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Manipe F1 rates all 24 drivers' performances from the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend at Sakhir, highlighting the good and the bad from the 4th round of the 2012 championship.
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault (Race: 1st, Grid: 1st):
5 
After three races in the midfield, Vettel made full use of a competitive car in Bahrain to return to winning ways, taking pole, fastest lap and the win. He was hampered by not having as many new sets of tyres as Raikkonen, but was crucially quicker than the Finn in the final stint to secure the win by three seconds after a flawless performance and some great defensive driving.
Mark Webber, Red Bull-Renault (Race: 4th, Grid: 3rd):
3 
Picked up his fourth consecutive fourth place finish after failing to match his team-mate's pace all weekend. It was his second stint that cost him dearest and he took the flag almost 40 seconds behind Vettel. 12 more points promotes him to third in the championship however, just 5 off the lead.
Jenson Button, McLaren-Mercedes (Race: 18th, Grid: 4th):
2½ 
Balance problems had Button struggling with oversteer throughout the race. His plan of keeping his tyres in good shape for late-race attack towards the end of a long final stint came to nothing as things started to unravel first with an exhaust failure, then a puncture, before a differential failure forced him into retirement.
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes (Race: 8th, Grid: 2nd):
4
A relatively competitive drive by Hamilton was all undone by two slow pitstops, costing him over 13 seconds and at least three positions in the classification. Although he was never going to have challenged for the podium, the slow pitstops – caused by a problem with the right-left wheel nut – ruled him out of a potential fight with Webber for fourth.
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari (Race: 7th, Grid: 9th):
3½
Another typically underwhelming performance from Ferrari in Bahrain, with Alonso getting the best from the car to finish seventh and collect six more points. He just ran out of laps at the end of the race to catch di Resta for sixth, crossing the line two tenths adrift, but he was otherwise pleased to leave the Gulf state only 10 points behind in the championship.
Felipe Massa, Ferrari (Race: 9th, Grid: 14th):
4
Collected his first two points of the year after a highly competitive drive from 14th on the grid. He benefitted by having three new sets of tyres at his disposal during the race, but was still disappointed to lose out to Rosberg at the first round of stops which may have cost him a position or two later on.
Michael Schumacher, Mercedes (Race: 10th, Grid: 22nd):
3
Qualified only 22nd on the grid after failing to make it out of Q1 and then incurring a gearbox penalty, but was able to recover to claim a point, just. With all the new tyres that were at his disposal however, and his car's infamous double DRS, it's a surprise he wasn't able to make it further into the top ten.
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes (Race: 5th, Grid: 5th):
3½
Finished where he started in fifth, thanks in part to some highly controversial and aggressive driving while defending from Alonso and Hamilton. He had the stewards on his side however and escaped without penalty from two post-race investigations. He also had Mercedes quick pitstops to thank for overtaking Massa and Alonso, before overtaking di Resta in the closing laps to secure fifth.
Kimi Räikkönen, Lotus-Renault (Race: 2nd, Grid: 11th):
5
Undoubtedly Raikkonen's stand-out performance since his return, the Finn was peerless in his hunting down of Vettel half-way through the race, but ultimately lost the battle through a combination of no team orders while trying to overtake Grosjean, a failed overtaking manoeuvre on Vettel into turn 1 on lap 36 and Vettel's superior pace in the final stint. If Lotus can keep the pace up during the year, wins beckon for the 2007 champion.
Romain Grosjean, Lotus-Renault (Race: 3rd, Grid: 7th):
5
Was able to match Raikkonen's pace throughout the race other than his second stint when he was on used medium tyres to Raikkonen's new softs. He was still able to score his first F1 podium in comfortable fashion however, completing an impressive recovery after early exits from the first two races.
Paul di Resta, Force India-Mercedes (Race: 6th, Grid: 10th):
5
Marked himself out as the only man to complete the race with only two stops and managed to turn it into his joint-best F1 finish ever. He was right on the limit of tyre life at the end of the race and after sacrificing a position to Rosberg with five laps to go, he just about fended off Fernando Alonso in the drag to the line to keep sixth.
