2016 Bahrain Grand Prix – Race

NICO ROSBERG EXTENDS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD WITH THREE-STOP STRATEGY TO CLAIM FIFTH CONSECUTIVE WIN

NINE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES IN THE TOP 10

FELIPE MASSA HIGHEST-PLACED TWO-STOPPER IN EIGHTH

Two wins from two races in 2016 for Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, using a three-stop strategy in Bahrain that alternated stints on the P Zero Red supersoft with P Zero Yellow soft: exactly the same strategy used by Kimi Raikkonen, who was second for Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton finished third after using the medium tyre for his second stint, following contact with another competitor at the start. In total, there were nine different strategies used throughout the top 10, including a two-stopper for Williams driver Felipe Massa. Paul Hembery: Pirelli motorsport director: “We’re only in the second race of the 2016 tyre regulations but already we’re seeing a massive variety of strategies throughout the field, as we particularly expected to be the case this weekend. Tyre strategy started already in qualifying, as we saw from Romain Grosjean who made the most of his starting position to score more points. Nico Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen finished just 10 seconds apart at the finish, using exactly the same strategy as each other. As well as the performance of the softer compounds, the adaptability of the product was demonstrated by Felipe Massa, who completed the race with just two pit stops despite the high wear and degradation traditionally associated with the Sakhir track.”

Longest stint of the race:

Truthometer: We predicted a three-stop strategy as being fastest, starting on supersoft and then switching to soft on laps 14, 29 and 43. Rosberg made his stops on laps 13, 30 and 39, but rather than using the supersoft to start and then three stints on the soft, he used the supersoft and the soft on alternate stints. For more information: please visit our all-new website, which is regularly updated with exclusive in-depth features, news and reviews. To find out more, please visit: http://www.pirelli.com/global/en-ww/bahrain-2016-race Another P Zero will be in action next week: follow the launch of the latest P Zero tyre in Estoril (which last hosted a grand prix in 1996, exactly 20 years ago) on Pirelli’s social media channels.