Alonso is back: This result is too good. No one gets caught on Red Bull

The 25-year-old reigning two-time champion stepped up for another title defense with an unequivocal victory in Sunday’s opening Grand Prix of Bahrain at the Sachir circuit, the dominance of the Red Bull championship team was confirmed by Mexican Sergio Pérez’s second place. Spain’s Fernando Alonso sensationally finished third in an Aston Martin.

“This is exactly the start of the season we needed. I’m very happy to finally win here,” said Verstappen after the race, who did not always reach the finish line in the previous three participations in Bahrain. Last year in Sachíra, both Red Bull pilots did not finish the race. “This is our best ever start and completely different from last year. I am satisfied with our car,” said Pérez.

Two-time world champion Alonso received a podium finish. “This result is almost too good to show our real performance. But it feels real. When you finish third in the first race, anything can happen in the next 22. It’s amazing to finish on the podium in the opening race. It’s surreal , which the team accomplished over the winter. This is just the beginning,” declared the 41-year-old Alonso, who last won a grand prix ten years ago.

Alonso, who celebrated exactly 22 years since his debut in F1 on Sunday, recorded 32 race triumphs in his career. Verstappen already has four more, who has sixth place in the historical ranking, the fifth Brazilian Ayrton Senna has collected 41 and the British record holder Lewis Hamilton has 103. The Dutchman has achieved a record 15 victories in 2022, the native of Belgium has so far driven 164 grand prix and won 78 podium positions in them.

The second F1 event of the 2023 season is scheduled for March 19, when the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix takes place in Jeddah. In total, the pilots will complete a record 23 races this year.