Max Verstappen Roars for First 2024 Triumph in Bahrain

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN – MARCH 02: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 02, 2024 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Mark Thompson | Getty Images)

SAKHIR, Bahrain — After frenzied Thursday opening practices and qualifying session opened the curtains to the brand new dawn of the 2024 season of Formula 1, Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, starting in P2, was prepared to challenge the defending champion Max Verstappen of the Red Bull Racing in pole position.

With the same driver line-up on the grid, the entire 20 cars were set to commence the race on soft compounds, and Max Verstappen got off to an incredible start to the race. After snagging the rear of Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, Nico Hülkenberg in the Haas reported front-wing damage only at the first corner – leaving Stroll to spin and Hulkenberg to pit by the second lap. A change concerning the DRS is its activation to one lap as opposed to two laps after the start of the race was introduced early in February, but unfortunately for Leclerc, Verstappen is already a second ahead. 

George Russell’s Mercedes executed a spectacular move to overtake the Ferrari of Leclerc around the outside of Turn 4, tailing Verstappen behind. Issues prevailed for Leclerc as he struggled with his rear tyres, visibly struggling on the pace of his SF-24 as he continuously locked up. After locking up at Turn 10, Sergio Pérez of Red Bull eventually caught up with Leclerc’s Ferrari, giving him the pleasure of moving up to third – a second place start drowned to fourth for the Monegasque, instead.

While the pace was encouraging for the two Ferraris, Leclerc had yet another lock-up at Turn 1 on Lap 9, which he followed up with a report of oversteering problems over the team radio. On Lap 10, Logan Sargeant of the Williams team slid off the track and remained off before returning to the race at the rear of the pack, resulting in the waving of the yellow flag. By Lap 11, the Ferrari pair of Carlos Sainz and Leclerc were racing wheel-to-wheel in an almost touching exchange. At Turn 1, the Spaniard drove down the inside to challenge Leclerc, seamlessly making the move against his teammate.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN – MARCH 02: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 leads Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Ferrari SF-24 and the rest of the field into the first corner at the start of the race during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 02, 2024 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Mark Thompson | Getty Images)

The Mercedes of Russell and Ferrari of Leclerc pitted by the twelfth lap, shifting away from soft tyres to a fresher tyre on the hard compounds. Lando Norris in the McLaren was initially ordered to come in, but a late call warned him to stay out – putting him ahead of Russell in P12 and Leclerc in P14. Another batch of pit stops took place by Lap 13, welcoming extra sets of hard compounds to the cars of Pérez’s Red Bull, Norris, Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin by the pit.

The Red Bull of Pérez worked his way through the field, trading positions with the Mercedes of Russell, as he swooped past him by the fourth turn of Lap 14.  Sainz strolled into the pits by Lap 15, behind teammate Leclerc who had just reported his misery of front locking on the radio. Concurrently, Hamilton in the Mercedes reported having ‘no battery’ – stating he only got 1% of battery available. 

With the DRS enabled, Sainz reclaimed his P4 from Leclerc as he braked late – a lovely move before setting off to Russell. Leclerc’s race was further aggravated by braking issues, which persisted given his front wheels locking up. Being 29-second clear of teammate Pérez, Verstappen pitted and rejoined back in the lead by Lap 18. On the other hand, the issue of an overheating power unit within Russell’s Mercedes was a calling for Sainz to overtake him with ease, and Russell was relayed the order to use no overtake button and recharge his battery. Shifting attention to the cars in the rear field, the RB (formal team name Visa Cash App RB) of Daniel Ricciardo was successful in pursuing Esteban Ocon in the Alpine – with Pierre Gasly’s Alpine reported to be facing problems with his car, the pace issue for the two Alpines is a homework the team intended to address. By Lap 19, Zhou Guanyu’s Stake F1 was battling Yuki Tsunoda’s RB for 10th after an earlier pit stop.

While Mercedes confirmed Russell’s issue with the power unit issue on Lap 21 and telling its two drivers to lift 300 meters before coasting, Verstappen set the fastest lap with a 7.7-second gap towards teammate Pérez. A request for his engineer to shout was then heard from the Mexican driver, hinting at a probable radio problem for the Red Bulls. Mercedes, too, was facing fundamental issues in the race, as Hamilton reported his ‘seat broken’ on top of his suspicion towards an engine issue on his car.

