Verstappen wins season-opening Bahrain GP

Max Verstappen’s pursuit of 4^th straight Formula 1 title began with dominance with a triumph ahead of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez at the campaign-opening Bahrain GP.

The reigning champ’s win margin stood at over 22 seconds as he left no chance to his opponents. That was an even more dominant victory as he had an over 10 seconds win 1 year ago over Sergio at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen completes a flawless drive to seal victory in the season opener 💪#F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/o43XDdCZti

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 2, 2024

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished 3^rd, below 3 seconds to Max’s teammate, but the small gap didn’t really concern Perez as he comfortably drove for the 2^nd place.

The chances of Verstappen’s opponents swiftly vanished after the Dutch eased away from the rest after several laps.

More on this topic:

McLaren defeat Ferrari to Formula 1 constructors’ title

In the 1^st corner of the 1^st lap, Charles Leclerc, who finished 4^th, tried to overcome the reigning champion around the outside but ran out of track on the exit of the corner and almost lost his position to George Russell.

George passed Charles for 2^nd place on lap 3 before losing the position to Sergio, who started from 5^th place. The Mercedes drive dropped to the 5^th position with 10 laps until the end of the Bahrain GP.

Lando Norris secured the 6^th place for McLaren ahead of Lewis Hamilton, as Britain shared early in the race that his seat had broken.

RACE CLASSIFICATION (LAP 57/57)

Verstappen notches career win No. 55 👏👏👏#F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/E8yh7MjVP6

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 2, 2024