Bahrain GP: Solid performance from Williams F1

The Williams F1 team would see their drivers Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado start the fifty seven lap 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix from fifteenth and seventeenth. On pole was Rosberg from Vettel, Alonso, Massa, Di Resta, Sutil, Webber, Raikkonen, Hamilton and Button in tenth. Based on their practice performances the race was going to be a difficult time for both Williams drivers. There were two DRS zones for this race as the grid formed up. Starting on hards were Massa, Grosjean, Hulkenberg, Valtteri, Vergne, and Gutierrez. The rest were on mediums as the lights came on and after a pause would go out and we would see Rosberg covering Vettel going into Turn one. Alonso would move into second with Vettel third bt he would pass Alonso on Turn seven. Sutil would slow while Di Resta was in fourth.

Pastor was in fifteenth and Valtteri one place further back. Massa was in fifth followed by Webber and Raikkonen. Vettel would pass Rosberg at Turn four but would ruin wide seeing Rosberg back in front. Sutil and Gutierrez would both pit as Rosberg continued to defend from Vettel. Vergne would pit with a puncture as Vettel finally passed Rosberg taking the lead. Both Button and Perez would pass Raikkonen seeing the Lotus drop to ninth. Alonso and Rosberg would start to fight over second as Vettel moved ahead. Pastor and Valtteri were fourteenth and fifteenth. Grosjean was tenth followed by Hamilton and Hulkenberg. Using his DRS Alonso would pass Rosberg going into Turn one. Lap five and Vettel's lead was out to 2.8 seconds while
Di Resta passed Rosberg for third. Massa had damaged with his front wing but was still running at the front behind Rosberg.

Pastor had passed Ricciardo for thirteenth with Valtteri also looking to pass the Torro Rosso. For Alonso he was forced to pit as his DRS actuator had failed leaving the DRS open. He would pit taking on hard tyres and have the rear wing issue fixed. The issue was now whether it would work correctly but the first time he used it it got stuck again. Webber, Grosjean, and Alonso would all pit as Massa got past Rosberg seeing the Ferrari up to third. Di Resta had moved up into second with Massa third. Rosberg, Button, and Ricciardo would all pit on lap ten. Vettel's lead was up to 5.8 seconds while for Williams Pastor and Valtteri were now tenth and eleventh. Lap eleven and Vettel would pit taking on new hard tyres. Massa, Perez, Hamilton,
and Pastor would all pit. Pastor had started on the medium tyres while Valtteri was still running on the hard tyre. After the stops Valtteri was up to fourth behind Di Resta, Raikkonen, and Hulkenberg in third.

Lap thirteen and Hulkenberg would pit while Vettel had moved up to third followed by Webber. Valtteri would pit on lap fourteen while Pastor was currently in twelfth. Perez was attacking Grosjean for ninth as Di Resta was told to pit. Lap fifteen and the Force India would come in as Vettel passed Raikkonen regaining the lead at Turn one. Raikkonen was running in second and Webber third. Di Resta came back out in front of Hamilton who was running in tenth. Pastor was down in twelfth while Valtteri had dropped to fifteenth. Alonso was down in thirteenth and not able to use his DRS. Raikkonen would pit on lap seventeen taking on hard tyres, returning in eleventh behind Hulkenberg. Massa would be passed by both Grosjean and Perez and would pit with a damaged right rear tyre. Massa would swap to mediums and would return in fifteenth. Vergne would pit and retire.

For Williams Pastor and Valtteri were in eleventh and thirteenth. Button would pass Rosberg for third followed by Grosjean. Alonso was up to twelfth while at the front the order was Vettel, Webber, Button, Grosjean, Di Resta and Rosberg. But both Rosberg and Perez would pit on lap twenty one. Both would swap to hard tyres as Hamilton complained about the rears going off. Lap twenty two and both Webber and Button would pit Perez would pass Rosberg as Massa passed Valtteri for thirteenth. Hamilton would pit from fifth as Webber passed Alonso and up into eighth. Pastor was running in seventh behind Hulkenberg but Pastor would be passed by Webber. Grosjean was now in second and Di Resta third. Pastor would pit on lap twenty four as both Perez and Button would pass Rosberg. Alonso would pit again on lap twenty five. Valtteri had moved up to twelfth and Pastor was down in fifteenth.

