LEWIS Hamilton made it to the flag just in front of a very determined Kimi Raikkonnen to win the Bahrain Grand Prix last Sunday.
It was a terrific race and Hamilton’s 36th win.
This puts him fifth on the list of winners, after Michael Schumacher at 91, Alain Prost with 51, Ayrton Senna with 41 and Sebastian Vettel with 40.
Next come Nigel Mansell 31, Jackie Stewart 27, and Jim Clark and Nikki Lauder, both with 25.
In the ’50s, when there were less races, the great Juan Manuel Fangio managed 24 and Stirling Moss 16.
But back to the race …
In qualifying it was Sebastian Vettel who split the two Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, but in the race at last it was Raikkonen who enjoyed some glory.
The former world champion has been getting better and better as he slots into the groove with a revitalised team at Ferrari.
He drove like a man possessed after Vettel had fallen back due to a damaged wing.
Raikkonen caught and passed Rosberg and, as the race drew to an end, closed to within five seconds of Hamilton. It was thrilling stuff!
Valtteri Bottas drove a good race to finish fourth, holding off Vettel after that wing change.
Daniel Ricciardo provided a dramatic finish – his Renault engine blew up in a cloud of smoke the moment he crossed the finish line.
Romain Grosjean, in his Lotus Mercedes. finished in seventh, followed by Sergio Perez in the Force India Mercedes and Daniil Kvyat.
Felipe Massa had his share of problems but still made it into the top 10.
McLaren were unlucky, with Jenson Button’s car so full of problems that he could not even start.
His teammate Fernando Alonso, who produced another masterly demonstration of his driving ability, failed to make the top ten and therefore earned no points.
The two Saubers had been well up at one stage but both Felipi Nasr and Marcus Ericson had problems.
It was also a bad weekend for both Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen who both retired from the race.
Hamilton now has 93 points while Rosberg is on 66, Vettel 65 and Raikkonnen 42.
In the Constructors Championship Mercedes lead with 159, followed by Ferrari with 109 and Williams on 61.
The next race is in Spain at the Circuit de Catalunya on May 10.
This gives them time to go back to the factories to make some solid improvements to the cars and engines.