Nico Hülkenberg, Force India-Mercedes (Race: 12th, Grid: 13th):
3½
A dreadful start in which he dropped from 13th to 19th all but ended Hulkenberg's chances of a points finish. Two short first stints didn't help his cause either, making for a difficult end to the race. He took the flag five seconds outside the top ten.
Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber-Ferrari (Race: 13th, Grid: 12th):
3
Finished his first race outside the points this year after failing to make his two-stop strategy work. He ran as high as ninth after his final pitstop, but quickly dropped through the field again and had to make a third pitstop seven laps from the finish as his tyres dropped off.
Sergio Pérez, Sauber-Ferrari (Race: 11th, Grid: 8th):
3
Qualified in the top ten on Saturday but was unable to stay there during the race as the long-run pace of the C31 was found wanting. He stuck to a conventional three-stop strategy and enjoyed a steady race but fell seven tenths short of a point.
Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso-Ferrari (Race: 15th, Grid: 6th):
3½
After setting the F1 world alight with a superb qualifying performance to claim sixth on the grid, Ricciardo went from hero to zero at the start when he dropped to 16th. He then damaged his front wing off Heikki Kovalainen, requiring an earlier than planned first pitstop, before dropping further and further back as the race progressed.
Jean-Éric Vergne, Toro Rosso-Ferrari (Race: 14th, Grid: 17th):
3
Vergne failed to progress from Q1 for the third time in a row and failed to make any progress from there during the race as the STR7 continues to lack pace. He spent the entire race chasing the midfield pack and finished behind them all after being overtaken on the final lap.
Pastor Maldonado, Williams-Renault (Race: Ret, Grid: 21st):
4
The Venezuelan went into Saturday's qualifying session with a gearbox penalty looming over his head, but a strong start coupled with strong race pace pushed him into points contention straight away. He ran 11th throughout his second stint but had to retire after his second stop after a puncture and a violent spin at turn 3 on lap 25.
Bruno Senna, Williams-Renault (Race: 22nd, Grid: 15th):
3
Despite a strong start and running 12th in the opening stint, Senna was unable to progress further up the order, and failed to run higher than 14th thereafter. A vibrating brake pedal led the team to retire his car on safety grounds with three laps to go while he was running 14th.
Heikki Kovalainen, Caterham-Renault (Race: 17th, Grid: 16th):
4
After securing Caterham's first Q2 grid position on Saturday, contact from behind by Ricciardo all but ended Kovalainen's race on the first lap. After a pitstop for a new set of tyres, he emerged 35 seconds behind his team-mate but closed to within 11 seconds of the Russian at the finish, underlining just how strong a race he had had.
Vitaly Petrov, Caterham-Renault (Race: 16th, Grid: 18th):
3
Finished ahead of Kovalainen but only thanks to his team-mates first-lap trouble, having lost over 20 seconds to him during the race. He spent the first half of the race fighting with Ricciardo before the Australian pulled away in the final stint.
Pedro de la Rosa, HRT-Cosworth (Race: 20th, Grid: 20th):
3
De la Rosa beat his team-mate home for the second race in a row, but only just this time around. He was on a three-stop strategy to his team-mates four and crossed the line just half a second ahead. With a 30-second gap to closest rivals Marussia however, there is still mountains of work to be done at HRT.
Narain Karthikeyan, HRT-Cosworth (Race: 21st, Grid: 24th):
3½
Just fell a few hundred metres short of beating his team-mate in Bahrain after impressively making his unconventional four-stop strategy work. He had four new sets of tyres to use during the race, but had a slow first stop to blame for losing touch with de la Rosa. He closed a 22-second gap to the Spaniard after pitting for the final time before crossing the line half a second behind.
Timo Glock, Marussia-Cosworth (Race: 19th, Grid: 23rd):
2½
The German lost out to team-mate Pic for the first time in qualifying, and things failed to improve at all during the race as he struggled badly with balance problems. Whenever he tried to push his rear tyres would go off dramatically and rob him of braking stability, although he was still able to finish 30 seconds clear of HRT.
Charles Pic, Marussia-Cosworth (Race: Ret, Grid: 19th):
3½
After rather average performance in qualifying and his first stint during the race, Pic was able to lap at the same pace as his main rivals in his second stint. A problem with his air valve system forced him to retire before half distance however.
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