In the lead almost from the first to the last lap, Max Verstappen easily won the Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez. Taking advantage of Charles Leclerc’s retirement and Carlos Sainz Jr’s lack of performance, Fernando Alonso went for third place.
The years follow each other and are not alike for Max Verstappen. A year after a retirement in the very last laps of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the double world champion offered the Red Bull Racing team a success which suffers from no challenge on the Sakhir circuit. On the side of Ferrari, if optimism was in order this Saturday at the end of the qualifying session, the reality of the track proved very difficult to swallow, with a striking contrast compared to the events of the start of the 2022 season. As soon as the lights went out, Max Verstappen took off and never gave up the controls except for a few laps in the game of strategy differences.
Behind the Dutchman, Charles Leclerc perfectly applied the plan hatched from Q3 this Saturday. Taking advantage of new soft rubber, the Monegasque jumped to pass a Sergio Pérez whose start was not optimal. Carlos Sainz Jr tried to take advantage of the Mexican’s misfortunes, to no avail. Behind, Fernando Alonso thought he had lost everything from the start when, after a contact initiated by his teammate Lance Stroll, he lost the advantage over Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. However, this Bahrain Grand Prix was long and nothing was lost. The Asturian proved it perfectly.
Ferrari not competitive enough
Lap after lap, Max Verstappen distanced a voluntary Charles Leclerc but at the wheel of a Ferrari less comfortable in race rhythm, as the free practice contested on Friday had suggested. The Monegasque was thus very quickly under pressure from Sergio Pérez but held on until the start of the 14th lap, which saw the two Ferrari drivers dive into the pits to put on hard tyres. From the following loop, Max Verstappen replied but Red Bull Racing differed from the Maranello team in terms of strategy, opting for a second stint on soft rubber for the Dutchman then for “Checo” at the start of the 18th lap.
A new situation which played in favor of the team based in Milton Keynes. Indeed, if Charles Leclerc was able to keep a good pace at the start of the stint, the Monegasque quickly settled down. Returning to the Ferrari driver’s DRS zone on the 26th lap, Sergio Pérez did not delay things to grab a second place for which he was then no longer in danger. Behind the Red Bull Racing drivers and Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz Jr kept a good distance with the desire to secure fourth place. But nothing went in the direction of the Scuderia this Sunday.
Leclerc relives a nightmare
Solidly installed in third position, Charles Leclerc lost everything on the 41st lap. As too often last year, the Monegasque was betrayed by his mechanics, finding himself forced to park his Ferrari on the edge of the track and watch the end of the race as a spectator. After a short neutralization by the virtual safety car, the Italian team saw a podium escape them. After the fright at the start of the race, Fernando Alonso confirmed that Aston Martin has produced a single-seater capable of playing at the forefront at the start of the season.
After dislodging Lewis Hamilton from fifth place after a legendary battle and a mischievous overtaking at turn 10 on the 37th lap, the Spaniard chased his compatriot Carlos Sainz Jr. for what became a podium over the laps. Faced with a Ferrari losing pace at the end of the race, the Asturian grabbed third place on the 46th lap and never let go. While Max Verstappen was able to savor and Sergio Pérez offered a double to Red Bull Racing, Fernando Alonso returned to the podium almost 40 seconds behind the winner.
Alpine in chiaroscuro
Behind Carlos Sainz Jr, Lewis Hamilton is content with fifth place ahead of Lance Stroll and his teammate George Russell, a sign that Mercedes has fallen back in the hierarchy for this start to the season. Valtteri Bottas, for his part, took a fine eighth place ahead of… Pierre Gasly. Starting from last position, the Rouennais successfully deployed a daring three-stop strategy to move up in the points. After having held the fastest lap for a long time, the new Alpine driver lost it to Guanyu Zhou at the end of the penultimate lap. Two points which are the only ones for the French team. Indeed, for Esteban Ocon, this Bahrain Grand Prix will remain to be forgotten.
After an average start which made him lose ground, the Habs and his team multiplied the blunders. After an incorrect position at the start, the five-second penalty was not carried out correctly, earning the native of Evreux a new penalty of ten seconds… to which were added five more seconds because Esteban Ocon committed an excess of speed in the pit lane. On lap 44, the Frenchman stopped the charges and retired. For rookies, the results will remain mixed. While Logan Sargeant moved up to 12th place, Nyck de Vries finished 14th while Oscar Piastri retired too quickly, betrayed by his gearbox. While this Bahrain Grand Prix gives a first idea of the hierarchy, everything will have to be confirmed in Jeddah in two weeks.
