Nico Rosberg continued his perfect start to the Formula 1 season with victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix this evening.

The German finished ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who recovered from a first-lap collision to take third.

Hamilton was on pole but quickly fell behind Rosberg and then dropped to ninth after his coming-together with Williams's Valtteri Bottas.

Sebastian Vettel had to retire before the race even started after his engine smoked on the parade lap, while Stoffel Vandoorne, deputising for Fernando Alonso, scored a single point for McLaren on his Grand Prix debut.

Rosberg's fifth win in a row, going back to Mexico last year, gives him a 17-point early title lead over Hamilton.

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
4. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
5. Romain Grosjean (Haas)
6. Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso)
7. Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull)
8. Felipe Massa (Williams)
9. Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
10. Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)
11. Kevin Magnussen (Renault)
12. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
13. Pascal Wehrlein (Manor)
14. Felipe Nasr (Sauber)
15. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India)
16. Sergio Perez (Force India)
17. Rio Haryanto (Manor)
18. Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso)
19. Esteban Gutierrez (Haas)
20. Jenson Button (McLaren)
21. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
22. Jolyon Palmer (Renault)