Under the glare of the floodlights in the desert, it was ultimately Lewis Hamilton who yet again shone and while it might be harsh to say his team-mate Nico Rosberg wilted, because he certainly drove a gritty and determined race, the German did suffer another blow in his bid to come to terms with the Englishman’s superior pace this season.

This was Hamilton’s third win of the season. It was a confident and assured run that he managed to perfection, one in which he was largely untroubled by his team-mate who will be disappointed to have finished only third and, while the expected strong threat from Ferrari did not quite materialise, Kimi Raikkonen drove an extraordinarily clever and quick race to take second at the death from Rosberg. Several unforced errors from Sebastian Vettel in the sister Ferrari resulted in the German, having for some time been mixing it brilliantly with Rosberg, being relegated to fifth after a fine defence from Valtteri Bottas for fourth in the Williams.

“I am going for it,” Hamilton said. “A big thank you to the team. Ferrari gave us a good run for our money and we have to keep pushing as a team. My brakes got warm when I was behind some back markers as the air does not get to them, but it was not a real problem.”

Ferrari had been expected to be strong here, as they were in Malaysia where Vettel won, having appeared to have the advantage over Mercedes on comparative eight-lap runs on the soft tyre in the only night practice session, while their car was also expected to work its rear tyres better on the toughest asphalt of the season, that is exasperated by the sand that blows across the track.

In response Mercedes took a chance and made set-up changes to their cars after Friday night’s practice in a bid to improve tyre usage and to match Ferrari’s long-run pace. But they did not have a chance to ascertain whether they would actually work in race conditions, since the third and final free practice session was run in the hot daylight temperatures and, of course, qualifying was all about single lap pace.

However, their plan worked and both cars had the edge over Ferrari but it was Hamilton who took the best advantage. He drove another relaxed, controlled race for his second victory in a row here. That made it nine wins from the last 11 races and 10 from 11 in which he has beaten Rosberg, whom he now leads by 27 points in the drivers’ championship.

Starting from pole and having squeezed through the first corner in front of his rivals, Hamilton, who stuck to the expected strategy of two runs on the soft tyres before switching to finish on the mediums, was only really challenged after his first pit stop, which was a little slow, with Rosberg and Vettel barrelling up behind him as he exited into turn one.

Rosberg, passed by Raikonnen on the first corner of the opening lap and bumped back into fourth, had come back strongly to repass on lap four and having caught Vettel began diving around the back of him on lap eight at turn four. A lap later he made it stick with real commitment, squeezing the Ferrari wide going up the inside of turn one.

Vettel quickly took the place back with the undercut on lap 14, but as Hamilton exited from his first stop, a slow 3.7sec after difficulty with a wheel nut, he found his mirrors filled with Rosberg and Vettel, side by side braking in to turn one, where again the former squeezed up the inside of the latter.

At this point, the combination of Hamilton’s extra second and a half in the pits and Rosberg coming in a lap earlier had put the German within several car lengths of the leader. Rosberg was on a charge but that was as close as anyone was to come to the world champion. Hamilton managed his tyres perfectly in the middle stint and took the flag 3.3sec clear of Raikonnen, who had been in a race of his own and performing it pretty much to perfection, making it to his first podium for 26 races and ensured that for the first time this season the top steps have not been solely occupied by Hamilton, Vettel or Rosberg.

Raikkonen had opted, unlike the other leaders, to take the harder medium tyre for the middle stint and using it aggressively put in some very quick times. As he entered the final stint on the quicker soft rubber he went chasing after Rosberg who was in second, finally picking him off on lap 56. It was a superlative drive especially in not losing time on the slower tyre.

Rosberg’s bid to reassert himself in the title fight here suffered more damage at the end when he went wide at turn one on the penultimate lap, allowing the charging Raikkonen to sweep by. But he can take positives from this race. He fought hard and will come away knowing he had given his all. However what may ultimately play most on his mind is that in Bahrain, as was the case in China, he never really looked like he might pass his team-mate.

Vettel’s day was also difficult, with three unforced errors. Pushing as hard as he could meant going wide and repeatedly opening the door for Rosberg. The third mistake at the final corner caused some damage to his front wing, which had to be replaced. He hounded Bottas to the end but could not overhaul him.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo finished in sixth but only just, with his engine giving out as he crossed the finishing line for the final time. He was followed in by the Lotus of Romain Grosjean, the Force India of Sergio Pérez and Daniil Kvyat in the second Red Bull.

A difficult race was also rescued well by Felipe Massa, who won here in 2007 and 2008, and had to start from the pit lane due to an electrical problem on the grid but came back to finish in 10th. There were mixed emotions however for McLaren, who had their best finish of the season with Fernando Alonso in 11th but the team were also unable to enter Jenson Button’s car in the race. Button, having suffered a difficult weekend with problems in practice, could not start because of an electrical problem in the ERS.

But the day belonged to Hamilton and while Mercedes plotted this win well, they know Ferrari are going to bring a big challenge as the season goes on. “Winning is winning, it does not matter who it is against but it is great to be having a fight with the Ferraris and great to show we are still the best and working forward to keep up with the momentum we have,” said Hamilton.