Summary

  • Vettel on pole for dominant Ferrari, Raikkonen 2nd

  • Hamilton starts ninth after penalty, Verstappen crashes in Q1

  • Get involved #bbcf1

Live Reporting

Michael Emons

  1. The winner

    And here, courtesy of the McLaren Twitter feed, is Lando Norris on the top of the podium after his win in the opening race of the FIA Formula 2 Championship.

    BBC Sport app users may need to click on the link to see the video.

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  2. British teenager Norris wins Formula 2 opener

    Bahrain is also the setting for the opening stage in the FIA Formula 2 Championship this weekend and it has been a great start to the season for British teenager Lando Norris.

    The 18-year-old, who is part of McLaren's Young Driver Programme, qualified in pole position for the feature race held earlier today and he went on to win it with Sergio Sette Camara second and Artem Markelov third.

    There were a further two British drivers in the field with George Russell coming fifth and Jack Aitken coming 10th.

    There is another chance for Norris to pick up more points in the series, which was won by Charles Leclerc before he got his Formula 1 chance with Sauber, as the sprint race (lasting 45 minutes) takes place tomorrow at 12:15 BST.

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  3. Hamilton to start sixth (at best)

    Andrew Benson
    BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer in Bahrain

    Lewis Hamilton tends to thrive when faced with a challenge, which is a good job, because somehow the starts to Formula 1 seasons never seem quite to go to plan.

    This year is another example. A first race lost to a strategy error, now he faces a five-place grid penalty in the desert this weekend because Mercedes needed to change his gearbox. It turns out Hamilton had a hydraulic leak during the Australian Grand Prix and was lucky to finish the race.

    So a best start of sixth it is - and it could be worse than that, given the pace of the Ferraris here on Friday.

    Lewis HamiltonGetty Images

  4. We were fortunate to finish in Melbourne - Mercedes

    So the main story in Bahrain concerns problems for the world champion.

    Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton will start the Bahrain Grand Prix with a five-place grid penalty for breaching rules over gearbox changes.

    Governing body the FIA's rules state drivers cannot change gearboxes within a six-race period.

    The defending champion needs a new gearbox for Bahrain after problems in the opening race, his team said.

    "We had an hydraulic leak in the Melbourne race and were fortunate to finish the race," Mercedes said. "Unfortunately we couldn't repair it within the six-race cycle."

    Lewis HamiltonGetty Images

  5. Welcome back

    Hello and welcome along to BBC Sport's live text commentary from the third practice session and then the qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

    We will also have live radio commentary and lots to talk about.

    I'm Michael Emons and thanks for joining us as Lewis Hamilton has to go into damage-limitation mode today.

  6. Hamilton gearing up for a tough weekend

    It has not been the start of the season that world champion Lewis Hamilton would have hoped for.

    He was on course to win the campaign opener before a virtual safety car, and some clever pit stop work by Ferrari, saw Sebastian Vettel win with Hamilton only second.

    Then he had a difficult day in practice yesterday before finding out a gearbox issue has meant he will have a five-place grid penalty for tomorrow's Bahrain Grand Prix.

    Lewis HamiltonGetty Images