Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2018 Results: Sebastian Vettel Earns 2nd Win of Year

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel made it two wins out of two in 2018 as he held off a late challenge from Valtteri Bottas to win an exciting Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.

The German dominated the race but endured a nail-biting final few laps as Bottas closed on him but could not find a way past.

Bottas had to settle for second place, while Lewis Hamilton completed the podium in third, despite starting from ninth on the grid. 

It was also an impressive race for Pierre Gasly, who brought the Honda home in fourth for the team's best result since returning to the sport.

Here's a look at the final standings, per Formula 1:

Red Bull suffered an awful start to the race as Max Verstappen picked up a puncture after clipping Hamilton, while Daniel Ricciardo managed just two laps before stopping on the track.

Sergio Perez spun out on the opening lap, and there was also a coming together between Kevin Magnussen and Gasly.

Meanwhile, Vettel was maintaining his lead out front, and Hamilton was busy making his way up the order.

Formula 1 showed how well he started:

Hamilton was lapping quicker than the two Ferraris, although Vettel responded with the fastest lap of the race after his pit stop. 

The German then retook the lead of the race with sparks flying on the track, per Formula 1:

Hamilton pitted for medium tyres and dropped down to fourth place but was very much still in contention because of his one-stop strategy.

Ferrari then suffered a nightmare in the pits as Raikkonen hit a mechanic on his way out and was forced to stop as his wheel was not fitted correctly. The team confirmed that the mechanic had been taken to hospital, via Twitter:

Raikkonen was out of the race, but Hamilton was also showing his frustration, per Sky Sports F1:

Bottas was closing the gap on Vettel as his tyres faded and closed to within two seconds of the German going into the final laps.

The Mercedes driver had the use of DRS and had a look going into Turn 1 of the final lap, but Vettel managed to withstand the pressure to secure the chequered flag by 0.6 seconds.

Sportswriter Oliver Harden was not impressed with Bottas' efforts:

Vettel is left to celebrate again, and the win may feel extra special on his 200th Grand Prix start. However, the victory will undoubtedly be marred by the injury to the mechanic.

The German now has maximum points after two races leaving the rest to play catch-up ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit next Sunday.