2013 Bahrain Grand Prix

The 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix (formally known as the 2013 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 21 April 2013 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. Contested over 57 laps, it was the fourth round of the 2013 season, and the ninth time that the Bahrain Grand Prix had been held as a round of the Formula One World Championship.

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg started the race from pole. Sebastian Vettel won the race, with Lotus F1 drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean completing the podium.

Background
Tyre supplier Pirelli had originally planned to bring their hard and soft compounds of tyre to the race, to be designated as the prime and the option respectively. However, the teams experienced problems with the soft compound at the Chinese Grand Prix, with the tyres degrading after just seven laps, which prompted Pirelli to alter their allocation for the Bahrain Grand Prix, changing the options from the soft compound to the medium.

Qualifying
Notes:
 * — Lewis Hamilton was given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
 * — Mark Webber was given a three-place grid penalty for his role in causing an avoidable accident with Jean-Éric Vergne at the previous round of the championship.
 * — Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado recorded identical times during Q1. As Bottas set his time before Maldonado, he was considered to have placed higher than Maldonado, and so advanced to Q2 while Maldonado was eliminated.
 * — Esteban Gutiérrez was given a five-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable accident with Adrian Sutil in the previous race.

Championship standings after the race

 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Constructors' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Anti-government protests
In the context of the ongoing Bahraini uprising, public protests also occured over the 2013 staging of the race, after the 2011 event was cancelled and the 2012 event went ahead against despite efforts by demonstrators to disrupt the race. According to Reuters, the race went ahead "largely unhindered" by the protests. Reflecting on the changes in the government strategy compared to 2012, they concluded that the public relations battle over this year's race had produced a stalemate, reflecting the situation in the opposition movement generally.