Verstappen wins from start to finish, and Red Bull achieves the double at the Bahrain GP
The last defeat was at the Singapore GP in September last year
Published on March 2, 2024 at 3:18 pm
Verstappen wins from start to finish Credit: Formula 1/Official website
The 2024 Formula 1 season started the same way the 2023 edition ended: with a victory for Max Verstappen. From start to finish, the Dutchman, who also had the fastest lap, had an extremely calm race and had no difficulty at all in winning the Bahrain Grand Prix, this Saturday. This is the three-time world champion’s eighth consecutive victory and the 55th of his career. The last defeat was at the Singapore GP, in September last year.
The race once again confirmed Red Bull’s dominance. Sérgio Pérez, who had started fifth, also didn’t need to try very hard to overtake his opponents and finish second. Carlos Sainz completed the podium by finishing third, after good disputes with his teammate, Charles Leclerc.
Formula 1 officially opened its season on Thursday, a day earlier than usual, due to adjustments to its calendar, due to Ramadan, the holy month of the Muslim religion, which predominates in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the next stage of the championship. Thus, the entire weekend schedule was brought forward by one day. For this reason, the race, the first of the year, was held this Saturday.
Verstappen dominated the race without facing threats and already showed at the start that he would have another easy victory. He withstood light pressure from Leclerc to take the lead and open up seconds of advantage with extreme ease. The Dutchman toured the Bahrain circuit.
Starting second, Leclerc was unable to compete against Verstappen and was also easily overtaken by George Russel on the third lap. The Ferrari driver also had a good duel with his teammate, Carlos Sainz, who took the Monegasque’s position on two occasions during the race. At first, they were inches away from touching.
Meanwhile, Pérez, who started very well, soon took second place, but at a pace well below Verstappen, again unable to fight for first place with the Dutchman. At a strong pace, Sainz easily passed Russell and took third.
With Verstappen more than 17 seconds ahead of Pérez and with Sainz unable to threaten the Mexican, the race was exciting at specific moments, such as the fight for fourth place between Russel and Leclerc. The Brit failed and allowed the Ferrari driver to overtake, who did not have a great performance this Saturday.
Who also fell short of expectations was Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard, who showed a lot of enthusiasm with the car during the week, was unable to fit into the race and only finished in ninth place, three less than where he started, also behind Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri.
The drivers return to the tracks at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which will take place between March 7th and 9th.
Check out the final classification of the Bahrain F-1 GP:
1º – Max Verstappen (HOL/Red Bull), 1h31min44s742
2º – Sergio Pérez (MEX/Red Bull), a 22s457
3rd – Carlos Sainz Jr. (ESP/Ferrari), at 25s110
4º – Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari), a 39s669
5º – George Russell (ING/Mercedes), a 46s788
6º – Lando Norris (ING/McLaren), a 48s458
7º – Lewis Hamilton (ING/Mercedes), a 50s324
8th – Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren), at 56s082
9th – Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin), at 74s887
10º – Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin), a 93s216
11º – Guanyu Zhou (CHN/Kick Sauber), the 1st.
12th – Kevin Magnussen (DIN/Haas), 1 time.
13th – Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/RB), 1 time.
14th – Yuki Tsunoda (JAP/RB), 1 time.
15th – Alexander Albon (TAI/Williams), at 1 volta.
16th – Nico Hülkenberg (ALE/Haas), 1 lap away.
17th – Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine), 1 lap away.
18th – Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine), 1 lap away.
19th – Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Kick Sauber), 1 time.
