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The Bahrain GP has been a staple of the F1 calendar for more than a decade now. Every year, the F1 circus rolls up to the circuit and produces on-track action that is hard to parallel. Switching the timings of the race to make it a night race has turned the Grand Prix into a spectacle of sorts.
With the race just around the corner this weekend, we turn back the clock and look at the 5 most memorable moments from the race.
#5 2006 Bahrain GP: Fernando Alonso vs Michael Schumacher
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It's not often that you get a direct fight between two of the best drivers on the grid. The 2006 Bahrain GP was one such race. Fernando Alonso, the reigning champion at the time, and Michael Schumacher, the seven-time world champion, went hammer and tongs during what was the very first race of an eventful season.
In what would turn out to be an eventful race from start to finish, Alonso would beat Schumacher by the slimmest of margins and start his title defense with a win.
#4 2012 Bahrain GP: 'You have to leave the space' - Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso has been notorious for some of the funniest team radio outbursts throughout his career. One of those outbursts was from the Bahrain GP in 2012. At the time, the entire grid was struggling to get an understanding of the new Pirelli tires, which made it hard to push for a sustained period.
The race saw Alonso, at the time driving for Ferrari, in a battle with Nico Rosberg at Mercedes. Alonso was pushed wide off the track by the German, which led to the Spaniard taking to the team radio and vehemently shouting, "You have to leave the space, all the time you have to leave the space". The quote became famous in the next race as well when Sebastian Vettel remarked the same quote during the pre-race driver's press conference.
#3 2014 Bahrain GP: Dual in the Desert, Hamilton vs Rosberg – Part 1
At the time, no one would have thought that the rivalry between the two former friends and teammates would turn vitriolic, but the 2014 race was the first edition of the battle between these two drivers. It was already established that Mercedes had stolen march on the rest of the field and the championship will be decided between the two Mercedes drivers.
After a couple of races where the two drivers didn't go head-to-head against each other, in Bahrain, it was a straight battle between the two. Rosberg, albeit slightly faster than his teammate, tried in vain throughout the race to overtake Hamilton, but every time he did, the latter had an answer for it. In the end, Hamilton would be the one to beat Rosberg to take the checkered flag, after what was an intense battle that set the tone for the rivalry.
#2 2019 Bahrain GP: Charles Leclerc announces his arrival with Ferrari
Charles Leclerc joined Ferrari in just his second year in F1. The driver was special, as was evident in his first year in the sport. The question, though, was how special was he?
Leclerc answered that question in just his second race for Ferrari in Bahrain in 2019. After scoring a dominant pole position, Leclerc messed up the start and fell behind Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap.
The young driver, however, would march his way back to the front after taking chunks of time out of Vettel's lead and then easily completing the overtaking move. While a reliability issue would force Leclerc to give up on his win, everyone on the grid now knew that the young Ferrari driver was something special.
#1 2021 Bahrain GP: Vintage Lewis Hamilton
Not many understand or even know the context of the 2021 Bahrain GP. Mercedes had a poor pre-season test while their direct rivals Red Bull looked menacing. During qualifying, Max Verstappen put Red Bull on pole by a comfortable margin.
Even during the race, it did appear that Red Bull had everything under control until Lewis Hamilton was moved to an unconventional pit strategy that left him out of sync with the rest of the field. In the later stages of the race, Hamilton was on worn-out tires and had to hold off the chasing Red Bull driver in a slower car.
Verstappen could only get one move in and went off track while trying to complete the overtake. Hamilton would capitalize on this mistake and pick up what appeared to be an unlikely win for the team.
