| 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 2 of 21 in the2019 Formula One World Championship
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| Race details[1] | |||||
| Date | 31 March 2019 | ||||
| Official name | Formula 1Gulf AirBahrain Grand Prix 2019 | ||||
| Location | Bahrain International Circuit Sakhir,Bahrain | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 5.412 km (3.362 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 57 laps, 308.238 km (191.530 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Clear | ||||
| Attendance | 97,000[2] | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||||
| Time | 1:27.866 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | |||
| Time | 1:33.411 on lap 38 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Mercedes | ||||
| Second | Mercedes | ||||
| Third | Ferrari | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The2019 Bahrain Grand Prix (officially known as theFormula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2019) was aFormula One motor race that took place on 31 March 2019 at theBahrain International Circuit inSakhir, Bahrain.[1][3] The race was the second round of the2019 FIA Formula One World Championship and marked the 15th time that theBahrain Grand Prix had been run as a round of the Formula One World Championship.[3][4]
Heading into the Grand Prix,Valtteri Bottas led the World Drivers' Championship by 8 points over teammateLewis Hamilton. Their team,Mercedes, was holding a 22-point lead overFerrari in the World Constructors' Championships.[5][6]
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand in drivers for either the race or practice.[7]
The main title sponsor ofFerrari,Mission Winnow, returned from this race, after it was not used by the Scuderia at the previous race inAustralia for legal reasons.[8]
Before the race, it was announced that an extradrag reduction system (DRS) zone would be added to the circuit. In addition to the DRS zones between turns 15 and 1 and between turns 10 and 11 an extra DRS zone was added between turns 3 and 4. This change was expected to increase the number of overtakes and promote morepit stops during the race.[9]
The first practice session happened without major incident and ended with aFerrari one-two withCharles Leclerc leadingSebastian Vettel with Leclerc comfortably beating the next fastest constructor by nearly one second.[10] The second and third practice sessions also ended with a comfortable Ferrari one-two although it was Leclerc who was leading Vettel in third practice.[11][12]
Charles Leclerc got his first pole position of his Formula 1 career in the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix Weekend with hisFerrari teammateSebastian Vettel in second with a time 0.3 seconds slower.[13][14] After Ferrari looked substantially ahead ofMercedes in free practice, Mercedes did manage to close the gap to the Italian team, but still qualified on the second row for the race on Sunday, withLewis Hamilton ahead of teammateValtteri Bottas.[14][15]Max Verstappen was 0.5 seconds adrift fromValtteri Bottas in 4th place withKevin Magnussen only 0.005 seconds slower than the Dutchman.[14]Carlos Sainz Jr. split the twoHaas cars in 7th andKimi Räikkönen continuing his longest streak of Q3's in Formula 1[failed verification], qualifying ninth just ahead ofLando Norris’McLaren in 10th.[14]
Pierre Gasly missed out on Q3 once again in Bahrain in theRed Bull, qualifying 13th behindDaniel Ricciardo in 11th andAlexander Albon in 12th,Sergio Pérez qualified 14th, 0.3 seconds quicker thanDaniil Kvyat in 15th in hisToro Rosso.[14][16]
Nico Hülkenberg (Renault) was the shock exit in Q1 in 17th place behindAntonio Giovinazzi’sAlfa Romeo and ahead ofLance Stroll, who qualified 18th.[14][17]Williams once again qualify on the back row, the lead WilliamsGeorge Russell 1.5 seconds away from Stroll andRobert Kubica qualified in last place with a 1:31.799 compared to the fastest time of 1:28.495.[14]
Charles Leclerc started from pole position but lost two positions to his teammateSebastian Vettel and theMercedes ofValtteri Bottas, who managed to get ahead of his teammateLewis Hamilton in the first corner.Romain Grosjean andLance Stroll tangled on the first lap with Stroll hitting Grosjean, giving theHaas damage.
By the end of the first lap, Leclerc was on Bottas' tail and passed theFinn into turn 1 on lap 2, which also allowed Lewis Hamilton to take third place from Bottas. On lap 4,Carlos Sainz Jr. attackedMax Verstappen on the outside in turn 4 but the two collided, giving Sainz a puncture. On lap 6, Charles Leclerc overtook Vettel for the lead of the race into turn 1 and began to pull away quickly.Antonio Giovinazzi sentDaniil Kvyat into a spin at turn 11.
Hamilton was catching Vettel throughout the race and eventually caught up to him on lap 38, making a move around the outside at turn 4. Vettel went into a spin on corner exit, saying he got surprised and lost the rear of the car. In the process he flat-spotted his tires, causing severe vibration leading to a front wing failure. Pitting to replace the front wing dropped him to 9th place. TheRenaults were running 6th and 7th and made contact while battling for position into turn 1, withDaniel Ricciardo left with front wing damage.
On lap 46, Leclerc was cruising in the lead but then reported an engine issue and slowed significantly, lapping several seconds slower than his immediate rivals, and getting unlapped by cars he previously lapped. It was later revealed that one of his engine cylinders had stopped working. On lap 48 he was caught by Hamilton, who took the lead. On lap 54 Leclerc was passed by Bottas, dropping him to 3rd with Verstappen closing rapidly. However, with four laps remaining, the two Renaults retired with mechanical issues and brought out the safety car, which stayed out until the end of the race. As a result, Leclerc managed to hold on to 3rd place and claimed his first ever podium in Formula 1, the first Formula One World Championship podium for aMonégasque driver sinceLouis Chiron finished third at the1950 Monaco Grand Prix. Leclerc also had the fastest lap of the race, giving him and Ferrari one extra point for their respective championships.
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| Previous race: 2019 Australian Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 2019 season | Next race: 2019 Chinese Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix | Bahrain Grand Prix | Next race: 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix |
