Max has resumed his efforts.
Max Verstappen commenced his 2024 Formula 1 season in the same impressive manner as he concluded the previous year, securing a decisive victory. The three-time champion achieved a comfortable win at the Bahrain Grand Prix, finishing over 20 seconds ahead of Sergio Pérez, who contributed to a second consecutive 1-2 finish for Red Bull Racing at the Sakhir circuit.
“Today it went even better than expected,” Verstappen said. “I think the car was really nice to drive on every compound and I think we had a lot of pace. And yeah, it was super enjoyable to drive today. We really stayed out of trouble. And yeah, great start to the year. I mean, it couldn’t have been better.”
Carlos Sainz claimed the final podium position, finishing just three seconds behind Pérez, while his teammate Charles Leclerc narrowly missed the podium in fourth place, providing Ferrari with optimism for competing against Red Bull in the upcoming races.
Max Verstappen wins and goes back to back at THE FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2023
Verstappen achieved his inaugural victory of the 2024 season by demonstrating exceptional reaction times at the start of the race. The Red Bull driver swiftly took the lead into Turn 1, while Leclerc was compelled to take an outside line due to George Russell of Mercedes maintaining his third-place position at the start.
Behind them, Sainz experienced a challenging start, allowing Pérez to overtake him, securing fourth position as he began to close in on Russell.
“There’s plenty we will learn from tonight’s race,” Pérez said. “Which will be important for the championship. But overall, I think it’s a great way to start the season.”
The Mercedes driver was pursuing his own objectives, and during the third lap, Russell overtook Leclerc to secure second place. The Ferrari driver was experiencing difficulties with his brakes and soon found himself under pressure from Pérez. On lap 7, Pérez seized the opportunity when Leclerc locked up at Turn 10, enabling Pérez to move ahead on the short straight leading to the next corner.
At the front of the race, Verstappen established a significant lead, reaching nearly eight seconds ahead of Russell by lap 10, while Russell maintained a narrow one-second advantage over Pérez.
The challenge posed by the Red Bull driver led Mercedes to call Russell into the pits at the conclusion of lap 11, where he transitioned to Hard tyres. Observing Leclerc’s difficulties on track, Ferrari also opted to change him to Hard tyres on the same lap. In response to Russell, Red Bull made the decision to bring Pérez in at the end of lap 12. Following his pit stop for Hard tyres, Pérez resumed the race behind the Mercedes driver in ninth position.
The Red Bull driver quickly leveraged his superior pace to challenge the Mercedes. In Turn 4, Russell made an error and went wide, allowing Pérez to overtake him and establish a Red Bull 1-2 finish.
Verstappen completed his first pit stop at the end of lap 17, where a 2.9-second halt allowed him to switch to hard tires and return to the track in the lead. However, challenges were arising for other drivers. Leclerc, now in fifth position, reported ongoing issues with front tire locking, while Russell indicated concerns regarding an overheating power unit. By lap 18, these difficulties enabled Sainz to overtake and secure third place.
During the second stint, the order at the front of the field remained relatively unchanged. Russell was the first among the leading drivers to complete a second pit stop at the end of lap 31. Over the subsequent laps, most of the top 10 drivers made their way through the pit lane. At the end of lap 36, Pérez conducted his second stop, transitioning to Soft tyres with a 2.7-second pit stop, which positioned him just under two seconds ahead of Sainz, who had opted for a second set of Hard tyres. Verstappen followed with his final pit stop a lap later, also switching to Soft tyres, and emerged almost 16 seconds ahead of his teammate.
The final significant change in position during the race occurred on lap 46 when Russell experienced a lock-up at Turn 10. This loss of control allowed Leclerc to advance into fourth place. Subsequently, the standings remained unchanged.
“The start wasn’t ideal but from then on I just managed my tires well,” Sainz said. “And then from there, I could do my pace, overtook two or three cars on the way to the podium and then keeping up with a Red Bull there at the end, which was a pleasant surprise. Still not enough, not where we want to be, but a good step forward compared to last year and a solid start to the season.”
Verstappen, who earlier in the race had achieved the fastest lap, was able to manage his pace effectively. Eleven laps later, the World Champion crossed the finish line, securing his first victory of the new season with a lead of 22 seconds over his teammate.
The Red Bull Racing team led the pack, followed closely by Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. George Russell secured fifth place, while Lando Norris from McLaren finished in sixth. Lewis Hamilton achieved seventh place in the second Mercedes, and Oscar Piastri placed eighth in the other Mercedes vehicle. The final two points-scoring positions were occupied by Aston Martin drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 57 1:31’44.742
2 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing RBPT 57 1:32’07.199 22.457
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 57 1:32’09.852 25.110
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 57 1:32’24.411 39.669
5 George Russell Mercedes 57 1:32’31.530 46.788
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 57 1:32’33.200 48.458
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 57 1:32’35.066 50.324
8 Oscar Piastri McLaren 57 1:32’40.824 56.082
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 57 1:32’59.629 1’14.887
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 57 1:33’17.958 1’33.216
11 Zhou Guanyu Sauber 56 1:31’51.501 1 lap /6.759
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas 56 1:31’53.058 1 lap /8.316
13 Daniel Ricciardo RB 56 1:31’53.700 1 lap /8.958
14 Yuki Tsunoda RB 56 1:31’54.224 1 lap /9.482
15 Alexander Albon Williams 56 1:31’56.628 1 lap /11.886
16 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 56 1:32’02.374 1 lap /17.632
17 Esteban Ocon Alpine 56 1:32’16.192 1 lap /31.450
18 Pierre Gasly Alpine 56 1:32’17.159 1 lap /32.417
19 Valtteri Bottas Sauber 56 1:33’07.972 1 lap /1’23.230
20 Logan Sargeant Williams 55 1:32’05.537 2 laps /20.795
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