In what is expected to be a recurring theme throughout the 2014 Formula One racing season, Mercedes went 1-2 again with Lewis Hamilton finishing first and teammate Nico Rosberg obeying team orders and finishing second one second back at the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix. Mexican driver Sergio Perez brought Force India its first podium finish ever as he finished third 24 seconds back. Four-time defending champion Sebastian Vettel finished sixth.
Mercedes dominated early, as usual, with Hamilton and Rosberg pulling away from the field and essentially conducting their own race against each other for the first half of the race before Mercedes team officials separated them by having Hamilton come into the pits to change tires before Rosberg.
This took the drama out of who would finish first until Pastor Maldonado t-boned Esteban Gutierrez, creating only the second safety car situation in Bahrain Grand Prix history and giving Rosberg the chance to change tire in a pit stop and pull behind Hamilton. But team orders from Mercedes were to bring home each car in their positions and that relegated Rosberg to his second consecutive runner-up finish to Hamilton despite having the faster car at the end.
In the season point standings, Rosberg holds on to a the lead with 61 points, followed by Hamilton in second with 50 points and German Nico Hulkenberg in third with 28 points.
The 2014 Formula One racing season continues with the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, China on April 20, 2014.
2014 Bahrain Grand Prix Results
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 57 Winner 2 25
2 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 57 +1.0 secs 1 18
3 11 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 57 +24.0 secs 4 15
4 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-Renault 57 +24.4 secs 13 12
5 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 57 +28.6 secs 11 10
6 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 57 +29.8 secs 10 8
7 19 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 57 +31.2 secs 7 6
8 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 57 +31.8 secs 3 4
9 14 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 57 +32.5 secs 9 2
10 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 57 +33.4 secs 5 1
11 26 Daniil Kvyat STR-Renault 57 +41.3 secs 12
12 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 57 +43.1 secs 16
13 4 Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 57 +59.9 secs 21
14 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 57 +62.8 secs 17
15 10 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault 57 +87.9 secs 18
16 17 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 56 +1 Lap 19
17 22 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 55 +2 Laps 6
Ret 20 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 40 +17 Laps 8
Ret 21 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 39 Accident 15
Ret 9 Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 33 +24 Laps 20
Ret 25 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Renault 18 +39 Laps 14
Ret 99 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 17 +40 Laps 22