Lewis Hamilton continued his fine form by winning the Bahrain Grand Prix, despite losing his brakes on the last lap.
The 30 year old British champion had dominated the race in the Persian Gulf kingdom and was cruising towards his third victory of the season.
But with the checkered flag in sight, both Mercedes cars experienced brake failure.
Hamilton managed to hang on until the end but his German teammate Nico Rosberg slipped back to third place after he was overtaken by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
“We lost the brakes on both our cars… Lewis lost his during his final lap,” confirmed Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.
“It was a huge relief” to see his two drivers come home safely, he added.
“It is a shame for Nico. He had a sensational race.”
Hamilton dominates
The brake failure scuppered what looked like a Mercedes one-two after again being run close by a resurgent Ferrari. But Hamilton was ecstatic to extend his championship lead over Rosberg to 93 points.
“I’m gunning for a third title,” Hamilton said after the race.
“I was able to pull through and we need to keep pushing now, as I know we will.”
Rosberg frustration
For Rosberg it was another frustrating weekend.
The German has endured a war of words with Hamilton this season and has had to experience the ignominy of being out driven by his British rival too.
Rosberg has only won once in 13 races.
“It was ok… I enjoyed overtaking the red cars a lot,” joked Rosberg.
“We were pretty similar with Lewis, but he pulled away a little bit towards the end and then I lost my brakes – so that cost me my position to Kimi, which was disappointing.”
Mercedes v Ferrari
But whilst Rosberg continues to play second fiddle to Hamilton, Bahrain also further illuminated what is likely to be the big battle this season. Although Vettel finished fifth, after having to pit following a disastrous overtaking maneuver, Ferrari remain a threat to Mercedes dominance.
“Ferrari gave us a really good run for our money,” Hamilton admitted.
“We will need to keep pushing as a team.”