Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes proving unstoppable

Lewis Hamilton believes he proved Mercedes remain the best in Formula One as the reigning champion continued his current domination of the sport with his ninth victory from the last past 11 races.

As in China a week ago, Hamilton’s latest win in Bahrain was another masterful, controlled drive from a man who has now set a personal best record of finishing in the points for 11 consecutive grands prix.

Overall, Hamilton has 36 career wins, with 21 of those from pole position to open up a 27-point cushion over Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg who had to settle for third behind Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

It was Raikkonen’s seventh podium in Bahrain – with the Finn runner-up now on four occasions – and his first top-three finish since the 2013 Korean Grand Prix.

Hamilton finished a comfortable 3.3 seconds clear of Raikkonen, who made his way past Rosberg on lap 56 of the 57 under the lights of the Bahrain International Circuit courtesy of a mistake from the German as his brakes began to fade.

With three wins and a second place from the four races so far to date, the 30-year-old is in stunning form, with no let up from last season after he won six of the final seven to clinch his second world title.

On his prospects of a third championship, Hamilton said: “I’m gunning for it.”

The Briton was again barely troubled throughout, with the exception of the last lap when he encountered a minor brake issue of his own.

Despite that, a happy Hamilton said: “The Ferraris gave us a real good run for our money. It’s great to be having a fight with them.

“Fortunately I managed to keep the car together and the tyres as healthy as possible.

“My brakes were a bit warm towards the end when I was behind a few backmarkers, but there wasn’t really a problem.

“Ferrari are pushing very hard to close up, but I’m so really happy and proud of everyone. The bonus for Hamilton in his quest to be a three-time champion is the fact Raikkonen managed to squeeze out Rosberg late on.

After Sebastian Vettel was forced into a third pit-stop following a see-saw battle with Rosberg, Raikkonen then became Ferrari’s main hope.

The Finn was the only one of the four leading cars to opt for the medium-compound Pirelli tyre in the middle stint.

That allowed Raikkonen to take the faster soft rubber for the third and final stint and close down a 20-second gap to Rosberg, who would likely have been passed anyway despite his brake problem.