The 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix kicks off at 10PM. Join The Roar for live coverage of all the on-track action at the Sakhir International Circuit.
Set amongst the sands on a tiny speck of land in the Persian Gulf sits the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Just thirty kilometres from the civil unrest raging in Manama lies the Sakhir International Circuit, an oasis of motorsport, seemingly shielded from the controversy beyond its walls.
It’s here that Formula One ends its first flyaway leg of the season, the final stop before returning to Europe.
Few races in the sport’s history have attracted controversy like Bahrain.
When its citizens rose up during the Arab Spring, the FIA reluctantly accepted the race couldn’t be run.
But amid much protesting from human rights groups, the sport returned last year and, despite fears to the contrary, emerged relatively unscathed.
Meanwhile, protect from the world outside, Formula One concerns itself with its continued search for a stable pecking order.
Three races have provided three different pole sitters, three different winners, and no consistent trend of performance. Nico Rosberg is trying to ensure that trend continues, setting the quickest time of the weekend in qualifying.
But Mercedes is worried its qualifying pace won’t translate into race pace, and Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull are lurking behind Nico, ready to pounce.
For others, this weekend can’t end soon enough. McLaren is feeling pessimistic after Jenson Button could only qualify tenth, while Williams is yet to find the pace it boasted during pre-season testing.
Both have significant upgrades planned for Spain where they’ll hope to begin their recoveries.
Bahrain presents a unique challenge to Formula One – let’s find out how it handles the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
And that's all she wrote for the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix. Formula One will now take another lengthy break before the European season commences with the Spanish Grand Prix on 12 May. What changes to the hierarchy will develop in that time? Might Pirelli change its tyre compounds? Can McLaren deliver an upgrade package that could salvage its season? Will Mark Webber get another haircut? Answers to all of these questions, and probably others, will be revealed in just three weeks - when I'll see you right back here on The Roar.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
FROM THE PODIUM: Sebastian Vettel: "Fantastic race. A big thank you to the team today, A faultless, seamless race from start to finish. "The pace we had today, we surely didn't expect that. But we managed the gaps and still had enough tyres to push to the end." Kimi Raikkonen: "I think yesterday wasn't ideal, so we planned to do two stops because it felt okay, "I didn't have a very strong first lap - we lost two places - but after that the car started to come to me and I could push more." Romain Grosjean: "The first three races have been consistent but not what we wanted. We worked hard with the whole team, and it was hard to figure out what was missing for me. "We started the race with a strategy that was a bit different. The race was a bit harder, we had to fight on track."
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Your Bahrain Grand Prix provisional results: P01 Sebastian VETTEL, Red Bull Racing P02 Kimi RAIKKONEN, Lotus P03 Romain Grosjean, Lotus P04 Paul DI RESTA, Force India P05 Lewis HAMILTON, Mercedes P06 Sergio PEREZ, McLaren P07 Mark WEBBER, Red Bull Racing P08 Fernando ALONSO, Ferrari P09 Nico ROSBERG, Mercedes P10 Jenson BUTTON, McLaren P11 Pastor MALDONADO, Williams P12 Nico HULKENBERG, Sauber P13 Adrian SUTIL, Force India P14 Valtteri BOTTAS, Williams P15 Felipe MASSA, Ferrari P16 Daniel RICCIARDO, Toro Rosso P17 Charles PIC, Caterham P18 Esteban GUTIERREZ, Sauber P19 Jules BIANCHI, Marussia P20 Max CHILTON, Marussia P21 Giedo VAN DER GARDE, Caterham RET Jean-Eric VERGNE, Toro Rosso
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Paul di Resta just misses out on a podium, but takes fourth place. Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez passed Mark Webber on the final lap, the three finishing P5, P6, and P7. Fernando Alonso finished just 0.3 seconds behind the rapidly-slowing Australian, while Rosberg and Button completed the top ten.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Second: Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus Third: Romain Grosjean, Lotus
Michael Lamonato
Expert
SEBASTIAN VETTEL WINS THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
FINAL LAP Hamilton finally gets the deed done over Webber, he takes P5.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Just two laps to go and, as like clockwork, Vettel gives his all to set a fastest lap. he does love collection them.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
LAP55/57 Webber and Hamilton putting some solid wheel-to-wheel racing on display for P5. Webber is managing to keep himself ahead with some expert defensive driving.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
LAP54/57 Perez and Alonso have a might battle for P7. Alonso runs out of road and ends up on that non-sand I spoke. of. Perez gets the better of him for now. Impressive turnaround after the first three relatively average Grands Prix from him.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
LAP52/57 Webber gets his own back over Hamilton after the Mercedes driver made an error at the start of this lap. The battle continues...
Michael Lamonato
Expert
LAP52/57 Romain Grosjean passes Paul di Resta at the first corner, and is comfortably leading him around the track.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
LAP51/57 Hamilton glides past Webber for P4. The Australian is the slowest car in the top ten.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
LAP50/57 While behind Grosjean, Webber is being attacked by a feisty Lewis Hamilton, with Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez lurking not much further behind.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Let's set up the end of this race: Sebastian Vettel had won, essentially. Spoiler alert. Kimi Raikkonen is running a two-stop and is 8.8 second behind Vettel. He's not pushing for fear he'll ruin his tyres. Paul di Resta is also on a two stop, so similarly won't be pushing. Behind him, however, is Romain Grosjean. he's lapping well over a second faster, and is just five second behind. The podium, therefore, is not yet settled...
Michael Lamonato
Expert
LAP43/57 Sebastian Vettel makes his final stop from the lead, again for hard tyres. He had a 26 second buffer to Grosjean in second - which he easily clears - but Grosjean pits anyway.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg will be investigated for a coming together on track a few laps ago. Webber looks like he's the new stewards' favourite for 2013.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
LAP39/57 Fernando Alonso pits from sixth, while Perez stops from fourth.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
LAP37/57 SPEAKING OF. Mark Webber is now stopping for tyre change number three.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Paul di Resta was around 24 seconds behind Vettel before stopping, so assuming his pace remains consistent in this final stint, he may find himself in the podium mix after the other frontrunners make their final stops.