Bahrain Grand Prix: as it happened

18:05: Well that was a captivating contest! Mercedes were unstoppable, but that didn't stop Hamilton and Rosberg nearly running each other out of the race on several occasions. It was great to see so much inter-team racing throughout the field. We can't forget the efforts of Force India, as well as Williams and Red Bull, who came good in the closing laps. Thanks for joining me this afternoon for what was one of the best Grands Prix in recent memory - I'm off for a beer now!

18:03: The following drivers retired - Button, Magnussen, Gutierrez, Ericsson, Vergne, Sutil.

18:02: The rest of the finishers were as follows - 11)Kvyat 12)Grosjean 13)Chilton 14)Maldonado 15)Kobayashi 16)Bianchi

18:00: Following on from Benedict Cumberbatch in Malaysia, it is a celebrity - and not a former driver - conducting the interviews on the podium. This time it is the turn of AC/DC frontman, Brian Johnson.

17:57: Despite going head-to-head on the track, Hamilton and Rosberg seem in good spirits on the podium following their high-octane battle. Rosberg now refers to the race as one of the most exciting of his career during the post-race interviews.

17:53: Lewis Hamilton proudly occupies the top step of the podium as the British national anthem rings out. Just like in Malaysia last weekend, Hamilton can now tick off another race that he has won - the Bahrain Grand Prix.

17:51: After a fruitless year at McLaren, Perez claims his first podium since Monza 2012 and understandable soaks up the experience! Force India's only ever top three finish came at Spa in 2009, this is a great day for the team!

17:49: Top 10 - 1)Hamilton 2)Rosberg 3)Perez 4)Ricciardo 5)Hulkenberg 6)Vettel 7)Massa 8)Bottas 9)Alonso 10)Raikkonen

17:48: Hulkenberg completed a great afternoon for Force India with 5th. Vettel keeps the Williams duo at bay to finish 6th, ahead of Massa and Bottas. Alonso and Raikkonen round of the top 10.

17:45: Fireworks fittingly fill the night sky after a fantastic afternoon of Grand Prix racing! Lewis Hamilton holds off team-mate Nico Rosberg to win the race. Perez completes the podium for Force India, trailed by Ricciardo, who impressively recovered from 13th on the grid.

17:45: LEWIS HAMILTON WINS THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX.

17:43: Lap 57 - The final lap of this thrilling race has begun! Williams are still fighting for position, as well as the Mercedes out in front.

17:42: Lap 56 - Massa hassles Vettel and even goes onto the sand to try and pass him but can't make it stick. Now coming under pressure from team-mate Bottas. Button pulls into his garage, he is out!

17:40: Lap 55 - The Williams are now breathing down the neck of Vettel in sixth. Perez managing the gap back to Ricciardo as he searches for a podium. Button slowing and could be out of the race.

17:36: Lap 53 - Turn one is again the spot for Rosberg to pass but he again fails to make it stick. The German is all over the back of his team-mate and now has just 5 laps left to win this race. Ricciardo up to 4th, can he claim his maiden podium finish? The Australian took advantage of a slight mistake from Hulkenberg to pass on the inside. Red Bull are well and truly in this race now!

17:33: Lap 51 -  Alonso passes Button for 9th. Ricciardo and Vettel once again weaving across the track, utilitising all of the tarmac available to them. No "multi-21" messages sent out yet. Rosberg and Hamilton again trading places out in front, resulting in Rosberg temporarily leaving the track.

17:31: Lap 50 - Rosberg sets a fastest lap and stays in the DRS zone of Hamilton. Ricciardo overtakes team-mate Vettel at turn one and then defends his position well. The fourth team we have seen racing wheel-to-wheel this afternoon! And now the Williams are joining the party once again, closing in on the duelling Red Bulls.

17:29: Lap 48 - Perez remains in 3rd, but the Force Indias are looking like they're going to be soon challenged by the Red Bulls. Maldonado given a 10- second stop/go penalty and Magnussen's retirement was McLaren's first since Brazil 2012.

17:27: Lap 47 - The race is restarted with plenty of wheel-to-wheel action. Rosberg edges past Hamilton before losing the lead again, whilst the Force Indias trade places. The Mercedes pulling away from the rest of the field. Both Red Bulls pass Button to move to 5th and 6th.

17:25: Lap 46 - And now Rosberg is given the same message. This could be the beggining of a tense inter-team rivalry between childhood friends, Hamilton and Rosberg, at Mercedes. Meanwhile the Force Indias are side-by-side behind and stand a real chance of claiming a podium.

17:23: Lap 45 - This is a perfectly poised race, and now Maldonado is being investigated by the stewards. Lewis Hamilton given a radio message about bringing both cars home - will we see a repeat of what happened to Red Bull at Turkey in 2010?

