Twenty-two seconds over his teammate and 25 over the next-best team. Max Verstappen’s 2024 Formula 1 season kicked off right where it left off last year with a crushing victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The three-time world champion took the checkered flag mostly unchallenged, his only fight coming from Charles Leclerc into Turn 1 on Lap 1, with the Ferrari driver attempting to go around the outside, but the Red Bull running the racing line to retain the lead.
“It was a special one today,” Verstappen said following the race. “These kind of days don’t happen that often where the car feels spot on, including the balance and feeling of the car and everything went really well.
“The start was good, and then we also looked after the car really well, so it was an enjoyable race for me. We managed to find a good rhythm and pace on this track, and the wind strength and direction helped me extract a bit more from the car.
“This is one of our strongest circuits and looking to Jeddah we know that the track there is very different, with a lot of high speed corners and less degradation. I am hoping we can bring the same performance to next week: it’s going to be a challenge but I am looking forward to it.
“We have to thank everyone at the factory who has contributed to a great start of the year. It is always a big challenge to build a new car and follow up such an unbelievable season, but I’m excited to kick things off this season with a win.”
The advantage extended beyond one second over the opening two laps, putting Verstappen out of DRS range. From here, the battles remained only for the minor placings.
George Russell was the first to move up, taking second off Leclerc early. He, too, could not eat into the leader’s advantage, which ballooned to beyond three seconds by the end of Lap 4.
It wasn’t just the defending champion showing pace, with his teammate Sergio Perez working his way into second on Lap 14, having started fifth.
Perez withstood challenges from Russell and then Carlos Sainz to hold the position, where he remained until the chequered flag.
Departing Ferrari driver Sainz had earlier worked past his teammate and Russell to occupy third and came close to making DRS range of Perez, but the Mexican driver kept him at arm’s length for the position.
Leclerc was fourth home to put Ferrari into second in the Constructors’ Championship after the opening round, while Russell was forced to nurse home his Mercedes with expected power until issues for fifth, ahead of Lando Norris.
Veterans Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton engaged in a tight battle early on, and the Mercedes eventually got the better of the Aston Martin, jumping McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in the final round of stops for seventh.
Piastri came home eighth, ahead of Alonso and Lance Stroll, who was spun in in the race but brought back into contention through a robust strategy choice from Aston Martin.
Zhou Guanyu was 11th and a lap down on the leader, crossing the line just ahead of top Haas Kevin Magnussen.
Racing Bulls’ Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda battled for 13th, with the Australian handed the position via team orders but unable to eat into Magnussen’s advantage, much to Tsunoda’s dismay.
Alex Albon’s Williams was overheated, and the Thai driver nursed it home for 15th, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, who required a three-stop race after nudging Stroll early.
Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Valtteri Bottas and Logan Sargeant completed the order, with all 20 cars finishing.
Formula 1 returns next weekend for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Header Image: Getty Images/ Red Bull Content Pool
