2016 Bahrain Grand Prix | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 2 of 21 in the 2016 Formula One World Championship
| |||||
![]() | |||||
Race details | |||||
Date | 3 April 2016 | ||||
Official name | 2016 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix [1] [2] [3] | ||||
Location | Bahrain International Circuit Sakhir, Bahrain | ||||
Course | Permanent Racing Facility | ||||
Course length | 5.412 km (3.363 miles) | ||||
Distance | 57 laps, 308.238 km (191.530 miles) | ||||
Weather | Dry 21–22 °C (70–72 °F) air temperature 26–29 °C (79–84 °F) track temperature 2 m/s (6.6 ft/s) wind from the southwest [4] | ||||
Attendance | 92,000 (Weekend) [5] | ||||
Pole position | |||||
Driver | Mercedes | ||||
Time | 1:29.493 | ||||
Fastest lap | |||||
Driver | ![]() | Mercedes | |||
Time | 1:34.482 on lap 41 | ||||
Podium | |||||
First | Mercedes | ||||
Second | Ferrari | ||||
Third | Mercedes | ||||
Lap leaders |
The 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix (formally known as the 2016 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 3 April 2016 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. The race was the second round of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship and marked the twelfth time that the Bahrain Grand Prix had been run as a round of the Formula One World Championship. Lewis Hamilton was the defending race winner, while his Mercedes team-mate, Nico Rosberg was the Drivers' Championship leader coming into the round.
During qualifying, which saw the second iteration of the heavily criticised "elimination format", Hamilton achieved pole position ahead of Rosberg and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. Rosberg won the race from Kimi Räikkönen, with Hamilton completing the podium. The elimination format of qualifying was dropped after this race with it eventually decided that sport would revert to previous iteration of the three segment qualifying used between 2006 and 2015 from the Chinese Grand Prix onwards.
Following widespread criticism over the "elimination" qualifying format used in Australia, the teams voted to abandon the format and revert to the system used between 2006 and 2015. [6] [7] [8] [9] However, in the week after the race, the sport's Strategy Working Group met to formally vote on the matter, and chose to keep the "elimination" format in place for the Bahrain Grand Prix and subject to a more thorough review ahead of the next round in China. [10] It was subsequently reported that the teams had only been given the option of retaining the elimination format or adopting a hybrid of the elimination and pre-2016 formats, and that an outright reversion to the 2006-2015 format was never discussed. [11] Mercedes' motorsport director Toto Wolff remained adamant that the format needed to be reverted, saying that he did not expect qualifying to be more entertaining than it had been two weeks before. [12] Drivers were equally critical of the retention of the changed format: Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel told the press that he was "as disappointed as probably anyone I know", [13] while Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton called the decision "strange [...], particularly because the most important thing is the fans were unhappy". [14] Another meeting was scheduled for race day to discuss the format, with both Jean Todt, president of the FIA, and Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One's commercial rights holder, in attendance. [15]
In the aftermath of a collision with Esteban Gutiérrez in the Australian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso was ruled out of the event with broken ribs and a pneumothorax, and as a result was replaced with McLaren reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne. [16] Gutiérrez received a new chassis after his team found that his original chassis was too damaged to be repaired, [17] [18] mostly caused by the crane during the recovery process and not in the accident itself. [19] Meanwhile, Ferrari were able to use the same engine in Kimi Räikkönen's car as they had done in Australia, even though it had caught fire following a failure of the turbo charger. Swift reactions by the team on the scene prevented damage to the combustion engine, with only the turbo changed for Bahrain. [20] Alfonso Celis Jr. made his first appearance in a Formula One session during the first free practice for Force India. [21]