17:19: Lap 44 - The Mercedes will lead away the Force India drivers when the race does restart. Vettel now finds himself in 6th place. We're set for an enticing last 10 laps here, it's hard to look away!

17:16: Lap 42 - Magnussen's McLaren pulls to a halt on the side of the track and he is also out - smoke rising from his car now. A lot of drivers have taken advantage of this period to make what should be their final visits to the pit-lane today. We are set for a tense restart when the safety car comes in. Gutierrez was actually flipped by Maldonado, the Lotus man will surely receive a penalty for that. Luckily the Mexican is ok!

17:14: Lap 42 - The Venezuelan came up the inside of Gutierrez and t-boned him as he turned. Will the unlucky number 13 actually complete a Grand Prix? Safety car now deployed.

17:13: Lap 41 - Maldonado - just after leaving the pits - collides with Gutierrez, eliminating the Sauber from the race. Bottas stops whilst yellow flags are waved in the opening sector.

17:11: Lap 39 - Felipe Massa into the pit-lane for a fresh set of tyres, returns to the track in 10th.

17:08: Lap 38 - Magnussen slipping down the field. In contrast, the Williams are continuing to make inroads into the high-scoring points position. Massa once again on the gearbox of Bottas as Hulkenberg sets the fastest lap of the race.

17:06: Lap 37 - Vettel passes Maldonado, whose Lotus had found itself in the dizzying heights of 9th position.

17:05: Lap 36 - Doesn't take Perez long to easily swoop around the outside of Alonso. Hulkenberg now stops and also comes out behind the Ferrari. Marcus Ericsson looks to be another retirement.

17:03: Lap 35 - Perez pits from 3rd and comes out in 9th, just behind Alonso. Massa uses DRS to overtake Ricciardo and move into 6th. Vettel makes his stop and returns in 12th.

17:02: Lap 34 - There could be an almighty battle between the Williams and Force India drivers for the final podium spot this afternoon. Perez and Hulkenberg currently 3rd and 4th respectively.

17:01: Lap 34 - Massa also passes Raikkonen to move into 9th place. Bottas passes down the start/finish straight to continue his ascension through the field.

16:59: Lap 33 - Ricciardo and Bottas both pass a struggling Kimi Raikkonen. Williams really do have a good set-up here as the Finn latches onto the back of Ricciardo.

16:57: Lap 31 - Bottas just avoids driving into the back of compatriot, Raikonnen, heading into turn one. Heads off of the track onto run-off area and loses a place to Ricciardo.

16:54: Lap 29 - A double overtake from the Force Indias drops Massa two places. Hamilton still leads and is opening up a gap to Rosberg on the faster tyre compound.

16:50: Lap 27 - Ricciardo trying to emulate Vettel and get by Raikkonen, who is slowing him down currently.

16:48: Lap 26 - Bottas pits from 3rd, hoping to benefit from the undercut. Perez passes team-mate, Hulkenberg to close in on Massa. Great to see so much inter-team racing being allowed by those on the pit wall this afternoon. Hulkenberg then complains about Perez's overtake. DRS is playing a key role in Bahrain.

16:46: Lap 25 - Vettel uses DRS to pass the Ferrari. Really interesting battle for 3rd now! Just over a second is seperating four cars at some parts of the lap. Bottas requests another stop for tyres over the team radio. Vergne and Adrian Sutil are the first retirements of the day.

16:45: Lap 24 - A four-car long train has now developed behind Bottas - spearheaded by team-mate, Massa. Vettel all over the back of Raikkonen, looking to move up to 9th place.

16:43: Lap 23 - Williams and Force India coming into their own as they occupy 3rd and 4th and 5th and 6th respectively. Could see some more inter-team battling here. Williams will be particularly wary after the team orders used in Malaysia. Bottas coming under pressure in 3rd now.

16:40: Lap 21 - Rosberg pits for the harder compund and loses out to Hamilton. The undercut was the way to go there, but the German may be thinking of switching strategy.

16:39: Lap 21 - Vettel still in 10th, but looking likely to two-stop. Button passes Raikkonen for 8th.

16:37: Lap 20 - Hamilton attempting the undercut, whilst Rosberg now tries to pump in lap times to come out ahead of the 2008 world champion when he pits imminently. Sergio Perez still having a good afternoon, he passes Alonso as he makes his way back through the field after pitting.

16:36: Lap 19 - Exciting stuff as the two leaders tango up top. A great interchange of position as Hamilton and Rosberg pass then re-pass at the start of lap 19. Hamilton again remains ultimate leader before pitting at the end of the lap for more soft tyres - preventing us from seeing more overtaking.

16:34: Lap 18 - The Mercedes team-mates are now dicing for the lead. Neither has pitted yet but both exchange places before Hamilton restores his place out in front.

