2013 Bahrain Grand Prix

The 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix (formally known as the 2013 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 21 April 2013 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. Contested over 57 laps, it was the fourth round of the 2013 season, and the ninth time that the Bahrain Grand Prix had been held as a round of the Formula One World Championship. The controversial race went ahead despite ongoing protests which had been taking place since the cancellation of the 2011 event.

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg started the race from pole. Sebastian Vettel won the race, with Lotus F1 drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean completing the podium meaning the top 3 finishers were identical to the 2012 event in the same order.

This was also the last Bahrain Grand Prix to take place during the daytime, as the event switched to a night race from the 2014 race onwards.

Report

Background

Tyre supplier Pirelli had originally planned to bring their hard and soft compounds of tyre to the race, to be designated as the prime and the option respectively. However, the teams experienced problems with the soft compound at the Chinese Grand Prix, with the tyres degrading after just seven laps, which prompted Pirelli to alter their allocation for the Bahrain Grand Prix, changing the options from the soft compound to the medium. Before the race, a minute of silence was held as a mark of respect for those who had lost their lives in the Boston Marathon bombings six days earlier.

This race also marked the 200th Grand Prix for Mark Webber.

Anti-government protests

In the context of the 2011 Bahraini uprising, public protests also occurred over the 2013 staging of the race, after the 2011 event was cancelled and the 2012 event went ahead despite efforts by demonstrators to disrupt the race. According to ''Reuters'', the race went ahead "largely unhindered" by the protests. Reflecting on the changes in the government strategy compared to 2012, they concluded that the public relations battle over this year's race had produced a stalemate, reflecting the situation in the opposition movement generally.

Race

At the start, Nico Rosberg maintains the lead of the race, followed by Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Paul di Resta and Felipe Massa. Vettel is able to pass Alonso already during the first lap, and Rosberg on the third, thus taking the lead. Alonso engages, in turn, in a long duel with Rosberg, before passing him on lap 5. After a lap, the German is also overtaken by di Resta. Around the same time, Adrian Sutil, Jean-Éric Vergne and Giedo van der Garde were involved in a collision.

Fernando Alonso is forced to pit on lap seven to fix the DRS, which remains open on his car: he returns to the track seventeenth. The Spaniard tries to use the device again, which blocks again, forcing him to stop again, one lap later.

Between laps 10 and 11, the best drivers change tires. Paul di Resta is now in the lead, followed by Kimi Räikkönen and Nico Hülkenberg. Vettel returns to the lead definitively on lap 15 after overtaking Räikkönen and the first pit stop for di Resta. The standings see, after the German from Red Bull and the Finn, Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button, Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean, Sergio Pérez and Paul di Resta. Räikkönen changes tires on lap 16, while, one lap later, Massa is forced to change tires again due to the dechapping of the right rear.

On lap 19, both Button and Grosjean pass Rosberg, who changes tires for the second time one lap later; Button and Grosjean engaged in a great duel, which ended with Button's pit stop on lap 21. Four laps later it was Vettel's turn, who maintained the lead of the race, followed by Grosjean, di Resta, Räikkönen, Webber, Pérez and Button. One lap later di Resta moved into second, passing Grosjean, who then pitted on lap 27. On laps 23 and 24, after a heated battle, the two McLaren drivers got the better of Nico Rosberg. Between laps 29 and 32, Jenson Button and Sergio Pérez then fought for fifth place, with the Englishman passing the Mexican and then resisting his counterattacks. However, the Englishman wore out his tyres and had to anticipate his third stop, like Rosberg.

On lap 34, Räikkönen is second after overtaking di Resta, and pits for the second time, a couple of laps before the Scotsman; from behind, Alonso appears again and is now in the points zone. Three laps later, Webber makes his third pit stop, then on lap 42, it is also Vettel and Grosjean's turn. The standings still see the German from Red Bull in the lead, followed by Kimi Räikkönen, Paul di Resta, Mark Webber and Romain Grosjean: one lap later, the Frenchman takes a position from Webber.

On lap 44, Hamilton passes Button for sixth place; the McLaren driver then also gives way to Pérez and Alonso. The Spaniard, even without DRS, manages to get the better of Pérez on the main straight at the start of lap 47. The final laps are animated by the battle between Hamilton and Webber: the Englishman passes for the first time on lap 51, being passed again by the Australian a couple of laps later, before finally gaining the position, after repeated attacks, at the start of the final lap. The Red Bull driver also gives way to Sergio Pérez who had passed Fernando Alonso on lap 54. In the meantime, during the fifty-second lap, Grosjean had taken the podium at the expense of Paul di Resta.

Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean repeated the exact same podium as in 2012: this had only occurred in the 1964 and 1965 editions of the British Grand Prix (with Jim Clark first, Graham Hill second and John Surtees third) and in the 1998 and 1999 editions of the Spanish Grand Prix (with Mika Häkkinen first, David Coulthard second and Michael Schumacher third).

This was the second time a woman had taken to the Formula 1 podium to receive the Manufacturers' Award, and it was Gill Jones, Red Bull Racing’s Head of Trackside Electronics, stood.

Classification

Qualifying

Notes:
* — Lewis Hamilton was given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
* — Mark Webber was given a three-place grid penalty for his role in causing an avoidable accident with Jean-Éric Vergne at the previous round of the championship.
* — Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado recorded identical times during Q1. As Bottas set his time before Maldonado, he was considered to have placed higher than Maldonado, and so advanced to Q2 while Maldonado was eliminated.
* — Esteban Gutiérrez was given a five-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable accident with Adrian Sutil in the previous race.

Race

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

;Constructors' Championship standings

* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also

* 2013 Bahrain GP2 Series round

Footnotes

References

External links

{{Bahraini uprising (2011–present)

Bahrain
Bahrain Grand Prix
Grand Prix
April 2013 sports events in Asia