2020 Sakhir Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Sergio Perez turned an opening-lap setback into a remarkable maiden victory at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll completed an unexpected podium on the Bahrain International Circuit‘s Outer Circuit, while George Russell‘s impressive Mercedes debut ended in heartbreak.

Race Guide

Season: 2020 F1 World Championship
Race date: 6 December 2020
Race start time: 20:10 local time (UTC+03:00)
Circuit: Bahrain International Circuit (Outer Circuit)
Laps: 87 laps
Circuit length: 3.543 km
Previous winner: None — inaugural Grand Prix

Pole position
Driver	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Time	53.377
Fastest lap
Driver	George Russell	Mercedes
Time	55.404 on lap 80
Podium
First	Sergio Perez	Racing Point
Second	Esteban Ocon	Renault
Third	Lance Stroll	Racing Point

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
4 December 2020	Practice 1	16:30 – 18:00
4 December 2020	Practice 2	20:30 – 22:00
5 December 2020	Practice 3	17:00 – 18:00
5 December 2020	Qualifying	20:00 – 21:00
6 December 2020	Race	20:10

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

Championship background

The second Bahrain weekend used the fast, short Outer Circuit, creating a completely different contest from the previous Grand Prix. McLaren led Racing Point by 17 points in the battle for third in the constructors’ championship, but the new layout and several driver changes offered scope for a surprise.

Race entries

Lewis Hamilton missed the event after testing positive for COVID-19. George Russell moved from Williams to Mercedes for the weekend, with Jack Aitken making his Grand Prix debut in Russell’s Williams. Pietro Fittipaldi also made his debut, replacing Romain Grosjean at Haas while Grosjean recovered from his burns.

Free Practice

George Russell made an immediate impression by topping FP1 in the Mercedes with a 54.546. Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon followed, while the compact circuit generated heavy traffic and exceptionally short lap times.

Russell also led FP2, setting a 54.713 ahead of Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Valtteri Bottas showed pace but lost laps to track-limit infringements, leaving the headline order an incomplete picture of the Mercedes contest.

Verstappen topped FP3 with a 54.064, followed by Bottas and Pierre Gasly. Russell finished seventh as teams completed their final preparation for a qualifying session in which small errors could cost several positions.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2020 Sakhir Grand Prix FP1, 4 December 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	54.546	49
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.176s	29
3	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+0.265s	18
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.322s	44
5	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+0.465s	40
6	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+0.620s	37
7	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+0.727s	49
8	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.735s	40
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+0.833s	39
10	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.903s	35
11	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+1.012s	41
12	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+1.170s	33
13	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+1.211s	41
14	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.237s	32
15	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.312s	35
16	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.532s	47
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.584s	37
18	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+2.218s	48
19	51	Pietro Fittipaldi	Haas	+2.531s	24
20	89	Jack Aitken	Williams	+2.641s	33

Free Practice 2 Classification

2020 Sakhir Grand Prix FP2, 4 December 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	54.713	48
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.128s	43
3	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+0.153s	52
4	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+0.227s	50
5	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+0.323s	42
6	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+0.355s	58
7	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+0.391s	44
8	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+0.411s	47
9	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+0.420s	48
10	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+0.545s	39
11	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.608s	52
12	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+0.771s	54
13	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+0.820s	57
14	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.025s	49
15	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+1.071s	52
16	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.117s	43
17	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.318s	14
18	51	Pietro Fittipaldi	Haas	+1.397s	56
19	89	Jack Aitken	Williams	+1.547s	58
20	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari		2

Free Practice 3 Classification

2020 Sakhir Grand Prix FP3, 5 December 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	54.064	23
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.206s	20
3	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+0.363s	24
4	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+0.389s	21
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.542s	15
6	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+0.565s	22
7	63	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.600s	20
8	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+0.614s	20
9	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+0.629s	18
10	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+0.656s	16
11	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+0.781s	20
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+0.786s	23
13	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.790s	21
14	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+0.793s	15
15	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.794s	17
16	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.107s	20
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.283s	19
18	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+1.429s	21
19	51	Pietro Fittipaldi	Haas	+1.602s	21
20	89	Jack Aitken	Williams	+1.606s	23

Qualifying

Valtteri Bottas took pole with a 53.377, just 0.026 seconds ahead of George Russell. Max Verstappen was only 0.056 seconds from pole in third, while Charles Leclerc produced an outstanding lap for fourth.

Sergio Perez qualified fifth ahead of Daniil Kvyat, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll. Power-unit changes sent Lando Norris and Pietro Fittipaldi to the back of the grid, with Russell positioned to challenge immediately on his first Mercedes race start.

Qualifying Classification

2020 Sakhir Grand Prix Qualifying, 5 December 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	53.904	53.803	53.377	24
2	63	George Russell	Mercedes	54.160	53.819	53.403	25
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	54.037	53.647	53.433	17
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	54.249	53.825	53.613	21
5	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	54.236	53.787	53.790	17
6	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	54.346	53.856	53.906	26
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	54.388	53.871	53.957	15
8	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	54.450	53.818	54.010	20
9	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	54.207	53.941	54.154	28
10	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	54.595	53.840	54.200	19
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	54.309	53.995	—	13
12	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	54.620	54.026	—	12
13	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	54.301	54.175	—	17
14	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	54.523	54.377	—	14
15	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	54.194	54.693	—	15
16	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	54.705	—	—	9
17	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	54.796	—	—	11
18	89	Jack Aitken	Williams	54.892	—	—	9
19	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	54.963	—	—	11
20	51	Pietro Fittipaldi	Haas	55.426	—	—	11

Lando Norris was required to start from the back of the grid for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.

