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5 Most Exciting Bahrain Grand Prix Battles So Far

Formula 1 will soon return with a new season. The first race will take place in Bahrain, and everyone will want to show off the new cars and prove they are the best drivers.
Bahrain Grand Prix Exciting Battles 7 photos
Photo: Formula 1 (Composite)
Bahrain Grand Prix Exciting Battles - Hamilton vs RosbergBahrain Grand Prix Exciting Battles - Verstappen vs LeclercBahrain Grand Prix Exciting Battles - Hamilton vs VerstappenBahrain Grand Prix Exciting Battles - Button vs PerezBahrain Grand Prix Exciting Battles - Button vs PerezBahrain Grand Prix Exciting Battles - Alonso vs Webber
The Bahrain Grand Prix, officially known as the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, first took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on April 4, 2004. A total of 18 races started there since then. It's also the second F1 night race after the Singapore Grand Prix.

Out of the 18 races so far, the driver who managed to score the most wins in the Bahrain Grand Prix is Lewis Hamilton. He won there five times. When it comes to the constructors, though, it's not Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team that holds the title for most wins, but Scuderia Ferrari.

A new race and season will kick off on Sunday, March 5, in Bahrain. With lots of possible upcoming duels let's look at some of the most exciting battles in the history of the Grand Prix.

2022 – Max Verstappen vs Charles Leclerc

Bahrain Grand Prix Exciting Battles \- Verstappen vs Leclerc
Photo: YouTube / Formula 1
Dutch driver Max Verstappen started the 2022 F1 season with a thirst to prove himself after winning his first world championship in 2021. Prove himself he did. But he had no way of knowing he would be crowned champion for the second time in a row when he raced in the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix.

Verstappen offered quite a show in the first race of the new season. This time, he was not facing his famous rival, Lewis Hamilton, but a new one. Scuderia Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, ready to fight for his first championship title.

They engaged in a wheel-to-wheel action, batteling for the first position, swapping places a total of six times. Verstappen was unable to win this Grand Prix, and the title went to the Monegasque driver.

2021 – Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton

Bahrain Grand Prix Exciting Battles \- Hamilton vs Verstappen
Photo: YouTube / Formula 1
Over the years, Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have given us a lot of moments packed with action. Their fight in the 2021 season was something else. It also ended with possibly one of the most controversial moments in Formula 1 history. Let's not get ahead of ourselves and focus on the 2021 Bahrain GP.

Hamilton and Verstappen both had a chance to win the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix, and the race climaxed with a fierce battle between the two. The drivers used different strategies to get ahead and win the race. Verstappen, who had an advantage initially, lost to Hamilton.

Their battle during the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix is also worth remembering. Following their encounter, they eventually crashed, and Verstappen was forced to retire from the Grand Prix. His teammate at the time, Daniel Ricciardo, experienced an electrical shutdown and had to retire as well.

2014 - Nico Rosberg vs Lewis Hamilton

Bahrain Grand Prix Exciting Battles \- Hamilton vs Rosberg
Photo: YouTube / Formula 1
Celebrating the circuit's tenth anniversary, in 2014, Bahrain became the second F1 night race after the Singapore Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton was the one who won the race that night, but it was no walk in the park for the Brit.

It's never easy to fight a driver who races in the same team as you, and that is exactly what Hamilton did during the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix, battling his teammate Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton floored it at the beginning of the race and had an advantage over his teammate. Enter a safety car, and the two were neck and neck, with Rosberg fighting for the first place.

Back then, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were still good friends, before it all fell apart and started really competing with each other. Racing with the same team strategy, the two were allowed to battle, as long as they kept it sensible and didn't endanger the result.

2013 – Sergio Perez vs Jenson Button

Bahrain Grand Prix Exciting Battles \- Button vs Perez
Photo: YouTube / Formula 1
Speaking on drivers racing for the same team, 2013 gave us another tense battle with Sergio Perez and Jenson Button. It was Perez's first year at McLaren, and he started 12th on the grid and finished 6th, ahead of Scuderia Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and his own teammate, who finished in 10th.

They had a fierce duel and they touched on several occasions, which made the 2009 World Champion quite angry.

After the GP, Button told ESPN that he was used to racing aggressive teammates and that he had "some tough fights in F1, but not quite as dirty as that."

2004 – Fernando Alonso vs Mark Webber

Bahrain Grand Prix Exciting Battles \- Alonso vs Webber
Photo: YouTube / Formula 1
Racing for Renault, Fernando Alonso put on quite a show at the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix as he hunted down Mark Webber and overtook him.

Neither Alonso nor Webber won the GP, since the former finished sixth and Webber eighth, with Michael Schumacher crowned winner, but it was a valiant effort on both sides.

In the same Grand Prix, Alonso also fought his future Ferrari teammate, Felipe Massa, who struggled to keep the then-Renault driver behind him. He did not succeed, as Alonso went on the inside in Turn 11, and went on his way.

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About the author: Monica Coman
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Imagine a Wenn diagram for cars and celebrities. At the intersection you'll find Monica, putting her passion for these fields and English-Spanish double major to work. She's been doing for the past seven years, most recently at autoevolution.
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