Live text
Formula 1
Bahrain GP
2014 Bahrain Grand Prix Sunday - Bahrain GP
Live AppleTV Race Audio
Live Standings
presented by
Stopped
Summary
Live Text
Sort by
At the front, still the Mercs circulate 1.3s apart...will Rosberg force the issue with an undercut?
Bianchi is now in the pits for repairs after that shunt with Sutil.
Button's edged clear from Hulkenberg - though that's relative because the gap's 0.8s.
The Briton's nibbling away at Perez's advantage though - is a podium on the cards?
The Briton's nibbling away at Perez's advantage though - is a podium on the cards?
Vettel reports that his "DRS is not working anymore". Ricciardo has caught him very rapidly.
Crash
Sutil and Bianchi have made contact twice, the second barge leaving Sutil parked at Turn 1 and Bianchi limping back to the pits.
Massa pits from fourth.
Sutil looks like he's parking his Sauber.
Gutierrez pits.
Stopwatch
Bottas sets the new fastest lap of the race, but Kvyat beats it moments later with a 1m40.160s.
Quote
"OK Jenson, this is good," says McLaren. "Massa also starting to struggle with tyres and bringing Checo back with him."
That's also put Massa just 1.5s clear of Button and Hulkenberg.
Caterham keeps Ericsson ahead of Chilton in their simultaneous pitstops.
Change for third - Perez with a brilliant move on Massa. That started with an attack into Turn 4 and he makes it stick through Turns 5/6.
Massa attempts to fight back into the hairpin but locks up and has to give up for now.
Massa attempts to fight back into the hairpin but locks up and has to give up for now.
Bottas and Kvyat are now down in 16th and 17th behind Kobayashi after their early pitstops, but their pace is very rapid.
Both Ericsson and Chilton pit.
Bottas and Kvyat are setting new benchmark sector times on their out-laps.
Lotus tells Maldonado his "pace is good". That's probably a relative point.
Ricciardo tries down the outside at the end of the back straight. Magnussen defends but slides wide and Ricciardo is through.
Ricciardo is so close to Magnussen he's nearly nudging the McLaren.
That pitstop from Bottas has freed up Hulkenberg to attack Button for fifth. The McLaren is just over 3s behind the battle for third, so Hulkenberg is definitely his priority right now.
Quote
"Jenson, we are in the window," says McLaren.
Bianchi also into the pits.
Kvyat makes his first pitstop.
Rosberg takes a tenth and a half out of his team-mate and is just under 1.3s behind Hamilton now. Bottas has shot into the pits.
Vergne is poised to be lapped by the leading Mercedes pair.
Bianchi currently leads the tail-end battle in 17th but has Kobayashi right on him. Ericsson and Chilton are slipping away behind them.
EDD STRAW: "Ricciardo has been pretty racy all season - gave Vettel a run for his money on the first lap again earlier. But overdid it trying to pass Magnussen there. Kvyat definitely backed out of that move on his Red Bull stablemate, so that mistake would have cost Ricciardo a place in normal circumstances."
Bottas then immediately loses out to Hulkenberg as well, with the German up to sixth. Nightmare couple of corners for the Finn.
Ricciardo is already straight back onto Magnussen's tail.
Button attacks Bottas for fifth into Turn 1 - they run side-by-side through Turn 2 and the Briton makes it stick! Great move.
Massa and Perez are now 10s behind the two Mercs, which are separated by no more than 1.5s.
Grosjean has now shaken off the Marussias and Caterhams among which he was initially embroiled and has joined Gutierrez in pressuring Maldonado for 14th.
Ricciardo jinked out from behind Magnussen very late on the run into Turn 1, got nicely sideways, caught it but had to go over the exit kerbs.
Ricciardo then has to work very hard to fend off Kvyat for 12th into Turn 4 as the Toro Rosso gets a run down the inside.
Ricciardo dives down the inside of Magnussen into Turn 1 but runs wide onto the run-off.
EDD STRAW: "Vettel will be pretty satisfied so far. While still down in 10th, he's holding his own on the medium rubber. Should mean he's on the quicker tyre later in the race when others are on the mediums."
Ricciardo is still all over the back of Magnussen for 11th, locking up a-plenty.
BEN ANDERSON: "Disappointing for Rosberg to lose out to Hamilton at the start. Could this be the first instalment of their 'Prost versus Senna' style battle, whereby Rosberg attempts to use strategy and fuel saving to outwit his team-mate?"
Alonso pulls a slight gap over Raikkonen and Vettel now in their fight for eighth.
Sutil is the first driver to make a scheduled pitstop.
By: Scott Mitchell, Ben Anderson, Edd Straw, Matt Beer, Pablo Elizalde
Published:
Lap:
