2015 Bahrain Grand Prix

Championship standings

Hamilton leads Vettel by 13 points coming into Bahrain. The intra-team battle at Mercedes has sharpened after Rosberg publicly accused Hamilton of backing him into the charging Ferraris in China — a claim Hamilton denied. The Mercedes team has warned both drivers it will start managing them more directly if they cannot race for the benefit of the team.

Previous race

Hamilton won in China from Rosberg, with Vettel completing the podium. The race ended under a safety car after Max Verstappen’s Toro Rosso stopped on the start-finish straight, denying what had appeared to be a developing Ferrari challenge. After the race, Rosberg pressed his accusations about Hamilton’s pace management on team radio and in the press conference; Hamilton replied that he “wasn’t controlling his race, I was controlling my own race.”

Weather

Conditions are typically hot and dry, with temperatures around 36 °C on Friday. Lower temperatures are expected for the night race on Sunday.

Tyres

Pirelli supplies the medium compound as the prime tyre and the soft compound as the option.

Practice

Ferrari lead the opening practice session, with Räikkönen the only driver to lap in under 1:38 and Vettel second — while Mercedes focus on high-fuel long runs and finish down in 15th and 16th. Alonso finishes seventh in his McLaren, just seven-tenths behind Räikkönen’s fastest time, though Button spins in turn one and cannot set a useful lap after his team attempt a battery change. Jolyon Palmer replaces Grosjean at Lotus for the first session for the third consecutive race.

Mercedes take charge in the second session, held at night under floodlights, with Rosberg leading Hamilton by a tenth of a second. The Ferraris are about half a second behind. A late red flag is triggered when Vettel, braking slowly into turn one, is clipped by Sergio Pérez’s Force India, taking off part of his front wing endplate. Button’s session ends early when his car stops at the midway point.

Hamilton leads the Saturday morning session, with Vettel a tenth of a second behind. A brief red flag follows Kvyat’s spin at turn four. Jenson Button has problems throughout practice and is unable to set a time when his car breaks down on his qualifying out-lap; he will need permission from the stewards to start the race.