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought three compounds to Bahrain, from which drivers were allowed to choose. The three options for the event were the super-soft, soft and medium compounds, the same as for the previous round in Australia. Frontrunners Mercedes and Ferrari opted for different strategies in tyre allocation, as Mercedes took only one set of the harder medium tyres for both their drivers, while Ferrari chose three sets at the expense of soft compound tyres. [22] [23]
As in previous years, the race was accompanied by concerns about the human rights situation in Bahrain. The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy wrote an open letter to Jean Todt in the week before the race, pointing out that "severe human rights violations have been committed during the race authorised by the FIA" and urged the sport's governing body to be "prepared to cancel the race in coming years." [24]
Per the regulations for the 2016 season, three practice sessions were held, two ninety-minute sessions on Friday and another one-hour session before qualifying on Saturday. [25] During the first practice session on Friday, Mercedes set times well clear of their closest rivals. Nico Rosberg was fastest on a time of 1:32.292, more than half a second quicker than his teammate Lewis Hamilton in second place. Kimi Räikkönen was third-fastest, albeit almost two seconds slower than Rosberg. Newcomers Stoffel Vandoorne and Alfonso Celis Jr. were 18th- and 21st-fastest, respectively, both slower than their teammates. [26] Celis went off track at one point at turn 3, leading him to back off the pace in order not to damage the car, as his responsibility laid mainly with gathering information for the team. [27] The session was marked by unusually cool weather, said to be representative of the expected race conditions for Sunday's race, held at night. Therefore, many teams decided to send their cars out for a large number of laps, with sixteen drivers recording twenty laps or more. [26]
Rosberg was again fastest in the second practice session on Friday evening. His time of 1:31.001 was more than one and a half seconds faster than the pole position time in the previous year's event. Lewis Hamilton finished second-fastest, 0.241 seconds adrift of Rosberg. Jenson Button set the third-fastest time for McLaren, although he was more than a second off the fastest time. [28] Several drivers voiced surprise over McLaren's pace during Friday's practice sessions, described by Button as the team's best "for a couple of years". [29] Max Verstappen followed in fourth, ahead of the two Ferrari cars of Räikkönen and Vettel. The latter had set the third-fastest time on the soft tyre compound, but mistakes during his runs on the super-soft tyres meant that he was unable to place higher than sixth. He had to end his session fifteen minutes early when his rear-left wheel nut came loose. Vandoorne was eleventh-fastest in his second session, while Sergio Pérez, who took back the car from Celis, was fifteenth, two places ahead of his teammate Nico Hülkenberg. [28] Vibrations from running over the kerbs caused the front wing on Romain Grosjean's car to dislodge, forcing him off track. He was able to get back into the pitlane and had the wing replaced. [30] At the end of the session, Renault's Kevin Magnussen failed to stop for weighing, instead returning to his garage, where work was conducted on his car. As a consequence, he was forced to start the race from the pitlane. [31]
Sebastian Vettel led a Ferrari 1–2 in third practice ahead of Räikkönen, setting a time of 1:31.683. The two Mercedes drivers of Rosberg and Hamilton followed, ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Romain Grosjean. On the soft compound tyres, both Mercedes drivers had set identical times, before Rosberg edged out Hamilton on the super-softs. Higher temperatures in the afternoon sun meant that the times dropped from second practice. Felipe Massa ran a new, shorter nase for Williams, but managed only the ninth-fastest time, more than half a second slower than teammate Bottas. Not running the super-soft tyres, Toro Rosso got its two drivers on 15th and 16th place, respectively. Jolyon Palmer was 20th-fastest before puncturing a tyre at the end of the session. [32]
