Sebastian Vettel quickly spoiled Nico Rosberg’s pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix to become the first two-time winner of the 2013 season

Followed by Lotus drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean, the three drivers repeated their podium results from last years race at the Sakhir Circuit.

Off the start, Vettel attempted to take advantage of Rosberg’s slow launch, but the Mercedes driver quickly shut the door going into turn one,  allowing Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso to take an opening on the outside, pushing Vettel into third.

Noticeably fast in the Red Bull, Vettel quickly reclaimed second and passed Rosberg for the lead in the first sector of lap three, pulling away from the field quickly.

Rosberg’s lack of pace was evident when Alonso made a DRS pass the following lap, followed by Paul di Resta (Force India) on lap six.

While Alonso looked strong throughout the weekend, he was forced to deal with unexpected problems on lap seven when his DRS system failed to close. The Spaniard came in for a quick tire change and mechanics closed the wing, but a repeat malfunction next lap pushed him further down in the field.

With di Resta and Raikkonen on two stop strategies, they took over first and second positions after the first round of pit stops. Rosberg found himself fighting tooth and nail in the midfield for 10th place with McLaren’s Sergio Perez.

Fighting aggressively after a slow start to the season with his new team, Perez was involved in a number of close passing incidents, including one with teammate Jenson Button.

On lap 31, the Mexican driver forced Button completely off the track. After Button made a suitable pass, Perez ran too close to his rear and clipped his tire. Perez suffered minor wing damage, but somehow the McLaren duo came away unscathed.

When di Resta and Raikkonen pitted for fresh rubber, Vettel reclaimed the lead and continued to put in fast lap times, showing pace reminiscent of the Red Bull’s dominance last year.

While Vettel raced in clean air throughout the second half, his teammate Mark Webber fought for position further back in the field. A collision with Rosberg in turn one put Webber in the sights of Lewis Hamilton with eight laps to go, the two battling fair but hard down to the final lap. Hamilton ultimately escaped with the upper hand, finishing fifth, ahead of Perez and Webber.

After being passed by Raikkonen for second place, di Resta’s two-stop strategy left him vulnerable to Grosjean, who was six seconds back. A late pit for medium tires allowed Grosjean to evaporate di Resta’s lead by as much as a second per lap. With five laps remaining, Grosjean made an easy pass on di Resta, stripping him of a career-best podium finish.

Still, the Scot was proud of the work his team did throughout the weekend.

“It’s great to round off the fly-away races with a fourth place and a race that was probably my strongest Grand Prix,” di Resta said. “The podium was very close, but with our strategy we were always going to be vulnerable at the end of the race. A big thanks to the whole team because it’s been an excellent weekend and I feel we managed to get 100 per cent out of the car.”

Hamilton improved four places after starting ninth, Perez improved six spots from 12th and Webber stayed even, finishing seventh. Despite not having DRS, Alonso crossed the line in an impressive eighth place, ahead of Rosberg and Button.

Pastor Maldonado’s search for his first points will have to wait until the next round, as he just missed out in 11th place. Di Resta’s teammate Adrian Sutil qualified a strong sixth but finished 13th after suffering a tire puncture.

The win puts Vettel further ahead in the driver standings at 77 points compared to Raikkonen’s 67. It is his 49th podium and 28th victory in 105 Grand Prix, while it is Raikkonen’s 72nd podium and Grosjean’s fourth.

Lewis Hamilton jumped ahead of Alonso by three points for third in the standings with 50.

In the constructors championship, Red Bull leads with 109 points. The strong performance by Lotus pushed to second with 93 points, after the Ferrari duo struggled this weekend. The Italian team sits third with 77 points, 13 ahead of Mercedes.

The next race is May 12 at the Catalunya Circuit for the Spanish Grand Prix.