The 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 2018 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix)is scheduled to take place on 8 April 2018 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. The event will be the second round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship and at the same time marks the fourteenth time that the Bahrain Grand Prix has been run as a round of the Formula 1 World Championship.
Scuderia Ferrari German driver Sebastian Vettel is the defending race winner and enters the round with a seven-point lead over his main ritle rival Lewis Hamilton in the World Drivers’ Championship. Regarding the World Constructors’ Championship standings, Scuderia Ferrari currently hold an eighteen-point lead over Mercedes.
The Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir was opened back in 2004, but since then the Bahrain GP was cancelled in one Formula One season (2011) despite the fact that it has been one of the highlights of the championship, with several spectacular and thrilling races throughout the years.
The first race in Bahrain also meant the first win for Scuderia Ferrari, on 4 April 2004, when the Maranello team completely dominated the Grand Prix, with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher took pole at the end of the Qualifying session on Saturday and finished the race ahead of his teammate, completing a splendid one-two podium for the Italian team. Jenson Button for the BAR team by finished in third position, over 26 seconds behind Ferrari’s German driver.
After three seasons, the Scuderia again came out on top in Sakhir, this time thanks to Felipe Massa, who started from first place after an impressive 1:32.652 lap in Q3 to beat Lewis Hamilton of McLaren-Mercedes. The Brazilian driver was in control of the lead throughout the entire race and in the end finished the Grand Prix 2.3 seconds in front of Lewis Hamilton, with the other Ferrari driver, Kimi Raikkonen, completing the top three.
Felipe Massa added another victory to his name the year after, in 2008, on 6 April, which was the third race of the 2008 Formula One season. Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) took pole position on Saturday, but could not keep up with the strong race pace of the two Scuderia Ferrari cars, as Felipe scored his first win of the season when he crossed the line at the end of the 57th lap, 3.3 seconds in front of the second-placed Kimi Raikkonen, who completed a perfect weekend for the Maranello team.
Un until last season, the most recent victory in the Bahrain GP for Scuderia Ferrari was brought by Fernando Alonso, at the wheel of the F 10, in the 2010 Formula One season. The race was the opening round of the championship and with that result, Fernando Alonso joined a selective club alongside Juan Manuel Fangio, Giancarlo Baghetti, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell and Kimi Raikkonen as the only driver to win for Scuderia Ferrari on their F1 debut.
Scuderia Ferrari German driver Sebastian Vettel was on top of his game for the Maranello team last season, after winning a Bahrain Grand Prix thriller that saw Lewis Hamilton penalized for underhand tactics. The Mercedes driver, who had started the floodlit race level on points with the German, took second place after staging a late chase following the five-second penalty for driving deliberately slowly into the pits.
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