2013 Bahrain Grand Prix

Previous race

Fernando Alonso won in China for Ferrari, with Räikkönen second and Hamilton third. Mark Webber ran out of fuel during qualifying and could not provide the mandatory fuel sample; he was relegated to the back of the grid, then Red Bull changed his gearbox obliging him to start from the pit lane. He retired on lap 15 when his right-rear wheel detached at speed.

Between-race developments

Webber receives a three-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable collision with Jean-Éric Vergne in China. Esteban Gutiérrez receives a five-place penalty for his collision with Adrian Sutil in China.

Milestones

Mark Webber starts his 200th Formula One Grand Prix.

Tyre choices

Pirelli had originally planned hard (prime) and soft (option) compounds. Following excessive soft-tyre degradation at Shanghai — where the option compound wore out in as few as seven laps — Pirelli has substituted the medium for the soft. Hard and medium are the compounds for this race.

Notes

A minute of silence will be held before the race in memory of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings, which took place six days ago. The race proceeds against a backdrop of ongoing anti-government protests; demonstrations have accompanied the event since the cancellation of the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix.