Mercedes want to win on pace rather than "good fortune"

Mercedes chief race engineer Andrew Shovlin will take the victory of his team in Bahrain, but he hopes that next time round in China the Silver Arrows can take the checkered flag on their own merit rather than "good fortune".

That of course references to the fact that Charles Leclerc, who was miles ahead of second-placed Lewis Hamilton, suffered an engine issue which slowed his car down dramatically. He lost 40 km/h on the straights, and quickly got overtaken by the opportunistic Hamilton, who won his first race of the season. 

Mercedes finished one-two as Valtteri Bottas also overtook the struggling Leclerc, but Shovlin knows Ferrari had the quicker car all weekend long.

"We're delighted with the 1-2 today but well aware that we didn't have the fastest car this weekend and we've got some work to do to catch Ferrari," he said.

"It would be nice in China if we can rely on our pace to get the win rather than good fortune.

"However, the team did work really well today under a lot of pressure our car has been perfectly reliable here all week which is great to see."

Despite Leclerc being a rival, seeing his maiden F1 win taken away from him like that is a heart-breaking spectacle, even for Mercedes.

"It was really unfortunate for Charles today, he has impressed everyone with his speed and composure, so to lose the win through no fault of his own must be tough, but it looks like he won't have to wait long for the next opportunity."

That next opportunity will be in China, the Formula 1's 1000th race.