Nico Rosberg's strong start to the 2016 F1 season continued in Bahrain with a second consecutive victory, beating Kimi Raikkonen and Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
It was an action-packed race, full of incident and overtakes. Here's what some of the drivers had to say after the Bahrain Grand Prix. Nico Rosberg:
"Wow, what a weekend! I am so happy with how everything is working out at the moment. The start was definitely the key to my win - and that was a really great moment, as it was an area that we put a lot effort into before the race. Leading into Turn 1 was a relief, to be honest, as I could see in my mirrors that it was very busy behind me.
"But from then on I was able to control the pace and take the win. Strategy-wise we had to play it safe. It maybe wasn't the quickest option - but we had to cover the risk of a safety car.
"It was an almost perfect weekend for me - only qualifying could have been a fraction better. What a great start to the season - a big thank you to the guys and girls at the factories for this amazing car! Now I look forward to China, where I won my first ever Grand Prix, so I have plenty of positive energy heading there."
Sebastian Vettel:
"It was a very short race today, I didn’t even break a drop of sweat…We had a failure, I saw a lot of smoke from behind and I lost power so we decided to stop the car. For sure it is frustrating, because in the end I am here to race. The problem came as a surprise, both for me and the whole team, as I was approaching Turn 11.
"Now we need to understand exactly the problem and learn from it. It is not ideal and we can’t be proud of it. But we had a good preparation over the winter, we are pushing very hard and we know that we can still improve. We still have a lot of races ahead of us, this is going to be a long year so even if today it was not good because I couldn’t score any point, we’ll make sure that the next race goes a lot better."
Valtteri Bottas:
"I was expecting more from today and finishing ninth is a bit disappointing. I had a mega start, but unfortunately collided with Lewis in turn one which was a shame as it cost us both positions.
"The drive-through penalty then compromised our strategy a bit so it was always going to be difficult after that. I also damaged my front wing in that collision with a big piece missing which didn’t help our pace. The first two races of the season haven’t been great for us but we’re keeping upbeat and head to the next race hoping to make up for it."
Daniel Ricciardo:
"The race start was interesting. I didn’t get off the line very well and I could see it was getting a bit chaotic into Turn 1. I tried to capitalize on it but ended up with damage on the front wing when Bottas and I came together.
"There was a moment that I thought I would have to pit for a new wing as the chunk that came off looked pretty substantial but we were able to hang in there for a few laps, racing with the Williams. The damage didn’t affect me too much and we had a good race, although a little lonely towards the end, with some decent points scored."
Nico Hulkenberg:
"A difficult and disappointing race where not much went to plan. I made a poor start away from the line and was on the back foot going into turn one. Then suddenly three or four cars backed up on the apex and I nudged the back of somebody, which damaged my front wing and forced me to pit on lap one.
"From there onwards we tried to recover and pull off a two-stop strategy to get back in the race, but it proved very difficult. I was always in traffic and involved in lots of fights so my tyre degradation was very high. I don’t think we’ve seen our true pace today because the first lap destroyed my race and we were out of synch with everybody and always playing catch up."
Max Verstappen:
"I’m very happy with today’s result! I think we bounced back very strongly from the first weekend and the whole team did a fantastic job – a great strategy, good pit-stops… It all worked out perfectly, including our tyre management. The car was just doing what it had to do and felt good, we had great pace.
"It was an action-packed race and I really enjoyed it out there. To finish P6 is a fantastic way to finish the weekend and I’d like to thank the whole team for their excellent work. Also, this is the first time ever that the team scores points here in Bahrain, so I’m very happy to have changed this statistic – as I said before coming here, that was one of my objectives."
Kevin Magnussen:
"Starting from the pit lane meant that it was always going to be a strategic race but I still had some fun fights out on track and we extracted all we had in the car today. We were so close to scoring points; it’s frustrating to think what could have been had we not incurred a penalty.
"In any case, the team did a good job this weekend, we’re working very well altogether and the car’s performance was encouraging. There are signs of good things to come for the team, including fantastic support from Renault; we have reason to smile. As long as we work really hard now, we will reap the benefits later."
"Starting from the back of the field, it is positive that I was able to move up some positions. I did the best I could, but this result was the maximum today as I struggled again with the car. We have to analyse every detail in order to improve for the upcoming race."
Stoffel Vandoorne:
"This result was more or less what I expected – I maximised the opportunity and I’m quite satisfied. The start was a little bit difficult. There was debris left and right – it was pretty hectic in fact – and there was a lot of fighting throughout that opening lap.
"Since the beginning of the weekend, I’ve felt very confident in the car, and pretty comfortable that I could do a good job. I’m pleased that I didn’t make any mistakes operationally – I was really focusing on that side of things – and I came away with a point, which was a nice bonus.
"This weekend was a big opportunity for me: I made the most of it, I showed what I’m capable of, and now I just need to wait and see what happens next. That’s not for me to decide – so let’s see what the future brings."
Pascal Wehrlein:
"It was a great race for me. I can’t even compare it to the one in Melbourne because it felt like a completely different race. The car was better, the way we could manage the tyres was better - everything was just a big improvement. It was quite chaotic to begin with but that happens in the midfield so I’m not going to complain.
"My start was good and I managed to avoid any contact, then the rest of the first stint was really good fun. It was nice to be so competitive. I was 7th at one point and I really enjoyed getting past the Force Indias. It would have been good to take the second Sauber at the end but I had started to lose the tyres by then.
"We still experienced some tyre degradation, which is why we switched to a three-stop strategy, but it was much better than the last race and another good sign for us. I want to thank the whole team for today. I had a great car and it’s exciting to see how much more potential we have. I can’t wait for China now."
"This is the American dream. It is unbelievable. I said we had to manage our expectations after we finished sixth in Australia, but here we finished fifth. There’s still a lot of things we can do better, from pit stops to the setup of the car and so on but, for now, this one is for the guys.
"I looked at their faces last night and they were all very tired because of the amount of work we’re doing. This is a massive reward. Really, just unbelievable. In the race, I had a good feeling in the car. It was an aggressive strategy, but managing tires has always been my strength in the past.
"Knowing we had a softer compound for this racetrack was something I liked. The car was set up well for the supersoft tires and I had a fantastic race. The car has a very good baseline. Everything is working well. I don’t think I’ve ever been as high as fifth in the driver standings. This is the first time in my career, I can’t believe it."
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