Qualifying on Saturday was contested under the retained 2016 "elimination format" regulations. Just as in years before, the qualifying procedure was divided into three parts, with the first part (Q1) running for 16 minutes and the second and third parts (Q2 and Q3) being 15 and 14 minutes long, respectively. All twenty-two cars contested the first part, with seven drivers eliminated from further contention in each of the first two parts of qualifying, leaving eight drivers to compete for pole position in Q3. However, in a change of rules, drivers were now eliminated during the session, with the slowest runner at a given point being taken out from contention every ninety seconds, beginning seven minutes into Q1, six minutes into Q2 and five minutes into Q3. [25] At the beginning of Q1, all cars set fast laps, before the top placed drivers returned to the pitlane, leaving the track to the ones fighting elimination. Felipe Nasr and Rio Haryanto were unable to set a second timed lap and with the former making a mistake on his only lap, he qualified in last place. While Jolyon Palmer improved his lap time on his second lap, he was quickly dropped back into elimination by a faster lap from Stoffel Vandoorne. Pascal Wehrlein qualified in 16th place, ahead of Force India's Sergio Pérez. Kevin Magnussen qualified 19th, but his penalty during practice meant that he would still need to start from the pit lane. [33]
The second part of qualifying started problematically, as the red light at the end of the pitlane, indicating that cars had to stop, was still on when the clock began to run. A marshal with a green flag then indicated the drivers to take to the track. [34] During the session, Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time, but a mistake by Nico Rosberg meant that Vettel was able to place second. Daniil Kvyat was the first driver to be eliminated, lining up behind the two McLaren drivers, with debutant Vandoorne out-qualifying his teammate Button. Nico Hülkenberg was the only driver to go out to improve his time, managing to proceed into Q3 in eighth place, leaving Grosjean, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr. behind. [33]
As the frontrunners set their first timed laps in Q3, Hamilton made a mistake and ran wide at the last corner, leaving him behind Rosberg and both Ferrari drivers. Hülkenberg, both Williams drivers and Ricciardo were eliminated without setting another time, while the four fastest cars came out again. Hamilton set the fastest ever lap at the Bahrain Circuit, at 1:29.493, to achieve pole position ahead of Rosberg, who was just 0.077 seconds slower. Half a second behind, Vettel grabbed third place on the grid ahead of teammate Räikkönen. After qualifying, Hamilton's pole was put under threat after the FIA started an investigation after Hamilton reversed in the pit lane to park up. Hamilton was given a reprimand and his pole position stood. [33] [35]
Reactions to the qualifying sessions mirrored those from two weeks before, with many commentators repeating their criticism over the new format. [34] [36] However, at a meeting between the FIA, Formula One Management (FOM) and the teams on race Sunday, no agreement was reached to revert to the old qualifying format, which was outright ruled out for the remainder of the season by the representatives of FIA and FOM. A new proposal was set before the teams, which would see every driver set two timed laps in every part of qualifying. Both times would than be added and the aggregate time would determine the grid positions. [37] [38] Reactions to the proposal were mixed. While Sebastian Vettel described it as "a shit idea" and Daniel Ricciardo said that he "wouldn't be too keen on that", Jenson Button deemed it a better plan than the existing elimination format. [38] On 7 April, the teams unanimously rejected the scheme, instead demanding a return to the format used between 2006 and 2015. [39] [40] The decision was finalised four days later. [41]
The race saw two drivers out before the start lights even went out, as first Sebastian Vettel stopped on track during the warm-up lap with an engine failure [42] before Jolyon Palmer pulled into the pit lane instead of lining up on the grid, suffering from a hydraulic failure. It was the first time in Vettel's Formula One career that he was unable to start a race. [43] At the start, Rosberg pulled into the lead ahead of Hamilton, who came into contact with Valtteri Bottas and dropped back to ninth place. Both Bottas and Ricciardo damaged their front wings in the situation. Felipe Massa took advantage and moved into second behind Rosberg. Further back, Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz also made contact, leaving Sainz with a puncture and Pérez with front wing damaged and both had to pit for repairs. [42] [44] Daniil Kvyat and Nico Hülkenberg were two more victims of contact during the first lap. [43] The order after five laps was Rosberg, Massa, Bottas, Ricciardo and Räikkönen, who took fourth a lap later. [42] The same lap, Jenson Button retired with a failure of his energy recovery system. [43] After yet another lap, Räikkönen moved ahead of Bottas as well into third. Hamilton recovered from his first-turn accident and soon moved ahead of Bottas as well, laying in fourth place on lap eight. On lap ten, Bottas received a drive-through penalty for his collision with Hamilton at the start. By lap eleven, Esteban Gutiérrez retired with brake failure, [43] while his teammate Grosjean was in fourth place. [42]
Kimi Räikkönen was the first of the front runners to pit, doing so on lap twelve, with Rosberg and Hamilton following suit in the following laps. Hamilton emerged sixth behind Kvyat and Massa, moving ahead of both into fourth before going past Ricciardo for third place on lap 17. A lap later, Grosjean moved ahead of Massa into fifth position. Meanwhile, Rosberg pulled clear at the head of the race, leading Räikkönen by twelve seconds on lap 22. Further back the order, Kevin Magnussen trailed Pascal Wehrlein's Manor, being unable to overtake him due to the Manor's straight-line speed advantage. Grosjean made another overtake on lap 25, moving past Ricciardo into fourth, while the latter made a pit stop for new tyres at the end of the lap. Three laps later, he used his fresher tyres to overtake his teammate Kvyat for fifth position. While Carlos Sainz retired, more pit stops started on lap 29, with Hamilton, Räikkönen and Grosjean coming in for tyre changes, followed by Massa one lap later. Rosberg made a pit stop another lap later, coming back out securely in the lead, while Hamilton closed on Räikkönen, now 3.7 seconds behind him. The order at that point stood as: Rosberg, Räikkönen, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Kvyat, Grosjean, Verstappen, Bottas, Vandoorne and Massa. [42] [44]
By lap 38, Nico Rosberg led Räikkönen by nine seconds, with Hamilton a further five seconds behind. Räikkönen made a pit stop on the same lap and both Mercedes drivers did the same in the two following laps. Grosjean made a pit stop on lap 41, being stationary for 25 seconds, losing ground on his competitors. He emerged eighth and moved ahead of Kvyat into seventh as the latter made a pit stop on lap 45, before overtaking Massa one lap later. With ten laps to go, Rosberg extended his lead on Räikkönen, who had moved closer after the last round of stops. On lap 51, Kvyat went past Bottas into eighth place, while Wehrlein moved ahead of Hülkenberg into 13th one lap later. Wehrlein then unsuccessfully chased Marcus Ericsson's Sauber, unable to pass for twelfth. As Rosberg extended his advantage on Räikkönen to eight seconds, Kvyat overtook Massa to move into seventh on lap 56. Nico Rosberg was able to hold on to his lead to win the race ahead of Räikkönen and Hamilton. [45] Behind Ricciardo in fourth, Grosjean improved on his result from Australia to finish fifth. On his début, Stoffel Vandoorne scored a point in tenth position. [42] [44] Haas F1's sixth and fifth places from their first two races in Formula One marked the best start to a season from a new team since Shadow in 1973. [43]
At the post-race podium interviews, conducted by former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg hailed an "awesome weekend" and said that the start had been the key factor to his victory. [46] Kimi Räikkönen and Ferrari in turn lamented their dismal start, saying that it might have cost him the victory. [47] Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene lauded Räikkönen's drive as "absolutely spectacular", adding: "If you look at the overtake around the outside of [Daniel] Ricciardo, he reminded me of the driver from the old times. It was very, very good for me." [48] Lewis Hamilton rued his second unfortunate start incident in a row, which he described as "perhaps [...] more painful" than the incident at the previous race. He stressed the fact that with the damage to his car from the first-turn contact he was unable to keep up Räikkönen's speed ahead of him. [46]
Romain Grosjean received particular praise for his drive to fifth place, collecting a second Driver of the Day award in a row. [49] His race was saved by an attentive mechanic who replaced a loose wheel nut on his left-rear wheel, which would otherwise have caused Grosjean to retire. [50] Valtteri Bottas was further penalised for his collision with Hamilton at the start of the race by having two penalty points added to his licence. [51] Jenson Button expressed frustration at his retirement, feeling that it lost him a possible point-scoring position. In contrast, his replacement teammate Vandoorne scored his first point on debut, describing it as a "bonus" to a successful weekend. [52]
