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Formula 1 Bahrain GP

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix Sunday - Bahrain GP

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Seven laps completed, and Hamilton's lead is 1.4s.
Rosberg is told he will now be on "the alternative strategy" and that it means a longer first stint. We're now on lap eight of 57.
Ricciardo is hassling Magnussen hard for 11th place. Raikkonen and Vettel are both putting pressure on Alonso just ahead.
Button has got to within a second of Bottas now, and the McLaren will be looking to make a move for fifth.
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Hamilton is told to "look after that left front. Looks like we have a little more understeer than the other car."
Perez is hassling Massa hard for the final podium spot now. That battle is already 5s off the lead after five laps.
Alonso got on the radio to complain to Ferrari about a lack of power as Hulkenberg breezed past him.
Simple pass from Hulkenberg into Turn 1 on Alonso to take seventh. Powers alongside him and it was an easy enough outbraking move to make.
Interestingly that Mercedes message came at Rosberg's request, he called in for "information about fuel consumption compared to other cars."
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"You are saving more fuel than your team-mate," Mercedes tells Rosberg, "but continue to save."
Massa is slipping back into the clutches of Perez in the battle for third. Bottas, Button and Hulkenberg are somewhat spread out (just over a second between each of them).
Hamilton has edged just over a second clear of Rosberg now, so he's clear of a DRS-assisted attack for now.

Hulkenberg has nailed Alonso for seventh.
Kvyat is still concerned though, saying "OK guys, this is ridiculous" about his front brake locking.
Replays show just how hard the Mercs went at it into Turn 4 - good thing the kerb was removed on the outside!
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Kvyat complains to Toro Rosso about front brake-locking. Toro Rosso reassures him that he's faster than Ricciardo in 12th place ahead.
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"White H5, position two," McLaren tells Magnussen, but adds the more ominous "Urgent" too.
Rosberg is just 0.8s behind now, with Massa being left behind by the Mercs. Hulkenberg, in eighth, is the likeliest of the top group to launch an attack - he's half a second behind Alonso.
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Mercedes lets Hamilton know that Rosberg is only 0.9s behind so "he has DRS."
Perez has dropped back from Massa and has Bottas, Button, Alonso and Hulkenberg in close company. In fact, there's a massive train of cars within a second of one another.
Vergne has rejoined at the back after his puncture repairs but is 1m03s behind nearest rival Chilton in 21st.
DRS enabled then, and Rosberg will need to edge away from Massa and get within attacking distance of his team-mate - and it looks like he has.
Rosberg is not letting Hamilton get away at the front and the gap stays the same - exactly one second. Massa is less than a second back.
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Vergne blames a "crazy Lotus guy. I don't know who it was. Absolutely mental."
Order at the end of lap one:

1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg
3 Massa
4 Perez
5 Bottas
6 Button
7 Alonso
8 Hulkenberg
9 Raikkonen
10 Vettel
11 Magnussen
12 Ricciardo
13 Kvyat
14 Gutierrez
15 Maldonado
16 Bianchi
17 Ericsson
18 Kobayashi
19 Grosjean
20 Sutil
21 Chilton
22 Vergne
Hamilton holds a one-second lead over Rosberg, then, with Raikkonen and Hulkenberg fighting tooth-and-nail for seventh.
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Raikkonen complains over the radio that Magnussen "hit me again".
Hectic stuff further down the field!
Crash
Contact in the midfield leaves Jean-Eric Vergne with a punctured rear tyre.
Massa has shot into third ahead of Perez with Button up to fifth.
Rosberg attacks Hamilton into Turn 4 and tries to run around the outside but has to cede the position.
Rosberg gets away well but Hamilton gets alongside into Turn 1 and leads!
Lights out
All lights on - and out!
All 22 cars now ready, green flag at the back.
Adrian Sutil comes into place at the back of the grid.
The rest of the field slots into place, and once all 22 line up correctly we will be ready for the lights!
Rosberg leads the field round the final corner and lines his Mercedes up on the grid.
Safe to say the Sakhir circuit is a much finer sight when artificially illuminated than it is in the harsh light of the desert sun.
BEN ANDERSON: Felipe Massa was outpaced by Williams team-mate Valtteri Bottas in qualifying yesterday, after a sideways moment in Turn 7, but will still start seventh.

He expects a tight race for the minor positions behind the frontrunning Mercedes boys this evening.

"It’s a big competition after Mercedes. The difference in laptimes from Ricciardo to me was four tenths, so it’s very close to many cars. It’s a big fight. Mercedes will just get better. It’s very difficult to get to that level, but after Mercedes is a big fight and things will change track by track.

"The race will be very competitive between many cars I think. I think we can be very competitive. Our car has good fuel consumption and that’s very important at this track. I think we can have a strong result."
Perez had a minor scare there when his Force India didn't immediately start the parade lap but he's away now so will assume the correct position on the grid.
A reminder of how the grid looks as the tyre warmers come off and the formation lap begins:

1. Nico Rosberg
2. Lewis Hamilton
3. Valtteri Bottas
4. Sergio Perez
5. Kimi Raikkonen
6. Jenson Button
7. Felipe Massa
8. Kevin Magnussen
9. Fernando Alonso
10. Sebastian Vettel
11. Nico Hulkenberg
12. Daniil Kvyat
13. Daniel Ricciardo
14. Jean-Eric Vergne
15. Esteban Gutierrez
16. Romain Grosjean
17. Pastor Maldonado
18. Kamui Kobayashi
19. Jules Bianchi
20. Marcus Ericsson
21. Max Chilton
22. Adrian Sutil

By: Scott Mitchell, Ben Anderson, Edd Straw, Matt Beer, Pablo Elizalde

Published: