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2015 Bahrain F1 Grand Prix puts a dark horse in the desert [spoilers]

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen had said after Malaysia that Ferrari can challenge Mercedes-AMG Petronas purely on pace, beyond the scope of tire wear, in the dry. We didn't see that in China, where Lewis Hamilton easily kept everyone behind and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel only got close to Mercedes' Nico Rosberg when Rosberg slowed down to conserve his tires. But the Iceman's words seemed prescient during qualifying for the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix. At the front, nothing has changed so far this year: four races, four pole positions for Lewis Hamilton. Instead of teammate Rosberg next to him, though, he'll look over to see the scarlet Ferrari of Vettel, who took advantage of Rosberg's cautiousness to snatch second place on the grid. In Q2, Rosberg tried to conserve the tires he'd start the race on and said he couldn't get into a groove in Q3, putting in a time 0.147 seconds slower than Vettel. The second Silver Arrows will share his row with the second Ferrari, Raikkonen – yet again – saying he might have left some time on the table during his hot lap but getting around just one tenth off Rosberg's time. Williams is established as the best of the rest behind two teams this year instead of just one last year, Valtteri Bottas claiming fifth ahead of Felipe Massa. Daniel Ricciardo of Infiniti Red Bull Racing said he wants to fight with the Williams', he'll be helped with a good start off the line for the first time this year. Nico Hulkenberg got Force India into Q3 for the first time since the Italian Grand Prix last year and into eighth on the grid, ahead of Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso and Romain Grosjean putting in another excellent day's work for Lotus. Come race time, it turned into Mercedes power against Ferrari strategy. When Sky F1 commentator Martin Brundle talks about the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team he often mentions how their engine advantage leads to other advantages throughout the car. Not having to use aerodynamic changes to make up for power unit deficiencies, for instance, means they can run the aero setup they want, which optimizes speed and tire wear throughout a lap. It equates to advantage on top of advantage on top of advantage. That's where Lewis Hamilton is right now, so fundamentally dialed in to his car and his racing that he run the races he wants to run. From the front spot, the Brit ripped off another perfect start and led the field into Turn 1, relinquishing the lead only during pit stops.

Lewis Hamilton cruises to victory at the Singapore Grand Prix

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Britain's Lewis Hamilton eased to victory from pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday as the Mercedes driver extended his championship lead over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel to 40 points with six rounds remaining. Hamilton held off a mid-race challenge from Red Bull's Max Verstappen to register a record-equaling fourth triumph at the floodlit Marina Bay Street Circuit track, while Vettel finished third to slip further behind in the title race. "Great job everyone, what a weekend... keep pushing, keep pushing, we've got this," Hamilton told his team over the radio soon after crossing the line at the end of the 61st lap. Hamilton's 69th overall victory was his seventh of the season and it was built on the foundations of a stunning qualifying lap on Saturday, when he stormed to pole in a car deemed inferior to the Ferraris and Red Bulls on this circuit. For Vettel and Ferrari it was another disappointing weekend after the car showed plenty of pace through all three practice sessions, the German's cause not helped by a questionable strategy and a poor pitstop. Hamilton won this race from the third row a year ago when Vettel, Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen collided before Turn One but there was no repeat of such drama this time after the drivers got off to a clean start at the head of the field. There has, however, been a safety car period in every race in Singapore since it joined Formula One in 2008 and it was deployed on the opening lap after Sergio Perez pushed his Force India team mate Esteban Ocon into a wall after Turn Three. "Sorry guys there was no room," Perez told his team over the radio. Vettel got past Verstappen before the safety car emerged and slotted in behind Hamilton, but his race unraveled when the German pitted first on the 14th lap but got stuck in traffic and overtaken by the Dutchman when he made his stop for fresh tires. BACK MARKERS Hamilton was cruising up front but suffered a mini-crisis on the 38th lap when he got stuck in a queue of tail-enders, which allowed Verstappen to get right up behind him. The Dutchman had a look up the inside as Hamilton struggled to pass the back markers but the Briton just stayed ahead and was able to pull clear all the way to the checkered flag once he had a clear track ahead of him. "It definitely got a little bit interesting toward the end with the back markers as you could already feel the draft from the cars when you were five and six seconds behind," Hamilton added.

Lewis Hamilton wins in Hungary to stretch F1 title lead over Sebastian Vettel

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix from pole position for Mercedes on Sunday to go into the August break with a 24-point lead over Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel. Vettel was runner-up in Hungary, 17.1 seconds behind, and survived a late collision with Hamilton's team mate Valtteri Bottas who also banged bodywork with Red Bull's Australian Daniel Ricciardo. The victory was Hamilton's record sixth in Hungary, fifth of the season and 67th of his career. Ferrari, mourning the death of former chairman Sergio Marchionne, had Kimi Raikkonen finish third to complete a podium of champions on a dry and sweltering afternoon at the Hungaroring outside Budapest. In a race effectively decided by Saturday's wet qualifying, when Mercedes locked out the front row of the grid against expectation, Hamilton was never challenged. "We came here knowing Ferrari would be really quick this weekend so to come out with these points, we'll definitely take it as a bonus," said Hamilton in a pitlane interview after embracing team members. "I'm really happy with how strong it's come in the last couple of races. We've got to come strong in the next half," added the 33-year-old, who won in Germany from 14th place on the grid a weekend earlier. After 12 races, Hamilton has 213 points to Vettel's 189. Tire strategies were also crucial at a relatively slow and twisty circuit where overtaking is always difficult, with track temperatures hovering around 50 degrees Celsius. Vettel started on the softs and went for a longer first stint than Mercedes, worried by Ferrari's quick getaways, who opted for ultrasofts that were quicker at the start but faded more rapidly. Lining up in fourth place on the grid, Vettel grabbed third from Raikkonen immediately but could not find a way past Bottas who slotted in behind Hamilton as a defense against the red threat. "We were out of position. I think we could have gone with Lewis today with the race pace," said Vettel. "P2 is not really what we wanted this weekend but I think it was the maximum today." ANGRY VERSTAPPEN Raikkonen, without water during the race after Ferrari forgot to connect the bottle, made two stops and agreed third – his fifth successive podium finish – was the best he could have hoped for in the circumstances. "We caught up with Bottas after the first stop but there was no chance to overtake. So our option was to stop again and try again.