Ferrari’s Vettel wins Bahrain Grand Prix

Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Bottas finish second and third; Force India’s Perez takes seventh

Furious pace: Vettel beat Hamilton to the first corner and got past Bottas on pit-stop strategy early on in the race to clinch an eventually comfortable victory.

Sebastian Vettel moved into a clear lead in this year’s world championship on Sunday when he claimed a well-judged victory for Ferrari in the Bahrain Grand Prix for his second win of the season. The 29-year-old four-time champion came home seven seconds ahead of three-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, who made a late charge for victory after collecting a five-seconds penalty for a pit-lane misdemeanour.

Hamilton’s new Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas finished third, after starting from his maiden pole position, ahead of compatriot Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari, and fifth-placed Australian Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo’s Red Bull team-mate 19-year-old Max Verstappen crashed out of the action after a brakes failure. Felipe Massa finished sixth for Williams with Sergio Perez taking seventh for Force India.