2020 Sakhir Grand Prix: Race Highlights

It's lights out and away we go. Russell does get away well, as does Max Verstappen. And Valtteri Bottas has got his teammate right alongside him already. Sergio Perez is trying to challenge as George Russell goes into the first turn. And George Russell takes the lead on the Sakhir Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas is second and gets all out of shape coming out of Turn 2. That's going to give Perez and Verstappen all the impetus they need as it's three cars going wheel-to-wheel. There's a spin right at the back. Could be Kimi Raikkonen in the Alfa Romeo. Look up there as Perez is caught by Charles Leclerc and it's three cars gone off at Turn 4. And we've already got high drama here on the opening lap. And it's Max Verstappen who was the third of those cars. He is out of the race on the first lap. George Russell taking the lead. And two really fancied runners this evening in the barriers together there. Well, that's really taken the sting out of an element of this race, hasn't it? And Sergio Perez all the way down in 18th place. Leclerc caught Perez. We saw the racing point getting all out of shape. So Max seems under control and then gets on the skittles and he's straight in the barrier. Wow! Perez then makes a pit stop. Lap 7 of this Sakhir Grand Prix. And it's George Russell then leading the way from Bottas from Sainz. And Sainz looks to have got a very nice safety car restart. And he's putting Bottas under all sorts of pressure going into Turn 1. It's side-by-side McLaren and Mercedes. Inside line goes to Sainz. And Carlos Sainz takes second place but has to go off the track in doing so. That allows Valtteri Bottas to reclaim that second place. George Russell already flying out in front. Ricciardo is currently fourth from Kwiat. And then comes Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Sebastian Vettel and Lando Norris. What a duel that was, Sainz and Bottas. Alex Albon is right on the back now of Lando Norris. And he might be sizing up a move to go round the outside and then pinch the inside line at Turn 5. Norris tries to cover it off. Alex Albon, that is what he can do in Formula 1. Swoops past Lando Norris. And Sergio Perez then gets Norris as well, using all his years of experience to pick up the scraps after Norris had been overtaken by the Red Bull. That puts Perez into the World Championship points already. Oh, here comes Sergio Perez again. He got past Lando Norris on the last lap. Fancies Alex Albon on this particular lap. You wouldn't think there's much space there, but Perez manages to squeeze a Formula 1 car through it. Well done, Alex Albon, for leaving just enough room, making it difficult. But Perez is past. There is Nicolas Latifi by the side of the track. So that's the exit of Turn 8. Here we go. Virtual safety car. Yeah, there it is. Virtual safety car has ended. Carlos Sainz has come in for a pit stop. And I tell you who it has helped. Sergio Perez make places up as well. He's on the hard tyre. He's going to the end on those hard tyres. He's going to try and get past his teammate if he can. Lock up there by Lance Stroll. And that will certainly help. Sergio Perez gets past. And the racing points swap places. Sergio Perez goes up into fourth place. Here comes Sergio Perez on Esteban Ocon. He overtook his teammates on the last lap. He's got DRS to help him breeze past Esteban Ocon here. Sergio Perez, for the second week in a row here in Bahrain, is running in the podium places. There's a front wing lost by Jack Aitken. We're going to need a safety car then to clear that away, I think. Oh, Jack, don't get out there. Safety car has been deployed. Yeah, they have to. I can't see a gap. I can't see a gap in the way the cars are distributed around the track. And they're stacked up. They're double stacking at Mercedes. The front right tyre was slow for George Russell. And for Valtteri Bottas, even more confusion for a crew that are normally very, very attentive. They're not happy with his left front. Well, they double stack. They've reacted really, really quickly, Mercedes. And this is costing Bottas. Brakes are on fire now as well. They had the wrong compound of tyre on. And that's why they couldn't send him out again. But now those brakes are overheating. He has lost track position to Sergio Perez. He's gone from second to fifth while all that was happening. OK, George, we're going to need to box, box. We have a mixed tyre set on the car. Basically, what's happened is they've got some of Bottas's tyres on. Or indeed, all of Bottas's tyres on. As now we go racing once more. Sergio Perez leads the Sakhir Grand Prix from Esteban Ocon. They're having a terrific race tonight. Lance Stroll's in third. Valtteri Bottas down the inside. George Russell right behind him. Alex Albon's making a move. You can see the sparks flying. And Alex Albon almost goes into the back of Pierre Gasly, but manages to avoid him and take ninth place as well. And Valtteri Bottas goes a little bit wider through Turn 4. Russell's now going to have a go at him on this twisty section of the track, the middle section. He's got the inside line at Turn 7. And he goes past his teammate. George Russell overtakes Valtteri Bottas. That was committed. It was brave. It was brilliant. Mercedes power against Mercedes power. He's trying to break the tow, Lance Stroll. George Russell's made up his mind to go down the inside late on the brakes. Into Turn 1. Enough room for Russell to squeeze past and back up into the top three once again. Look how George Russell has closed up that gap to Esteban Ocon. All the while, Sergio Perez having it his own way out in front. He's got the inside line. George Russell into Turn 4. That was an easier move on Esteban Ocon. Now can Perez hold on? Valtteri Bottas is under pressure from Carlos Sainz. Those tyres that are a little bit too old for Valtteri Bottas' liking have cost him again as Carlos Sainz moves up into 5th place. Sainz who lost places when he pitted at the end of the virtual safety car and the track went green. Sainz lost places. He's making the place back up again now. And Daniel Ricciardo too, because Ricciardo goes past Bottas into the last corner, up into 6th. And now Alex Albon fancies having a go at Valtteri Bottas. And those tyres are just falling away from him. Bottas has got DRS, but he can't defend. Or can he? Because there's a drag race down the straight and the Mercedes power unit is really helping. But under braking, Albon goes through. Looks like a rear-left puncture. Looks like rear-left puncture. That's George Russell's chance of a podium. Absolutely gone now. We've been denied a thrilling last few laps as well, haven't we? The man who was in last place at the end of lap 1 comes home to win the Sakhir Grand Prix. Sergio Perez. Wow! What a race for him and for Racing Point. Esteban Ocon, take a bow. His first podium in Formula 1. And it's the first ever double podium for Racing Point as well as Lance Stroll takes third place. Nice pitch, Liz, guys. Good job, guys. It was Racing Point. Who took 40 points from this race and strengthened their grip on third place in the Constructors' Championship. But for that man, it's Magnifico. It's Sergio. And the O has gone tonight. He's finally a race winner.