F1 Results Today: Bahrain GP times - Max Verstappen blows rivals away in DESTRUCTIVE win

Russell, Pérez, Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, Bahrain — Photo: © IMAGO

Bahrain Grand Prix

F1 Results Today: Bahrain GP times - Verstappen blows rivals away in DESTRUCTIVE win

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Cal Gaunt

Saturday 2 March 2024 17:58 Updated: 18:09

Max Verstappen stomped all over the hopes and dreams of his Formula 1 rivals in Saturday's season opener in Bahrain, romping to a flag-to-flag victory.

After a brief challenge from Charles Leclerc in the opening laps, Verstappen drove the last 50 laps entirely untroubled to pick up his 20th win in his last 23 races across the last two seasons.

His under-pressure team-mate Sergio Perez clinched a solid one-two finish for Red Bull after skilfully overtaking both George Russell - who finished fifth - and Leclerc during the initial laps.

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It was a challenging day for Ferrari's Leclerc, who, despite starting in second position, struggled with oversteer and lock-ups in the early stages. A quick pit-stop to address the issues allowed him to somewhat recover, taking advantage of a Russell error on lap 46 to steal P4 late on.

On the bright - if not a little nervy - side for the Italian outfit, Carlos Sainz engaged in two significant battles with Leclerc and ultimately secured a third-place finish, marking his first podium in what will be his final season with Ferrari before being replaced by Lewis Hamilton in 2025.

The season-opener was largely incident-free, barring a first-lap spin from Aston Martin's Lance Stroll following a bump from Haas' Kevin Magnussen.

Some late drama came by the way of the newly-named RB, as Yuki Tsunoda was enraged by team orders to swap positions with Daniel Ricciardo, who was similarly irked by the timing of the request from the pitwall. The pair remained outside the points and finished 13th and 14th.