Hamilton, Bottas's team mate, started in eighth place after a grid penalty triggered by an unscheduled gearbox change and finished fourth.
Formula One champions Mercedes can rack up their eighth successive victory on Sunday but even if they do, a winning streak must end for either Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg in Bahrain. Rosberg is chasing his fifth win in a row after starting the season triumphantly in Australia to follow the three victories he racked up at the end of 2015. Hamilton, the triple world champion who finds himself behind his German team mate in the standings for the first time since 2014, is on for a hat-trick after winning in Bahrain for the past two years. The Briton is the favourite at a circuit that has yet to witness a Rosberg victory but Ferrari, who roared into the lead at the start in Melbourne with Sebastian Vettel followed by Kimi Raikkonen, also fancy their chances.
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton put his Mercedes on pole position for the first Russian Grand Prix in Sochi on Saturday with team mate and title rival Nico Rosberg having to settle for second.
Can Mercedes' seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton add to his record tally of 103 victories?
Britain's Lewis Hamilton won the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday after a thrilling duel with Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg.
Max Verstappen celebrated a record 10th win in a row by leading Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez one-two at Ferrari's home Italian Grand Prix
Leclerc took pole in Monaco in 2021, but did not start the race due to a driveshaft failure, and 2022 when he ended up fourth.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz won the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday to end Formula One leader Max Verstappen's record run of 10 wins in a row.
Verstappen's hopes of a record-extending 11th successive victory looked a long shot on a city circuit where overtaking is never easy.
McLaren will start the Formula One season without a title sponsor but still expect to have one this year, group chief executive Ron Dennis said.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz won the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday in a triumphant return two weeks after appendicitis surgery as Red Bull's World champion Max Verstappen suffered his first retirement in two years.
Mexican team mate Sergio Perez qualified second fastest in a front row lockout for Red Bull, 15 years after the team took their first win at the Shanghai International Circuit with Sebastian Vettel.
It was Hamilton's first pole position since Saudi Arabia in December 2021.
A widely-circulated anonymous email put fresh focus on recent allegations of misconduct toward a female colleague.
Max Verstappen clinched his second win of the season as the Australian Grand Prix was halted with three red flags.
Red Bull closed the gap to champions Mercedes in the constructors' standings to one point.
Formula One will have a record 24 races in the season that starts in Bahrain on Saturday.
"There's a lot of work that still needs to be done in this sport. "I can't retire now, because I'm only just embarking on helping create a more open and inclusive environment here in this sport and I've got to stay to help that continue." said Hamilton.
Red Bull's double World champion Max Verstappen swept to pole position at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Saturday with his sights set on a record 14th victory of the season.
Max Verstappen won Red Bull's home Austrian Grand Prix from pole position and with the fastest lap on Sunday for the team's 10th successive Formula One victory and ninth in nine races this season.
Dutch teenager Max Verstappen became Formula One's youngest race winner on Sunday in a sensational Spanish Grand Prix that saw dominant Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collide on the opening lap.
Max Verstappen put his Red Bull on pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix
Verstappen led from start to finish at Austria's Red Bull Ring, with seven-time world champion Hamilton second for Mercedes.
Sergio Perez beat teammate and championship leader Max Verstappen to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday and continue Red Bull's Formula One domination with a double success in Baku.
Hamilton wrapped up his record-equalling seventh title in Turkey last month and picked up his 11th win of the season in Bahrain on Sunday. Mercedes have already won the constructors' title for an unprecedented seventh year in a row.
Charles Leclerc overcame a late throttle scare to win the Austrian Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday and become Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen's closest rival.
Hamilton's team mate Valtteri Bottas finished third, ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, in a race aimed at providing more thrills for fans over the three days of track action and potentially shaking up the starting grid.
Lewis Hamilton took his 98th career pole position in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday
Charles Leclerc seized pole position for the Italian Formula One Grand Prix and sent Ferrari hopes soaring on Saturday while Mercedes' George Russell joined him on the front row once penalties were applied.
Lewis Hamilton became Britain's first four-time Formula One world champion at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday.
Austin is a favourite track for the 34-year-old Mercedes driver and he will also be fancied to round up his Texan win tally to six on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton won a crazy, twice-halted Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday to go level on points with Red Bull rival Max Verstappen and set up a winner-takes-all title showdown.
Max Verstappen added his name to the list of triple Formula One World champions on Saturday after Red Bull team mate and sole title rival Sergio Perez crashed out of the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz will make a dream move to Ferrari next year, with Australian Daniel Ricciardo replacing him at McLaren, as Formula One's driver carousel took another big twirl on Thursday with the 2020 season yet to start. Ferrari said 25-year-old Sainz, who replaces four times World champion Sebastian Vettel alongside young Monegasque Charles Leclerc at the sport's most glamorous team, had signed for 2021 and 2022.
Verstappen hustled his Honda-powered Red Bull around the popular figure-of-eight layout in one minute, 29.304 seconds
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc secured pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday after a furious Max Verstappen was forced to abandon his fastest lap for fear of running out of fuel.
Images from the Tuscan F1 Grand Prix held at at Mugello, Scarperia e San Piero in Tuscany, Italy, on Sunday.
Hamilton decided to take matters into his own hands and pass several cars ahead of him, without gaining anything as Verstappen's time stood the test.
Given how well Hamilton drove last weekend to win the Styrian GP in Austria, few would bet against the British driver securing an eighth success
Hamilton already had more race wins, pole positions and podium finishes than any other driver in the history of the sport.
