SAKHIR, Bahrain (CMC) — Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won his second straight race of the new Formula One season when he out-gunned teammate Nico Rosberg in a thrilling battle at the Bahrain Grand Prix here yesterday.

The Brit, whose paternal grandparents hail from Grenada, started from second on the grid behind pole-sitter Rosberg but took the lead at the first turn and then drove brilliantly to hold off Rosberg.

He was clocked at one hour, 39:42.743 minutes.

“Yeah, it was exciting. Nico drove fantastically well throughout the race; very fair and it was very, very hard to keep him behind, particularly at the end,” Hamilton said afterward.

“I had built a gap, that was okay, but he was very fast on the option time so I was on the knife edge the whole time and a real relief when I got across the line.”

Hamilton had built up a near 10-second lead by lap 40, but this was erased when a collision between Esteban Gutierrez and Pastor Maldonado, forced the safety car onto the track one lap later.

The race resumed on lap 47 and became an enthralling duel between Hamilton and Rosberg, with Hamilton managing to open up a one-second lead by the time the race reached the chequered flag.

For Hamilton it was his 24th Grand Prix victory but his first in Bahrain, and took him to 50 points, within 11 points of leader Rosberg who won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last month.

Force India’s Sergio Perez finished third while Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth.

Sebastien Vettel of Red Bull, the four-time defending champion, was sixth as his poor start to the season continued.