Verstappen was showing fine-style racing during Lap 27, catching a glimpse of no nose of cars on his mirrors as he increased his lead by 13 seconds. Leclerc had just received a bright news to his gloomy evening, his longer-than-expected tyre wear led him to attempt chasing Russell. Ricciardo’s RB, in contrast, was facing a front axle issue. As the Stake F1 of Valterri Bottas pitted on Lap 32, mechanics were struggling to change his front-left tyre – resulting in a 52.9-second pit stop for the Finnish driver. 

Racing went good and well for the next two laps – except for Zhou in the Stake F1 as Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin overtook his position, Alexander Albon in the Williams reporting clipping on high-speed and engine issue, Norris’ McLaren struggling on tyres, and Leclerc’s Ferrari still pulling around the track. Oscar Piastri’s McLaren ran wide, letting the Mercedes of Hamilton to pass with an undercut by Lap 36. At the very same lap, Sainz pitted for a set of hard tyres as Norris claimed fastest lap. Verstappen pitted not long after, shifting to a set of soft compounds for the advantage of 3 tenths of a second from his fresher tyres. 

After struggling to pass through Alonso’s Aston Martin on Lap 39, Hamilton was resting in seventh but still needed to close the 5-second gap to Norris in order to challenge him for sixth position. The McLaren of Oscar Piastri tailed Alonso, taking over his eight place on the next two laps. 

With 14 laps remaining in the race, Leclerc’s Ferrari was prepared to take over the position of Russell’s Mercedes with the aid of DRS. Leclerc went wheel-to-wheel with Russell, where the Mercedes driver’s front lift lock-up mistake was a bid for Leclerc to overtake prematurely at Turn 10 – gaining him the sweet taste of placing fourth, behind teammate Sainz. With a 3-second gap between Sainz and Pérez, the Ferrari driver who was sitting in third position waited for the Red Bull ahead of him to pit. Sainz’s hard tyres were lapping quicker than Pérez on soft compounds, and a P2 finish was a chance that the Ferrari driver had been anticipating. Further behind, Aston Martin ordered the Stroll to let Alonso pass for ninth by Lap 49. A couple of laps after, the two drivers for RB were unhappy with their positions – Tsunoda was ordered to let Ricciardo pass, initially refusing before finally letting his teammate take over his position in hopes of battling Kevin Magnussen’s Haas for twelfth. Magnussen defended his position well despite Ricciardo’s efforts of nicking his position. By the final lap, Verstappen’s dominance from the previous season was portrayed marvelously in Bahrain as he was 22.5 seconds ahead of Pérez. A masterclass drive from the three-times World Champion. 

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN – MARCH 02: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing, Second placed Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing, Third placed Carlos Sainz of Spain and Ferrari and Tom Hart, Performance Engineer at Oracle Red Bull Racing pose for a photo on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 02, 2024 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Clive Rose | Getty Images)

The race opener to the 2024 season of Formula 1 was closed with a one-two finish for the Red Bulls, and a Grand Chelem for Verstappen – fastest lap during the race, pole position in qualifying, and race winner. A feisty race from Sainz in the Ferrari for starting the race fourth and ending with a podium in third place. Teammate Leclerc followed in fourth, giving Ferrari a three-four finish in Bahrain.

The two Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in fifth and seventh were situated between one-another with the McLarens of Lando Norris in sixth and Oscar Piastri in eight. The Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are paired next to another in ninth and tenth to seal off the points – and among the drivers outside the points are of Zhou Guanyu’s Stake F1, the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, the two RBs of Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda, Alexander Albon in the Williams, Nico Hülkenberg of Haas, the two Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, Valterri Bottas’ Stake F1, and Logan Sargeant in the Williams. 

As the Bahrain Grand Prix is now concluded, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is less than a week away. With the first race of the season completed by Red Bull Racing defending their throne from last season, will front-runners Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren pose a threat to halt the reign of Red Bull Racing this 2024 season?