2021 Bahrain Grand Prix (CFJ)

The 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2021) was a Formula One motor race that took place over 57 laps on 28 March 2020 on the 'Grand Prix Circuit' configuration at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. The race was the first round of the 2020 Formula One World Championship. It was the seventeenth time that the Bahrain Grand Prix has been run as a round of the Formula One World Championship.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
The Bahrain Grand Prix was run with minimum fans, and all had to be within a certain distance of the circuit. Due to the postponement of the Australian Grand Prix, this was the first time Bahrain was the season opener since 2010.

Race report
Hamilton got the jump at Bottas and passed him in turn 1. Bottas also lost out to Perez, and in the process, turned Max Verstappen around. Behind were the McLaren's, Leclerc, Vettel, Ocon, Sainz and Stroll. Bottas sustained damage to his front wing and stopped at the end of Lap 1. Ricciardo passed Norris for 3rd on Lap 3, using DRS. Vettel also passed Leclerc for 5th on the same lap.

On Lap 34, Esteban Ocon became the first retirement of the race, suffering a Gearbox issue. This triggered a Virtual Safety Car. When the VSC disappeared and the field got back going, Vettel had trouble getting up to speed, dropping him down from 5th to 9th. Eventually, on Lap 43, Vettel came into the pits and retired. Yuki Tsunoda also spun trying to pass Lance Stroll on the same lap.

With a few laps left, Sergio Perez was closing on Lewis Hamilton for the lead of the race. With 2 laps left, Perez tried to pass Hamilton, but couldn't make it work. Perez got DRS and Hamilton and initially passed him on the straightaway, but ran wide and conceded the lead to Hamilton, who won the season opener ahead of Perez. Ricciardo also scored a podium on his debut with McLaren.

Race classification

 * Notes
 * ^1 – Includes one point for fastest lap.

Championship standings after the race

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