Sebastian Vettel scored a pole-to-flag victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix, despite facing a tough challenge from Kimi Raikkonen. Vettel's victory marks the first time a Red Bull driver has climbed to the top step of the podium in 2012.
Despite the controversy surrounding the Bahrain Grand Prix, the race ran without incident.
It was an outstanding race for Lotus. Kimi Raikkonen stormed from 11th on the grid to claim the second spot after catching Vettel around half distance. Team mate Romain Grosjean made four places from his seventh-placed grid position to take third.
Mark Webber finished fourth for the fourth time in sucession and Nico Rosberg took fifth, after running both Hamilton and Alonso off the track; events which will be investigated after the race.
Di Resta was beaten into sixth place after Rosberg, who with fresher tyres, passed him on the pit straight. Di Resta led the race for a time, but proved that by being the only main contender to pit twice, an alternative pit strategy can pay dividends.
Alonso started well, but lacked the outright pace to stay there. He crossed the line in seventh place.
In contrast to Lotus' success, it was a race to forget for McLaren. Hamilton finished eighth after suffering with issues with the left rear wheelnut, causing delays in the first and second pitstops. Team mate Jenson Button was hanging on in the top six for much of the race, but a puncture in the closing stages and a mechanical problem forced his retirement on the penultimate lap.
Felipe Massa roughly matched the pace of his team mate, despite the Ferrari's being split by Hamilton's McLaren. Massa led Michael Schumacher to the flag, after the German cut through the field from 22nd on the grid to tenth.
Vettel's victory means he now leads the World championship on 53 points, dropping Hamilton to second with 49 points and Webber a single point behind.
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Re: Sebastian Vettel wins in Bahrain
I was delighted to see Kimi confound his critics.