Sebastian Vettel: "It was a great day"

Sebastian Vettel took his third Bahrain Grand Prix victory in commanding fashion as he and the Ferrari underlined their championship credentials in the Sakhir desert. The German driver's happiness was clear to see on the podium after collecting his trophy.

In the early part of the race pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas led from Vettel as the German lay in wait behind the Mercedes driver: "A really great day. I just love what I do. It was a really great team effort today. We're quick. I really tried to put Valtteri under pressure. He didn't do any mistakes so it was difficult down the straights to get near him."

The Ferrari was shy of the Silver Arrows on one lap pace, however, on race pace the Prancing Horse was slightly ahead and the ability of Vettel to follow the Mercedes in the dirty air enabled him to get the jump as the safety car came out.

"The early pitstop worked fantastic. The car was really amazing to drive. I had a good feeling yesterday so for many laps it really worked well and it was just a pleasure."

In the closing stages, Lewis Hamilton attempted to hunt down Vettel on fresher tyres but an earlier five second time penalty meant he had too much to do and Vettel was able to manage his pace: "I could control the pace in the end. Very controlled race and the car was a dream today so happy Easter and thank you very much."

Alex Griffin