 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	11 November
21	2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	25 November