Max Verstappen, representing the Netherlands, dominated the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix to begin his latest defense of the Formula 1 title. He led a Red Bull 1-2 finish, with Sergio Perez finishing in second place. Perez made a series of impressive overtakes in the early stages of the race, climbing from fifth to second. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz secured the final spot on the podium.
All drivers on the starting grid opted to begin the race on the grippiest Soft rubber tires. The top nine drivers used a set of the red-walled compound. Verstappen made a strong start and successfully defended his lead by holding the inside line at Turn 1. Charles Leclerc attempted an outside move but was unable to pass Verstappen. Meanwhile, Perez, Verstappen’s teammate, overtook Sainz to claim fourth place. Nico Hulkenberg suffered immediate wing damage and dropped to the back of the grid. It was later revealed that Valtteri Bottas had made contact with Hulkenberg, causing him to collide with Lance Stroll, who also fell to the back of the pack.
Verstappen focused on building a lead to avoid being within DRS range. DRS, which allows for overtaking, is now activated at the end of the first lap. Leclerc faced pressure from George Russell, who took advantage of DRS to execute a precise overtaking maneuver around the outside of Turn 4. Perez followed suit and lined up behind Leclerc. Prior to this, Lando Norris made a comfortable overtake on Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin on the inside of Turn 1. Oscar Piastri replicated Norris’ move three laps later, pushing Alonso further down the field. Russell led a group of cars battling for second place, with Verstappen maintaining a four-second lead.
Perez had been waiting behind Leclerc for several laps but capitalized on Leclerc’s mistake at Turn 10 to overtake the Ferrari and secure third place on Lap 7.
Despite Leclerc’s attempt to regain the position from Perez at Turn 1 on the next lap, Perez held his ground on the inside and maintained his spot on the podium.
Lewis Hamilton, starting from ninth, struggled to make progress initially but managed to pass Alonso at the first turn after 10 laps.
Logan Sargeant encountered a strange incident when he locked up at Turn 4, initially appearing to be out of the race until he managed to get his Williams car moving, albeit in last place.
One lap later, Carlos Sainz successfully overtook Leclerc at Turn 1, becoming the lead Ferrari on the road in fourth position as Leclerc continued to struggle.
Ferrari made the decision to bring Leclerc into the pits for his first stop at the end of the 11th lap, with Russell also opting for a new set of Hard tires.
This triggered a series of pit stops on the following lap, with Perez, Piastri, and Hamilton all coming in, while Leclerc made a mistake at Turn 10, going wide due to proximity to the Sauber.
Perez managed to close the gap to Russell within the DRS range in their battle for second place and took advantage of Russell going deep at Turn 4 to make a successful undercut.
Russell’s brief battle with Perez allowed Leclerc to close the gap to less than one second, with Sainz dropping behind his teammate after a later pit stop.
However, Sainz used his newer tires to make a daring move on Leclerc, passing him on the inside of Turn 1. He then set his sights on Russell’s Mercedes in third place.
Sainz carefully planned his attack on Russell, making his move on the outside of Turn 4 with the help of the second DRS zone.
Russell found himself falling behind Sainz, with a gap of 4.5 seconds, and Leclerc was closing in on him from behind. Leclerc was struggling with an unbalanced Ferrari car.
Mercedes advised Russell not to use his overtake button, but Hamilton complained that his “seat was broken” as he trailed behind the two McLarens.
A problem with a wheel nut during a pit stop left Bottas stranded in the Sauber pit box for over 50 seconds, causing him to drop down to 19th place.
At the front of the pack, Verstappen had extended his lead over Perez to over 16 seconds, with 24 laps still to go. Sainz was 3 seconds behind in the second Red Bull.
Mercedes decided to protect against the threat of being undercut by pitting Russell for a second time. He rejoined the track ahead of Alonso.
Ferrari responded by bringing Leclerc in for a pit stop at the end of Lap 34. Hamilton successfully undercut Piastri, who overshot Turn 1.
Red Bull waited until Lap 37 to bring Perez in for his second and final pit stop. However, Perez maintained his position ahead of Sainz with a comfortable gap.
The reigning champions had brought an extra set of Soft compound tires for the Bahrain weekend and strategically used them in the final stint to gain an advantage over their competitors.
This allowed Verstappen to set the fastest lap of the race, taking the title from Leclerc, who was still chasing after Russell in fourth place.
In a tabloid-style format:
ALONSO STRUGGLES TO KEEP UP, ASTON MARTIN FAILS TO HELP
Despite Aston Martin’s efforts to extend Fernando Alonso’s middle stint, he was unable to maintain pace with the cars ahead. Eventually, on Lap 41, Alonso had to come in. Emerging in 11th place, the two-time champion quickly made his way back into the points by overtaking Zhou Guanyu’s Sauber at Turn 4.
RUSSELL’S MISTAKE COSTS HIM POSITION
George Russell had been holding his position against Charles Leclerc, but a mistake at Turn 10 saw him running wide off the track. This allowed Leclerc to seize fourth place with 11 laps remaining.
STROLL’S DEFENSELESS POSITION
Aston Martin’s strategy for Lance Stroll involved a one-stop plan to bring him into contention. However, when his teammate approached, Stroll put up no defense and let him pass.
TSUNODA’S SLIP AND RICCIARDO’S ADVANCE
Yuki Tsunoda was initially on track for the final point, but he slipped to 13th place. Against team orders, he eventually let his teammate Daniel Ricciardo through. Ricciardo then attempted to overtake Kevin Magnussen, who was running in 12th place in the lead Haas car.
VERSTAPPEN DOMINATES IN BAHRAIN
Max Verstappen secured his second consecutive win in Bahrain, finishing 22 seconds ahead of Sergio Perez. Red Bull’s quest for a third straight Constructors’ title started perfectly with a flawless performance.
SAINTZ CLAIMS FINAL PODIUM SPOT
Carlos Sainz put up a strong fight to secure the final podium position, with Charles Leclerc trailing behind him in fourth place, 14 seconds adrift. Russell finished fifth, leading the Mercedes team.
NORRIS SETTLES FOR SIXTH
Lando Norris had a relatively quiet evening and settled for sixth place. Lewis Hamilton split the two McLaren drivers, finishing ahead of Norris. Alonso finished a distant ninth, with Stroll completing the points scorers.