16:31: Lap 16 - Vettel is told over the radio to allow Ricciardo past as he is faster.

16:28: Lap 12 -  The Force Indias still look strong, Perez now up to third after passing Massa.

16:26: Lap 11 - And Bottas pits for new tyres, returning to the track in 16th. Ricciardo has a second attempt at Magnussen, managing to overtake when the McLaren runs wide. More and more cars are beginning to show a lack of grip.

16:25: Lap 11 - Vergne - who had to pit after sustaining damage at the start - will soon be lapped by the outrageously fast Mercedes pair.

16:23: Lap 10 - Bottas loses two places to Button and Hulkenberg, dropping from 5th to 7th in the space of a few corners. The Williams appears to be struggling, we could see the drivers start pitting for fresh rubber very soon.

16:22: Lap 10 -  Daniel Ricciardo attempts a pass on Magnussen but overshoots himself into turn one, then has to defend from Daniil Kvyat.

16:20: Lap 7 - Pastor Maldonado passes Esteban Guttierez for 14th place, the Lotus showing more speed than it did in the opening two races.

16:18: Lap 7 - The Mercedes are too quick and are pulling away from everyone else. Will they both three-stop? Or split their strategies? We'll find out soon when the opening stops are made.

16:17: Lap 6 - Sebastian Vettel - on the harder tyre compound - is keeping pace with the Ferraris back in 10th.

16:15: Lap 5 - Perez and Bottas are closing on Felipe Massa in third. Meanwhile, Nico Hulkenberg has climbed to seventh, following a disappointing qualifying performance.

16:13: Jean-Eric Vergne was the Toro Rosso who took some damage at the start, whilst Kevin Magnussen made contact with Kimi Raikkonen for the second weekend in a row.

16:10: The Mercedes were too quick for the rest of the field at the start, and pulled away as a result.

16:08: A blistering start to the race, hopefully a sign of things to come! There was contact further back down the field involving a Toro Rosso.

16:07: Lewis Hamilton takes an early lead, passing his team-mate in the opening sector. Rosberg defended well but Hamilton got around the outside of him. Felipe Massa rises to third as Sergio Perez starts poorly.

16:06: LIGHTS OUT IN BAHRAIN, WE ARE AWAY!

16:05: Nico Rosberg starts from pole for the fifth time in his career. The final few cars are finding their place on the grid now.

16:03: The sun is still setting in Bahrain, but the floodlights are compensating by providing artificial light to help guide the cars around the track.

16:00: Race Directoer, Charlie Whiting sets the cars on their way as they start their warm-up lap. Sergio Perez is slow to get away but should be able to weave his way through the pack and reclaim his fourth-place grid box.

15:59: Nico Rosberg will lead away: Hamilton, Bottas, Sergio Perez, Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button - who is starting his 250th Grand Prix today.

15:58: Most of the field are now settled into their cockpits, won't be long until the formation lap begins!

15:55: Reigning world champion, Sebastian Vettel, starts from 10th on the grid, benefitting from Daniel Ricciardo's penalty.

15:53: Pastor Maldonado will aim to become the first person to ever complete a Formula One Grand Prix in a car bearing the number 13. He retired in both Australia and Malaysia and starts from 17th on the grid today.

15:51: The drivers are on the grid and preparing themselves for this 57-lap Grand Prix.

15:49: Aside from the Mercedes out in front, there hasn't been much to seperate the rest of the field. There could be an incredibly tight and all-encompassing battle between the remainder of the pack to battle behind the Mercedes.

15:46: As you can see, it is an impressive spectacle.

15:44: Today will see the event taking place at night for the very first time, following in the wake of Singapore and Abu Dhabi as the third floodlit race in recent times.

15:42: The Bahrain Grand Prix made its debut in the sport a decade ago, here is a map of the circuit:

15:36: Williams and Force India have shown impressive speed throughout the weekend, and Valtteri Bottas will start from an impressive third on the grid today.

15:33: Daniel Ricciardo was the closest challenger to the silver arrows on Saturday, but even he was over half a second slower - before having a 10-place grid penalty enforced for an unsafe pit release in Malaysia.

15:29: Mercedes yet again dominated qualifying, and they are looking to claim a third consecutive win of 2014. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton have one victory each, and they look to be each others' main rivals to be the first past the chequered flag today.

15:25: Let's have a recap of yesterday's qualifying session, which took place under the newly fitted floodlights around the track. Here are the standing after the conclusion of Q3:

*Daniel Ricciardo will serve ten-place grid penalty

15:22: Hello and welcome to live text commentary of the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix. The race commences at 4pm BST when Nico Rosberg will lead the pack away at Sakhir. Alongside Rosberg on the front row of the grid is his team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, who once again helped Mercedes lock out the top two positions in qualifying.