Sebastian Vettel marked his 200th Formula One race with a thrilling and brilliantly-judged victory for Ferrari in Sunday's dramatic Bahrain Grand Prix. The four-time ex champion, on severely-worn tyres, came home narrowly ahead of Valtteri Bottas and the Finn's Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in a nail-biting finish to an intriguing contest.
French rookie Pierre Gasly took a stunning fourth place for the Honda-powered Toro Rosso team ahead of Kevin Magnussen of Haas. It was Vettel's second win in as many races this season, the 49th of his career and extended his lead ahead of Hamilton in the drivers' championship to 17 points after the Englishman delivered a dazzling drive from ninth on the grid to finish only six seconds adrift.
Both have won four championships and, this season, are battling to secure an historic fifth title. "Wow!" screamed Vettel as he crossed the line. "These tyres were done - they were done for the last 10 laps.
"I came on the radio to say everything was under control, but that was a lie! I thought Bottas would catch me and I just tried to keep it as clean as possible." Bottas said: "We were on the harder compound and I knew there was a chance. I tried to catch him, but it was just not enough. Extremely disappointing."
Hamilton, who started ninth after being given a five-place penalty for a gearbox change, said he was satisfied. "I am happy," he said. "It was damage limitation. I started ninth so third is not that bad..."
But it was not all good news for Ferrari as Vettel's team-mate Finn Kimi Raikkonen failed to finish after colliding with a mechanic at a pit stop.
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