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Formula 1
Bahrain GP
2015 Bahrain Grand Prix Sunday - Bahrain Grand Prix
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Raikkonen making the most of his soft tyres right away - he took 1.4s out of Rosberg in sectors 2 and 3 on his outlap.
Quote
An unhappy Hulkenberg: "That idiot Ericsson is almost driving into the back of me every time".
Rest of field:
11 Nasr
12 Kvyat
13 Alonso
14 Hulkenberg
15 Ericsson
16 Stevens
17 Merhi
11 Nasr
12 Kvyat
13 Alonso
14 Hulkenberg
15 Ericsson
16 Stevens
17 Merhi
Order:
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg
3 Raikkonen
4 Bottas
5 Vettel
6 Ricciardo
7 Maldonado
8 Grosjean
9 Massa
10 Perez
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg
3 Raikkonen
4 Bottas
5 Vettel
6 Ricciardo
7 Maldonado
8 Grosjean
9 Massa
10 Perez
Raikkonen is 19 seconds behind Rosberg with 16 laps to go. That's a big ask.
This race hasn't worked out well for qualifying star Hulkenberg. He's struggled for race pace on three stops and is now down to 14th, chasing Alonso's two-stopping McLaren and with Ericsson all over the back of him.
The gap between Hamilton and Rosberg out front is five seconds.
"What do we think?" Perez asks Force India. He's told "we're looking good compared to three-stoppers". He's 11th with three three-stoppers roughly within pitstop range ahead.
Ferrari does indeed switch him back over to the soft tyre - despite Raikkonen's earlier complaints in response to that suggestion.
Raikkonen pits at the start of lap 41/57.
Force India gave Hulkenberg a radio nudge to make sure he got out of Hamilton's way while being lapped.
There's a huge gap behind the Mercedes that Raikkonen will very safely drop back into when he pits, but given the time he is losing at the moment, it seems unlikely he will give Rosberg much to worry about by the finish.
Hamilton breezes past Raikkonen for the lead into Turn 1, although the move is complicated by Hulkenberg coming out of the pits just in front of them. Expertly dealt with by the two world champions - that could have got very messy.
Williams tells Bottas "we've got everything in the engine" as it hopes to fend Vettel off. Might be optimistic...
After that wing change, Vettel rejoined fifth behind Bottas, but he's catching the Williams at 2s per lap. The gap is down to 4.8s.
Raikkonen says he's having radio problems, and he's asking what the plan is. Meanwhile, he's just been passed on track by Alonso, who has unlapped himself in the McLaren (on the soft tyre).
Rosberg is lapping faster than Hamilton at the moment - although he has more on his plate at the moment in terms of a threat from behind, so it's understandable.
Verstappen reported that he was losing power before retiring the Toro Rosso. The team told him "the car is not safe, you need to jump out".
Perez makes his final pitstop.
Mercedes warns Rosberg that it expects Raikkonen to catch him at the end.
"How are the tyres, can we still make plan A work?" Williams asks Massa. His reply is 50-50 and he adds "and you need to speak louder".
When Vettel ran wide, he kept his foot in and put one wheel through the gravel trap on the outside. At the speed he hit the gravel, it's little wonder he damaged the front wing.
Stopwatch
1m37.3 fastest lap for Rosberg, who is currently 6.8s behind Hamilton.
It's a nose change for Vettel.
"I think I have some damage on the front wing - don't know why, I have understeer. Keep an eye on it please," says Vettel, who now pits again.
Alonso makes his second and final stop from 14th place.
Both Toro Rossos are out: Verstappen comes back into the pits and retires.
Strange one for Vettel, he bottomed the car out on the exit kerb which jumped the Ferrari left onto the dirt.
Vettel goes off at the final corner, handing Rosberg the position. Rosberg then has the benefit of DRS to defend against the Ferrari into Turn 1 - as he was behind the Ferrari in the detection zone before the final corner.
Stopwatch
Vettel bashed in a 1m37.547s fastest lap of the race on his out lap to make sure he got the jump on Rosberg. The Mercedes is straight on his tail though.
Kvyat comes in for his second and probably final stop.
Vettel gets into Turn 1 easily ahead of Rosberg. Once again enjoying the benefit of that early stop. That time, Mercedes didn't pit Rosberg before Hamilton, which is interesting.
Nasr puts a neat outside-line pass on Hulkenberg, whose race pace hasn't matched his star qualifying form.
Three-stopper Maldonado passes two-stopper Kvyat for eighth. The midfield order is very jumbled at the moment as these strategies play out, but the one to watch is Perez - up to seventh after making only one of his two planned stops and lapping quickly all day.
Rosberg stops, taking on the mediums that will take him to the end.
Rosberg is 6.3s ahead of Raikkonen at the moment. The fight for the podium places is not over yet, even if Hamilton seems to have the lead under control.
Bottas makes what should be his final stop from fifth place and takes hards.
A clean, 2.6s stop for Hamilton, who is going to emerge comfortably ahead of Vettel. What we're looking for next is where Rosberg will settle back in with the Ferrari.
Hamilton is heading for the pits.
Raikkonen is querying why Ferrari wants to put him back on the soft. He's told that the tyre life will be the same, but he'll be quicker on the softs to begin with. He's clearly happy on those mediums though.
By: Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw, Ben Anderson, Matt Beer, Lawrence Barretto
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