Verstappen cruises to crushing Red Bull 1-2 in Bahrain opener

Max Verstappen has kicked off his pursuit of a hat-trick of Formula 1 titles perfectly, by dominating the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

Poleman Verstappen enjoyed an untroubled journey across the 57-lap race to lead home teammate Sergio Perez by 12s in a commanding Red Bull 1-2.

Joining them on the podium was Fernando Alonso, who put in a special drive to score his 99th career podium and his jubilant team’s second since becoming Aston Martin. 

Twelve months ago it was Ferrari celebrating a 1-2 and both Red Bulls not finishing, but the roles reversed, with Charles Leclerc retiring from third on Lap 41 when his engine shut down.

Australia’s Oscar Piastri also suffered heartbreak, as his debut race ended in the garage after just 13 laps despite an impressive first stint.

Carlos Sainz came home fourth ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Lance Stroll, George Russell, Valtteri Bottas and Pierre Gasly, who rose from 20th to ninth, while Alex Albon gave Williams a point after holding off Yuki Tsunoda.

It was Verstappen’s 36th win, but first win in a season opener and at Bahrain and the Dutchman said the first stint setup the triumph.

“Very happy to finally win here in Bahrain,” he said.

“It was a very, very good first stint where I made my gap. From there it was all about looking after the tyres.

“A big thank you to the team for giving us such a quick racecar again.”

Verstappen started well and immediately established a lead, while teammate Perez did not and found himself surrounded by both Ferraris. 

Leclerc swooped around the outside of car #11 at Turn 1 into second, while the Mexican and Sainz slotted in ahead of both Mercedes, who jumped Alonso after the Spaniard was almost taken out by teammate Stroll.

All 20 cars got through the first lap unscathed, but not without some near misses with Nico Hulkenberg also losing bodywork in similar fashion to the Aston Martins at Turn 4.

Piastri got his elbows out in his first racing lap in 448 days, moving past Magnussen and Zhou, while Bottas was the biggest mover going from 12th to eighth.

Alonso and Russell pair went side by side through Turns 4, 5, 6 and 7 fighting for sixth before the experienced Spaniard prevailed.

First to enter the pits was Gasly on Lap 10 to switch to hards, while Hamilton was the first of the leaders to box three laps later and Ferrari performed a double stack.

Despite working his way from P18 to P11, Piastri “lost the gear box” and pitted on Lap 14 where McLaren performed a swift steering wheel switch. 

However, car #81 did not leave the box and was eventually pushed into the garage after an electrical issue shut the car down.

To complete McLaren’s nightmare start, Norris also had a slow stop with engine issues, but was able to return to the circuit at the back.

Verstappen pitted on Lap 15 and returned the lead four laps later when Perez was the last of the frontrunners to be serviced.

Car #1 enjoyed a 10s lead over Leclerc and Perez after the first round of stops as Red Bull stayed on softs, while Ferrari and the rest opted for the more durable hard compound. Alex Albon did the same for Williams, having risen from P15 to P10.

Bottas was a big winner of the first pits cycle, with an over cut jumping him ahead of Alonso and Russell, but the pair did not take long to reclaim their spots.

Red Bull’s aggressive strategy to stay on softs paid off when Perez moved past Leclerc for second following a calculated move at the first chicane on Lap 26.

At the second round of stops, Stroll put the undercut to good use to snatch seventh from Russell, while Alonso looked to make the overcut work, but could not beat Hamilton.

After setting the fastest lap Alonso made his move on Lap 37, only for his former teammate to reclaim the position after the era of the car #14 snapped.

The intriguing battle continued for another lap until Alonso made a sensational switchback at Turn 10 to take P5 on Lap 39.

The top four was evenly spaced with at least 10 seconds separating Verstappen, Perez, Leclerc and Sainz.

This was broken on Lap 41 when Leclerc pulled off at the exit of Turn 14 after his power unit cut out. He joined Piastri and Esteban Ocon on the sidelines with the Alpine retiring after a penalty-plagued night.

With only the Virtual Safety Car being deployed, the gaps were retained, while Leclerc’s heartbreak meant a tense fight for the final spot on the podium emerged between Sainz, Alonso and Hamilton.

The Aston Martin quickly gapped the Mercedes and set his sights on the last remaining Ferrari and a much-wanted podium. 

Despite almost coming together at Turn 4, the Spanish duo carried on their battle until Turn 11 where Alonso sneaked down the inside of Sainz to confirm the memorable podium.

Car #55 struggled with tyre life, but was able to keep Hamilton at bay during a quiet finish to the race with Verstappen cruising home to give Red Bull the perfect start.

The last six winners of the season opener all finished as runner up in the championship, but will Verstappen break the trend in 2023? The early signs are certainly strong.

For more of the latest motorsport news and a bumper F1 and IndyCar preview, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION.

AUTO ACTION, Australia’s independent voice of motorsport

2023 Bahrain Grand Prix results

POS	NO	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	TIME/RETIRED	PTS
1	1	Max Verstappen	RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT	57	1:33:56.736	0
2	11	Sergio Perez	RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT	57	+11.987s	0
3	14	Fernando Alonso	ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES	57	+38.637s	0
4	55	Carlos Sainz	FERRARI	57	+48.052s	0
5	44	Lewis Hamilton	MERCEDES	57	+50.977s	0
6	18	Lance Stroll	ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES	57	+54.502s	0
7	63	George Russell	MERCEDES	57	+55.873s	0
8	77	Valtteri Bottas	ALFA ROMEO FERRARI	57	+72.647s	0
9	10	Pierre Gasly	ALPINE RENAULT	57	+73.753s	0
10	23	Alexander Albon	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	57	+89.774s	0
11	22	Yuki Tsunoda	ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT	57	+90.870s	0
12	2	Logan Sargeant	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	56	+1 lap	0
13	20	Kevin Magnussen	HAAS FERRARI	56	+1 lap	0
14	21	Nyck De Vries	ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT	56	+1 lap	0
15	27	Nico Hulkenberg	HAAS FERRARI	56	+1 lap	0
16	24	Zhou Guanyu	ALFA ROMEO FERRARI	56	+1 lap	0
17	4	Lando Norris	MCLAREN MERCEDES	55	+2 laps	0
NC	31	Esteban Ocon	ALPINE RENAULT	41	DNF	0
NC	16	Charles Leclerc	FERRARI	39	DNF	0
NC	81	Oscar Piastri	MCLAREN MERCEDES	13	DNF	0