Bahrain GP: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez secure one-two for Red Bull, Lewis Hamilton fifth, George Russell seventh
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Updated 05/03/2023 at 22:32 GMT
Max Verstappen picked up where he left off in 2022 as he took the chequered flag at the season-opening Bahrain GP, with Sergio Perez helping to secure a Red Bull one-two. The F1 off-season had hinted that Red Bull's dominance would continue, and that was the case in the Gulf as Verstappen's pace saw him keep the rest of the field at arm's length. Fernando Alonso starred in finishing third.
'It looked a bit lonely out there...' - Verstappen after Bahrain GP win
Max Verstappen got his Formula 1 title defence off to the ideal start in Sakhir, as the Red Bull driver took the chequered flag to seal his first victory at the Bahrain International Circuit and get his 2023 season up and running.
His teammate Sergio Perez finished in second, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso sealing a superb third-placed finish on his first race for his new team.
It was an indifferent weekend for Mercedes, as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished in fifth and seventh respectively.
Verstappen started the race on pole position, and immediately made the perfect getaway off the line to take control of proceedings down into turn one. The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc got the jump on Perez and slotted into second place.
Meanwhile, the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll took too much speed into turn four on the opening lap, and tagged the back of his teammate Alonso, dropping the Spaniard two places down to P7. Luckily for Alonso, he avoided a puncture to his rear-right tyre.
Despite Leclerc having the fresher soft tyres compared to the Red Bulls, Verstappen showed off the raw pace of the car and pulled out a sizeable gap by the time he pitted on Lap 15.
With only one set of harder tyres available to Verstappen, Red Bull made the call to fit the Dutchman’s car with another set of soft tyres for the second stint. Perez followed suit in the sister car, but the remainder of the pack switched to the harder compound, which many believed to be the better race tyre with the lowest amount of degradation.
However, the added grip of the soft tyres saw Perez get back past Leclerc on Lap 26, with the Mexican making a lunge down into turn one.
At the start of the final stint, the main battle was between Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes, and Alonso in the Aston Martin for fifth place. Hamilton opted to pit first on Lap 31 for another set of hards, whilst Alonso stayed out and tried the overcut.
Despite coming back out behind Hamilton after pitting on Lap 35, the Spaniard made the most of having fresher tyres, and four laps later he got past the Mercedes with a sensational move down the inside going into turn ten after some great wheel-to-wheel action.
Two laps later there was drama as Leclerc, who was running in third, pulled over at the side of the track down the back straight after his car came to a halt following a power unit issue. It meant his chances of a podium finish disappeared in a flash.
With his teammate Carlos Sainz inheriting third place as a result, he faced a strong challenge in the dying laps from Alonso behind him for the final podium place. With fresher tyres and a quicker car, Alonso made the move stick on Lap 46 and remained in third until the end.
After 57 laps, Verstappen capped off a controlled drive to take the chequered flag ahead of his teammate, who finished 11 seconds down the road.
It also proved to be a day to forget for debutant Oscar Piastri in the McLaren, as the Australian rookie was forced to retire his car with an electrical problem.
DRIVER OF THE DAY - Fernando Alonso
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Fernando Alonso en el podio
Image credit: Getty Images
It was a dream day for the 41-year-old, who produced some fantastic moments on track with some important overtakes to overcome a difficult start and finish on the podium on his first race for Aston Martin. It is his first podium finish since the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix.
Throughout the weekend, Alonso showcased the pace of the Aston Martin, and topped the timesheets in practice. It was clear that the team had made a massive step forward. However, starting the race from 5th, the thought was that the Aston Martin would eventually succumb to the pace of the Mercedes cars behind, but that proved not to be the case.
The Spaniard was clearly happy with how the car felt during the race, and this may be the springboard that the team needs to challenge the teams at the front of the grid for further podiums.
WHERE THE RACE WAS WON AND LOST
LAP 26/57 - A great overtake by Perez! Despite being quite far behind the Ferrari down the main straight, the Red Bull makes the lunge down the inside of Turn 1. Despite Leclerc trying to get back past straight away, he is unable to do it and Perez holds on to P2.
LAP 39/57 - WHAT AN OVERTAKE! - What a move! After a couple of laps of some tight but fair racing between Hamilton and Alonso, the Aston Martin driver makes an incredible move down the inside of Turn 10! He is up into P5!
LAP 41/57 - LECLERC PULLS OVER! - What drama! The power unit of the Ferrari has completely conked out down the back straight! The chances of a podium for the Monegasque driver have slipped away! A Virtual Safety Car has been deployed, but it looks likely that a full Safety Car won't be deployed.
LAP 46/57 - ALONSO INTO THIRD! - The Aston Martin manages to get past the Ferrari of Sainz into Turn 10 and down the back straight as Sainz locks up his front tyres whilst trying to defend! The pair came close to contact moments before coming out of Turn 4 as the back end of the Aston almost collided into the side of the Ferrari! A podium beckons for Alonso on his maiden start for Aston Martin, as Sainz is helpless with his worn tyres.
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