Pietro Fittipaldi was required to start from the back of the grid for exceeding his quota of power unit elements. The penalty was unapplied as he qualified in last position anyway.

What happened in the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix?

Sergio Perez claimed his first Grand Prix victory on his 190th start, leading Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll home. It was an extraordinary reversal for a driver who had been facing the wrong way on the opening lap.

George Russell passed Valtteri Bottas at the start and led confidently. Behind them, Charles Leclerc hit Perez at Turn 4, sending the Racing Point into a spin. Max Verstappen ran off the circuit while avoiding the incident and struck the barrier. Leclerc and Verstappen retired, while Perez pitted and began his recovery from the back.

Russell looked composed at the front, and Perez made steady progress through the field. A later virtual safety car for Nicholas Latifi‘s retirement complicated the pit-stop calculations for the midfield, with Perez eventually emerging as the leading challenger behind the Mercedes pair.

The race changed again after Jack Aitken spun and left his front wing on the circuit. Mercedes brought both cars in under the resulting safety-car period, but a tyre mix-up put Bottas’s front tyres on Russell’s car. Russell had to stop again, while Bottas lost time and was sent out on his previously used tyres.

Perez now led Ocon and Stroll. Russell quickly passed Bottas, Stroll and Ocon after the restart and began chasing the leader, only for a puncture to force another stop. A potential debut victory for Mercedes had slipped away through two separate setbacks.

Perez completed the turnaround with a controlled final stint. Ocon took his first Formula 1 podium in second, and Stroll made it two Racing Point cars on the rostrum. Carlos Sainz was fourth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, Alexander Albon and Kvyat.

Bottas finished eighth. Russell recovered to ninth and added fastest lap, scoring his first Formula 1 points, while Norris took tenth. Racing Point‘s 40-point haul moved the team ten points ahead of McLaren in third, setting up a close final-round contest in Abu Dhabi.

2020 Sakhir Grand Prix race results

The 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix was held on 6 December 2020, with a scheduled start of 20:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	87	1:31:15.114	25
2	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	87	+10.518s	18
3	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	87	+11.869s	15
4	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	87	+12.580s	12
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	87	+13.330s	10
6	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	87	+13.842s	8
7	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	87	+14.534s	6
8	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	87	+15.389s	4
9	63	George Russell	Mercedes	87	+18.556s	3
10	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	87	+19.541s	1
11	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	87	+20.527s	0
12	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	87	+22.611s	0
13	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	87	+24.111s	0
14	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	87	+26.153s	0
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	87	+32.370s	0
16	89	Jack Aitken	Williams	87	+33.674s	0
17	51	Pietro Fittipaldi	Haas	87	+36.858s	0
Ret	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	52	Oil leak	0
Ret	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	0	Collision	0
Ret	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	0	Collision	0

George Russell earned the additional point for fastest lap.

2020 Sakhir Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	80	21:37:40	55.404	230.214
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	60	21:14:20	56.563	225.497
3	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	69	21:26:51	56.789	224.599
4	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	56	21:11:48	56.887	224.212
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	56	21:11:41	56.905	224.141
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	57	21:12:13	56.979	223.850
7	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	80	21:37:31	57.001	223.764
8	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	52	21:07:04	57.056	223.548
9	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	80	21:37:28	57.165	223.122
10	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	53	21:08:14	57.220	222.908
11	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	85	21:42:22	57.270	222.713
12	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	75	21:32:38	57.350	222.402
13	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	56	21:12:07	57.375	222.305
14	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	85	21:42:15	57.388	222.255
15	89	Jack Aitken	Williams	56	21:12:03	57.392	222.240
16	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	57	21:12:57	57.516	221.760
17	51	Pietro Fittipaldi	Haas	56	21:12:32	57.742	220.892
18	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	29	20:44:51	58.206	219.132

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 Sakhir 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	205
3	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	189
4	Sergio Perez	MEX	Racing Point	125
5	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Renault	112
6	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	98
7	Carlos Sainz	ESP	McLaren	97
8	Alexander Albon	THA	Red Bull Racing	93
9	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren	87
10	Lance Stroll	CAN	Racing Point	74
11	Pierre Gasly	FRA	AlphaTauri	71
12	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Renault	60
13	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	33
14	Daniil Kvyat	RUS	AlphaTauri	32
15	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Racing Point	10
16	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Alfa Romeo Racing	4
17	Antonio Giovinazzi	ITA	Alfa Romeo Racing	4
18	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes / Williams	3
19	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	2
20	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	1
21	Nicholas Latifi	CAN	Williams	0
22	Jack Aitken	GBR	Williams	0
23	Pietro Fittipaldi	BRA	Haas	0

2020 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	540
2	Red Bull Racing	282
3	Racing Point	194
4	McLaren	184
5	Renault	172
6	Ferrari	131
7	AlphaTauri	103
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.