Above image from thejudge13.com blog.

The new formula gave us the most exciting race of the 2014 season in Bahrain. Come with me blow the fold to find out how it all shook out in the desert night…

Hamilton makes it 2 in a row in classic Grand Prix after epic tussle with Rosberg as Mercedes run away from the field in Bahrain

Pic from www.dw.de

Formula 1’s 900th all-time Grand-Prix did not disappoint, showing once again that despite naysayers and detractors the world’s most elite form of motor racing can also be its most exciting. The newly nocturnal Bahrain Grand Prix gave birth to battles up and down the order with several head-to-head fights for primacy between teammates and upstart teams challenging giants for supremacy in the new “green” turbo era. But in the first truly dry weather race of the year, Mercedes outpaced everyone by demonstrating straight-line speed from a unique engine design that no one else can yet match.

On Sunday it was Lewis Hamilton who showed just how hungry he was for victory and another Drivers’ Championship, overcoming his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg’s pole position and tire advantage as the laps wound down and claiming his second win of the season. Hamilton seemed doomed to settle for second due to a safety car deployment after a scary shunt on lap 40 when Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado got into the rear of Estaban Gutierrez’s Sauber, flipping the latter’s car into a complete barrel roll. Both drivers were unhurt but the ensuing 5-laps behind the pace car saw Hamilton locked into the slower prime tires while Rosberg had just pitted for the preferred softer Pirelli options. It seemed certain on the restart that Rosberg would find a way by his English rival and several times during the remaining laps it appeared the German had the pass made only to see Hamilton claw back a slight advantage. With repeated warnings from the Mercedes pit wall to bring both cars home the teammates nonetheless engaged in a fierce but fair tussle for the win, several times going wheel-to-wheel through tight corners. But in the end it was Hamilton who somehow managed to pull out the victory with Rosberg seeming to have lost the edge on his tires from pushing so hard and coming home 1 second behind in second place.

Image from ForceIndiaF1.com

The surprise 3rd spot on the podium was grabbed by Mexican Sergio Perez from team Force India, fast becoming the giant slayers of Formula 1. The former McLaren driver, who was unceremoniously dumped by Ron Dennis’ gang last year in favor of Kevin Magnussen, was far and away the best of the rest after starting 5th on the grid. To make things even sweeter for the Mexican, his old team had a double DNF with terminal clutch issues. Perez outdueled his superlative teammate Nico Hulkenberg, who finished 5th, and was able to hold off the surging Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo for the podium, albeit 24 seconds adrift of the otherwordly Mercedes team. The Aussie Ricciardo seems to have the early advantage on his World Champion teammate Sebastian Vettel, who complained that his Renault-powered chassis was down on power throughout the race and could only muster 6th place at the finish.

Williams had a decent race and showed excellent pace throughout the weekend. But their 3-stop strategy was undone by the safety car, with Filipe Massa coming home 7th and Valttteri Botas 8th after attacking each other all race long for the second week in a row. Rounding out the top 10 were the two Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Rakkonen, who found themselves in the atypical position of picking up crumbs from the championship table by coming home 9th and 10th respectively. So disheartening was the performance of the F14 T that Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo left the race early to catch his flight back to Marinello rather than see the finish. It’s no wonder the legendary Scuderia is already lobbying the FIA for changes to the technical regulations. But from Ferrari’s (and Red Bull’s) perspective it may be their only chance to claw back an advantage on their rivals: 6 of the top 10 finishers under the lights at Sakhir are running the so far superior Mercedes power.

Top 10 finishers for the Grand Prix of Bahrain:

Complete race results here at Formula1.com.

The next race will be in 2 weeks at the Grand Prix of China, where straight-line speed should once again be king. Hope to see you then.