Vettel would pit on lap twenty six going back out on the hard tyre. Pastor had moved up to thirteenth and Valtteri eleventh. Di Resta would pass Grosjean at Turn one using his DRS. Hulkenberg would pit from tenth seeing Valtteri take this spot. Pastor was passed by Alonso seeing him fourteenth as Grosjean pitted from third on lap twenty eight. Button had also got past team-mate Perez. But the fight would continue until Perez made slight contact with Button's rear tyre. Rosberg was running behind the McLaren's in seventh. But Grosjean would get past Rosberg and we would have a four car train with Grosjean trying to get past Perez at Turn one. He would finally get past while his team-mate Raikkonen would get past Di Resta at Turn one using his DRS. Rosberg would pit on lap thirty four as Grosjean passed Button. Pastor was running in eleventh with Massa close behind.

Raikkonen would pit on lap thirty five joined by Button. At the front Vettel was leading by 20.9 seconds from Di Resta and Webber. Grosjean was fourth followed by Perez, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Alonso, Massa, and Rosberg in tenth. Button had come back out in eleventh with Pastor now twelfth and Valtteri fourteenth. Di Resta would pit on lap thirty seven joined by Massa who had pitted with a an issue with his right rear tyre. Di Resta would come back out in eighth running on the hard tyre. Webber had also pitted as Raikkonen passed Hamilton and into third. Hamilton would pit on lap thirty nine while on lap forty Perez and Alonso would pit. In trying to keep in front Webber would make contact with Rosberg, with this matter to be investigated
after the race. Lap forty one and Pastor would pit again seeing him now thirteenth.

Valtteri was now twelfth as Grosjean continued to run in second but was expected to be coming in for another pit stop. Hulkenberg would pit from eleventh joined by sixteenth placed Ricciardo. Vettel would pit on lap forty three again taking on the hard tyre. Grosjean would also pit seeing Raikkonen again second followed by Di Resta. Grosjean would return in fifth with Button alongside but he was able to keep ahead of the McLaren. After the stops Valtteri and Pastor were in eleventh and twelfth. There were still fights going on down the field with Webber fourth followed by Grosjean, Button, Hamilton, and Perez. Rosberg would pit on lap forty five coming out in front of Valtteri. Hamilton would get past Button for sixth while Button would pit on lap forty seven. Valtteri would pit the next lap dropping from eleventh to be in fourteenth. Pastor would take up the eleventh spot but he was a considerable margin behind tenth placed Button.

Grosjean was closing in onto third placed Di Resta while behind Hamilton would pass Webber for fifth. Di Resta would try to keep Grosjean behind but he was not able to do so as the Lotus would pass him using his DRS at Turn one. Sutil would get past Valtteri for fourteenth as Webber took fifth back from Hamilton at Turn one using his DRS. Perez was challenging Alonso for seventh and would get past at Turn four but the pair would continue to fight as they went through the next few corners. Hamilton would try to pass Webber at Turn one by Webber made it very hard for Hamilton but Hamilton continued to run close behind the Red Bull. Vettel would commence his final lap as Hamilton passed Webber at Turn one taking fifth. Vettel would complete his lap to take victory with Raikkonen second and Grosjean third. Di Resta was fourth followed by Hamilton, Perez, Webber, Alonso, Rosberg, and Button tenth.

For the Williams team Pastor would finish so close to a points scoring finish in eleventh with Valtteri down in fourteenth. Despite their solid performance with both cars making it to the finish they still struggled in terms of pace. The next race is in Spain where the Williams F1 team hope to turn things around.