As a result of the race, Nico Rosberg manifested his lead at the top of the drivers' standings, having collected the maximum available 50 points from the first two races. Teammate Hamilton was in second place, 17 points behind Rosberg, with Ricciardo in third another nine points adrift. [53] In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes retained the lead with 83 points, 50 points ahead of Ferrari, while Red Bull in third was another three points behind. [54]
Pos. | Car no. | Driver | Constructor | Qualifying times | Final grid | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | |||||
1 | 44 | ![]() | Mercedes | 1:31.391 | 1:30.039 | 1:29.493 | 1 |
2 | 6 | ![]() | Mercedes | 1:31.325 | 1:30.535 | 1:29.570 | 2 |
3 | 5 | ![]() | Ferrari | 1:31.636 | 1:30.409 | 1:30.012 | 3 |
4 | 7 | ![]() | Ferrari | 1:31.685 | 1:30.559 | 1:30.244 | 4 |
5 | 3 | ![]() | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 1:31.403 | 1:31.122 | 1:30.854 | 5 |
6 | 77 | ![]() | Williams-Mercedes | 1:31.672 | 1:30.931 | 1:31.153 | 6 |
7 | 19 | ![]() | Williams-Mercedes | 1:32.045 | 1:31.374 | 1:31.155 | 7 |
8 | 27 | ![]() | Force India-Mercedes | 1:31.987 | 1:31.604 | 1:31.620 | 8 |
9 | 8 | ![]() | Haas-Ferrari | 1:32.005 | 1:31.756 | 9 | |
10 | 33 | ![]() | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1:31.888 | 1:31.772 | 10 | |
11 | 55 | ![]() | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1:31.716 | 1:31.816 | 11 | |
12 | 47 | ![]() | McLaren-Honda | 1:32.472 | 1:31.934 | 12 | |
13 | 21 | ![]() | Haas-Ferrari | 1:32.118 | 1:31.945 | 13 | |
14 | 22 | ![]() | McLaren-Honda | 1:31.976 | 1:31.998 | 14 | |
15 | 26 | ![]() | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 1:32.559 | 1:32.241 | 15 | |
16 | 94 | ![]() | MRT-Mercedes | 1:32.806 | 16 | ||
17 | 9 | ![]() | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:32.840 | 17 | ||
18 | 11 | ![]() | Force India-Mercedes | 1:32.911 | 18 | ||
19 | 20 | ![]() | Renault | 1:33.181 | PL 1 | ||
20 | 30 | ![]() | Renault | 1:33.438 | 19 | ||
21 | 88 | ![]() | MRT-Mercedes | 1:34.190 | 20 | ||
22 | 12 | ![]() | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:34.388 | 21 | ||
107% time: 1:37.717 | |||||||
Source: [55] |
|
|
The 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 22 April 2012 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the first time Formula One returned to Bahrain after the 2011 race was cancelled due to ongoing anti-government protests. The race, the eighth running of the Bahrain Grand Prix, was contested over 57 laps and was the fourth round of the 2012 Formula One season.
The 2013 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on 7 July 2013 at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Germany, as the ninth round of the 2013 season.
The 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 6 April 2014 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the third round of the 2014 Formula One World Championship, the 900th Formula One World Championship event, and the eleventh running of the race. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the 57-lap race starting from second position. His teammate Nico Rosberg finished second and Force India driver Sergio Pérez took third. It was Hamilton's second victory of the season and the 24th of his Formula One career.
The 2014 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, in Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium, on 24 August. It was the twelfth round of the 2014 Formula One World Championship and the 58th Belgian Grand Prix held as part of the series. Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo won the 44-lap race starting from fifth position. Nico Rosberg finished second for Mercedes and Williams ' Valtteri Bottas was third.
The 2014 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 6 July 2014 at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, United Kingdom before a crowd of 122,000 people. It was the ninth round of the 2014 Formula One World Championship, and the 65th British Grand Prix to be held as part of the series. Lewis Hamilton of the Mercedes team won the 52-lap race, from a sixth position start. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas finished second, with Daniel Ricciardo third for the Red Bull squad. It was Hamilton's fifth victory of 2014 and the 27th of his career.
