10 memorable moments from F1's Bahrain Grand Prix

Now a night race, the event's presentation has changed almost beyond recognition, but as our list shows, there were plenty of action-packed moments even before the floodlights were installed.

Schumacher dominates

The first Bahrain GP wasn't memorably exciting like some of the races that would follow, but it was significant as Michael Schumacher and Ferrari put on a dominant masterclass in the desert.

It would be Schumacher's only win at the circuit, which named its first corner in honour of him in 2014 following his skiing accident.

Alonso conquers the king

Fernando Alonso ended the Ferrari/Schumacher era of dominance with his 2005 world championship, but the powerhouse from Maranello wasn't at the races often that year after being caught out by rule changes for that season.

However, in 2006 Ferrari was back on form, and Schumacher took pole for in Bahrain for the season opener. Alonso had a fight on his hands, chasing Schumacher until the final pitstop phase when he tried to run long to jump the Ferrari.

Alonso emerged from his stop side-by-side with Schumacher into the first corner, didn't flinch, and then resisted pressure from the seven-time world champion to prove he was capable of taking him on in a straight fight.

Raikkonen's charge from the back

In that same 2006 race, while Alonso and Schumacher were going head to head for the win, Kimi Raikkonen was making his way from the back of the field to join them on the podium.

A suspension failure in qualifying left Raikkonen starting from the rear, but he made it up to 13th on the opening lap, and pulled off a one-stop strategy to make his way through the field to score an unlikely podium. Things looked good for McLaren at that stage, yet the team would go on to endure its first winless season for a decade despite the promising start.

Hamilton hits Alonso

Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were only two races into their lives away from each other after the controversial 2007 season they spent together at McLaren when they collided in Bahrain in 2008.

Hamilton was trying to recover from losing places at the start when he ran over the back of Alonso's Renault, damaging his front wing and putting him out of contention for a good result.

Both drivers played the crash down, despite suggestions put to Hamilton that Alonso might have brake tested him - with the Spaniard saying the clash happened because Hamilton's McLaren was so much faster than his Renault.

Toyota blows it

Toyota took a stunning front row lockout for the 2009 Bahrain GP, yet it only came home with a third-place trophy after getting outfoxed by Brawn and Red Bull.

But the team made a strategy blunder in putting both cars on the harder tyre compound for a long middle stint, which enabled Jenson Button to romp to victory, while Sebastian Vettel also got ahead of Jarno Trulli at the final stops.

The second Toyota of Timo Glock, which led the first stint of the race before Toyota's strategy undid its victory hopes, slumped to a distant seventh. By the end of the year, Toyota had quit F1 without a single win to its name.

Alonso's glorious Ferrari debut

Fernando Alonso joined Ferrari as its next great hope, and he kicked off in the same style as the man he replaced (Kimi Raikkonen) by winning on his debut in the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix.

There was an element of fortune involved, with eventual champion Sebastian Vettel commanding the race ahead of Alonso before his Red Bull developed engine trouble, but once he had the lead Alonso charged away from team-mate Felipe Massa - returning from life-threatening injuries sustained in 2009 - to lead a memorable one-two finish.

Alonso's broken DRS

It's fitting to follow up Alonso's memorable Ferrari debut with a race that encapsulated how things never quite came together for the two-time world champion during his time in red.

Alonso was running second early in the 2013 race when his DRS stuck open, forcing him into the pits for repairs to his rear wing. Ferrari was convinced it had fixed the issue, but the next time Alonso used the drag reduction system the wing stuck open again!

Ferrari performed another temporary fix and Alonso was unable to use the system again in the race, recovering to finish a disappointing eighth.

Team-mates duel in the desert (part one)

Sergio Perez's single season with McLaren wasn't particularly memorable for team or driver, but he did make a mark early in the campaign in a feisty battle with team-mate Jenson Button.

The battle kicked off with a bold block from Perez on the main straight, and when Button later got ahead the two made contact as Perez clipped his team-mate's rear tyre with his front wing - prompting Button to tell McLaren over the radio to "calm him down".

Perez finished four places and 10 seconds ahead of Button, who said afterwards that "wheel-banging at 300km/h is not how I go racing".

Team-mates duel in the desert (part two)

The most memorable fight for victory in Bahrain came in 2014, when Mercedes team-mates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg engaged in an epic battle.

After an early dice on lap 18, the race came back to Rosberg when a late safety car period put him on Hamilton's tail on faster tyres for the closing stages. Despite several attacks from Rosberg, Hamilton held on, and the pair celebrated their battle together post-race in a way that became increasingly rare as tensions rose during their three-year rivalry.

Gutierrez on a roll

The accident that prompted the epic fight between the Mercedes drivers in 2014 was caused by Pastor Maldonado, who tipped the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez upside down in a collision at the first corner.

Maldonado's Lotus was exiting the pits on the inside, with Gutierrez flashing past at racing speed on the racing line. But the two came together when they reached the corner, with the Sauber flipping over, bouncing on its roll-hoop while upside down and then landing back on its wheels.

Maldonado blamed for causing the accident, and was given a penalty for the following GP.