2020 Bahrain Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton won the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon, but the overriding relief was that Romain Grosjean escaped a severe opening-lap accident. The race resumed after a lengthy stoppage, with late drama reshaping the podium and the fight for third in the constructors’ championship.

Race Guide

Season: 2020 F1 World Championship
Race date: 29 November 2020
Race start time: 17:10 local time (UTC+03:00)
Circuit: Bahrain International Circuit
Laps: 57 laps
Circuit length: 5.412 km
2019 winner: Lewis Hamilton

Pole position
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:27.264
Fastest lap
Driver	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Time	1:32.014 on lap 48
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Third	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
27 November 2020	Practice 1	14:00 – 15:30
27 November 2020	Practice 2	18:00 – 19:30
28 November 2020	Practice 3	14:00 – 15:00
28 November 2020	Qualifying	17:00 – 18:00
29 November 2020	Race	17:10

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

Championship background

Hamilton had already secured the drivers’ title in Turkey, and Mercedes had sealed the constructors’ championship. Attention therefore turned towards the close midfield battle as Bahrain International Circuit began a double-header, with the conventional Grand Prix layout used before the shorter Outer Circuit at the following event.

Race entries

All 20 regular race drivers were entered. Roy Nissany drove George Russell‘s Williams in FP1, while Robert Kubica replaced Kimi Räikkönen in the opening session for Alfa Romeo Racing.

Free Practice

Lewis Hamilton topped FP1 with a 1:29.033, followed by Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez. Teams also sampled tyres being evaluated for the following season, adding another task to the opening day’s programme.

Hamilton led FP2 with a 1:28.971 ahead of Max Verstappen and Bottas. Alexander Albon‘s heavy accident at the final corner interrupted running, and another red flag followed when a dog entered the circuit. Albon was unhurt, but Red Bull Racing faced repair work.

Verstappen moved to the top in FP3 with a 1:28.355. Hamilton was second and Bottas third, setting up another qualifying contest between Mercedes and Red Bull Racing.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2020 Bahrain Grand Prix FP1, 27 November 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:29.033	40
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.449s	41
3	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+0.967s	31
4	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+0.985s	31
5	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+1.016s	34
6	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+1.261s	18
7	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+1.269s	34
8	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+1.351s	28
9	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+1.393s	30
10	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+1.475s	30
11	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+1.556s	29
12	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.595s	24
13	88	Robert Kubica	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.699s	24
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.799s	28
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.821s	29
16	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.863s	27
17	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+1.987s	37
18	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+2.359s	27
19	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+3.439s	29
20	40	Roy Nissany	Williams	+3.768s	27

Free Practice 2 Classification

2020 Bahrain Grand Prix FP2, 27 November 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:28.971	28
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.347s	34
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.365s	30
4	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+0.432s	32
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+0.491s	27
6	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+0.580s	36
7	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.870s	30
8	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+0.900s	32
9	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+0.929s	34
10	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+1.043s	17
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+1.114s	30
12	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.139s	35
13	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+1.300s	33
14	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+1.436s	30
15	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.656s	33
16	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.878s	27
17	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.957s	34
18	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+2.002s	32
19	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.148s	28
20	63	George Russell	Williams	+2.665s	29

Free Practice 3 Classification

2020 Bahrain Grand Prix FP3, 28 November 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:28.355	11
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.263s	12
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.366s	14
4	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+0.663s	12
5	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+1.100s	12
6	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+1.117s	16
7	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.212s	8
8	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+1.230s	17
9	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+1.305s	13
10	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+1.317s	12
11	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+1.329s	9
12	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+1.336s	11
13	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.504s	15
14	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.615s	10
15	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+1.828s	14
16	63	George Russell	Williams	+2.204s	16
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.297s	16
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.404s	12
19	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+2.468s	16
20	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+2.562s	19

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton secured pole with a 1:27.264, beating Valtteri Bottas by 0.289 seconds. Max Verstappen qualified third, 0.414 seconds away from pole, with Alexander Albon completing the second row.

Sergio Perez was fifth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon. Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris and Daniil Kvyat completed the top ten, while a rear-brake problem ended Carlos Sainz‘s Q2 running. Both Ferrari drivers were eliminated before the final session.

Qualifying Classification

2020 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying, 28 November 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:28.343	1:27.586	1:27.264	16
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:28.767	1:28.063	1:27.553	16
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:28.885	1:28.025	1:27.678	15
4	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	1:28.732	1:28.749	1:28.274	18
5	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	1:29.178	1:28.894	1:28.322	20
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	1:29.005	1:28.648	1:28.417	17
7	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	1:29.203	1:28.937	1:28.419	14
8	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	1:28.971	1:29.008	1:28.448	14
9	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:29.464	1:28.877	1:28.542	17
10	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	1:29.158	1:28.944	1:28.618	17
11	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:29.142	1:29.149	—	11
12	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:29.137	1:29.165	—	11
13	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	1:28.679	1:29.557	—	11
14	63	George Russell	Williams	1:29.294	1:31.218	—	11
15	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	1:28.975	No time	—	5
16	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:29.491	—	—	6
17	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:29.810	—	—	6
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:30.111	—	—	6
19	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:30.138	—	—	6
20	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	1:30.182	—	—	6

What happened in the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix?

Lewis Hamilton took his 11th victory of the season, with Max Verstappen second and Alexander Albon third. The result, however, was secondary to the news that Romain Grosjean had escaped his burning car following an opening-lap collision.

Grosjean’s Haas made contact with Daniil Kvyat‘s AlphaTauri before striking the barrier. The car split apart and caught fire, but Grosjean was able to climb out with assistance from the responding medical team and marshals. He suffered burns to his hands and was taken to hospital. The race was stopped while the damaged barrier was repaired.

After the restart, Lance Stroll‘s Racing Point overturned following contact with Kvyat. Stroll emerged unhurt, and Kvyat received a ten-second penalty. Valtteri Bottas then suffered a puncture, dropping him away from the leaders and leaving Hamilton, Verstappen and Sergio Perez at the front.

Hamilton controlled the race through the pit-stop phases. Verstappen remained his nearest challenger, but could not turn his pace into a sustained attack for the lead. A later additional stop allowed the Red Bull Racing driver to take the fastest-lap point.

Perez appeared set for another podium until a late power-unit failure ended his race. Albon inherited third, securing his second Formula 1 podium, while the recovery of Perez’s car brought out the safety car under which the race finished.

Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth, giving McLaren a valuable double result. Pierre Gasly took sixth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, Bottas, Esteban Ocon and Charles Leclerc. Perez was classified despite retiring late in the race, but scored no points.

McLaren moved into third in the constructors’ standings, 17 points ahead of Racing Point. As teams prepared for the second Bahrain weekend, the paddock’s principal concern remained Grosjean’s recovery following an accident whose consequences had initially looked far worse.

2020 Bahrain Grand Prix race results

The 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix was held on 29 November 2020, with a scheduled start of 17:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	57	2:59:47.515	25
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	57	+1.254s	19
3	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	57	+8.005s	15
4	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	57	+11.337s	12
5	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	57	+11.787s	10
6	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	57	+11.942s	8
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	57	+19.368s	6
8	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	57	+19.680s	4
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	57	+22.803s	2
10	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	56	+1 lap	1
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	56	+1 lap	0
12	63	George Russell	Williams	56	+1 lap	0
13	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	56	+1 lap	0
14	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	56	+1 lap	0
15	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	56	+1 lap	0
16	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	56	+1 lap	0
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	56	+1 lap	0
18	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	53	Power unit	0
Ret	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	2	Collision	0
Ret	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	0	Collision	0

Max Verstappen earned the additional point for fastest lap.

Sergio Perez did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.

2020 Bahrain Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	48	19:57:19	1:32.014	211.741
2	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	38	19:42:21	1:32.827	209.887
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	38	19:41:19	1:32.864	209.803
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	28	19:26:15	1:33.352	208.706
5	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	46	19:54:47	1:33.411	208.575
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	43	19:51:04	1:33.573	208.213
7	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	53	20:05:37	1:33.588	208.180
8	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	44	19:52:06	1:33.625	208.098
9	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	40	19:44:54	1:33.629	208.089
10	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	41	19:46:31	1:33.684	207.967
11	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	41	19:47:45	1:33.861	207.575
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	35	19:37:59	1:34.141	206.957
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	37	19:40:47	1:34.354	206.490
14	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	22	19:16:48	1:34.536	206.092
15	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	39	19:44:36	1:34.591	205.973
16	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	48	19:57:53	1:34.817	205.482
17	63	George Russell	Williams	47	19:57:17	1:35.042	204.995
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	29	19:28:21	1:35.241	204.567

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h.

2020 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix.

2020 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	332
2	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	201
3	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	189
4	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Renault	102
5	Sergio Perez	MEX	Racing Point	100
6	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	98
7	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren	86
8	Carlos Sainz	ESP	McLaren	85
9	Alexander Albon	THA	Red Bull Racing	85
10	Pierre Gasly	FRA	AlphaTauri	71
11	Lance Stroll	CAN	Racing Point	59
12	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Renault	42
13	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	33
14	Daniil Kvyat	RUS	AlphaTauri	26
15	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Racing Point	10
16	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Alfa Romeo Racing	4
17	Antonio Giovinazzi	ITA	Alfa Romeo Racing	4
18	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	2
19	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	1
20	Nicholas Latifi	CAN	Williams	0
21	George Russell	GBR	Williams	0

2020 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	533
2	Red Bull Racing	274
3	McLaren	171
4	Racing Point	154
5	Renault	144
6	Ferrari	131
7	AlphaTauri	97
8	Alfa Romeo Racing	8
9	Haas	3
10	Williams	0

Racing Point’s constructors’ total includes the 15-point deduction imposed over its rear brake ducts. The drivers’ points were unaffected.