The 2014 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 9 November at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo. It was the 18th and penultimate round of the 2014 Formula One World Championship and the 42nd Brazilian Grand Prix as part of the series. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg won the 71-lap race from pole position. His teammate Lewis Hamilton finished second and Williams driver Felipe Massa was third. It was Rosberg's fifth victory of the season and the eighth of his career.
The 2014 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 7 September at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Lombardy. It was the 13th round of the 2014 Formula One World Championship and the 65th Italian Grand Prix held as part of the series. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the 53-lap race from pole position. His teammate Nico Rosberg finished second and Williams driver Felipe Massa took third.
The 2014 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 2 November at the Circuit of the Americas in Travis County near Austin, Texas. It was the 17th round of the 2014 Formula One World Championship and the 36th United States Grand Prix held as part of the series. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the 56-lap race starting from second position. His teammate Nico Rosberg finished second and Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo was third. It was Hamilton's tenth victory of the season and the 32nd of his career.
The 2014 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 11 May 2014 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, Catalonia, Spain. The race was the fifth round of the 2014 Formula One World Championship, the 44th Spanish Grand Prix held as part of the championship, and the 24th in Barcelona. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the 66-lap race from pole position. His teammate Nico Rosberg finished second and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo took third.
The 2014 Singapore Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 21 September at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore. It was the 14th round of the 2014 Formula One World Championship and the 7th Singapore Grand Prix held as part of the series. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the 60-lap race from pole position. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo were second and third. It was Hamilton's seventh victory of the season and the 29th of his career.
The 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 70th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)'s Formula One motor racing. It featured the 67th Formula One World Championship, a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which is recognised by the sport's governing body, the FIA, as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Teams and drivers took part in twenty-one Grands Prix—making for the longest season in the sport's history—starting in Australia on 20 March and finishing in Abu Dhabi on 27 November as they competed for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championships.
The 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on 19 April 2015 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. The race was the fourth round of the 2015 season and marked the eleventh time that the Bahrain Grand Prix has been run as a round of the Formula One World Championship.
The 2015 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 23 August 2015 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Spa, Belgium. It was the eleventh round of the 2015 Formula One season, and the 71st Belgian Grand Prix.
The 2015 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 6 September 2015 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy. The race was the twelfth round of the 2015 season, and marked the 85th running of the Italian Grand Prix.
The 2015 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil on 15 November 2015. It was the eighteenth race of the 2015 FIA Formula One World Championship, and marked the 44th running of the Brazilian Grand Prix as a round of the World Championship since its inception in 1950.
The 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Yas Marina Circuit on 29 November 2015. The race was the nineteenth and final round of the 2015 season, and marked the seventh running of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as a round of the World Championship since its inception in 1950.
The 2016 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on 20 March 2016 in Melbourne. The race was contested over fifty-seven laps of the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit and was the first round of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship. The race marked the 81st race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix – which dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race of 1928 – and the 21st time the event was held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was the race winner.
The 2016 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race which was held on 17 April 2016 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China. The race was the third round of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship, and marked the thirteenth time that the Chinese Grand Prix has been run as a round of the Formula One World Championship. The race was convincingly won by Nico Rosberg, who finished over 30 seconds ahead of second-placed Sebastian Vettel. Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton suffered a number of setbacks both in qualifying and during the race itself, eventually finishing in 7th place.
The 2016 Russian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that took place on 1 May 2016. The race, contested over fifty-three laps, was held at the Sochi Autodrom. It was the fourth round of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship and marked the fifth running of the Russian Grand Prix, the third time as a round of the Formula One World Championship since the series inception in 1950. Nico Rosberg of Mercedes came into the race leading the championship ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was the defending race winner.
The 2017 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that took place on 9 April 2017 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China. The race was the second round of the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship, and marked the fourteenth time that the Chinese Grand Prix has been run as a round of the Formula One World Championship.