Lewis Hamilton wins Bahrain GP as Charles Leclerc gets unlucky

Mercedes' driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates his Bahrain GP win. Pic/AFP

Lewis Hamilton inherited a lucky win on Sunday after Charles Leclerc's Ferrari ran into engine trouble in the dying stages of the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix. The Monegasque, who had started from pole, had been on course to become Ferrari's youngest-ever race winner with an easy win under the floodlights in just his second race for the Italian glamour team.

But what appeared to be a loss of power allowed the Briton and later team-mate Valtteri Bottas, able to run as many as four seconds a lap faster, to reel in the 21-year-old and breeze past to secure Mercedes' second one-two finish in as many races. Lerclerc's problems capped an already difficult day for Ferrari, who swept the front row in qualifying, with Sebastian Vettel's race having already unravelled. The German, who finished fifth, spun while defending second from Hamilton before only moments later losing his front wing in a spectacular shower of sparks.

"That was extremely unfortunate for Charles," said Hamilton as he crossed the line, with the race finishing behind the safety car which was deployed to clear away Daniel Ricciardo's stranded Renault. "He drove such a great race. We've got work to do to keep these guys off our tails," added the Briton, who hugged Leclerc in parc ferme. Bagging a point for setting the fastest lap at least offered the Monegasque some consolation. "It's a very hard one to take," said Leclerc, who nevertheless chalked up his first podium finish. "It's a shame to only finish third, but it's part of racing and we'll come back stronger."

Hamilton's win in Bahrain was the 74th of his career but first this season. He stays second in the championship but is now just one point shy of overall leader Bottas, who won and scored the extra point for fastest lap, in Australia. Max Verstappen finished fourth for Red Bull ahead of Vettel. British rookie Lando Norris put in a starring drive for McLaren to finish sixth ahead of Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen. Pierre Gasly brought his Red Bull home in eighth ahead of Toro Rosso's Alexander Albon and Sergio Perez, who rounded out the top ten for Racing Point.

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