Red Bull Racing Team's Max Verstappen defended his Bahrain Grand Prix title as his kickstarted the Formula 1 (F1) season with a win at Bahrain International Circuit on Saturday, March 2.
Dutch sensation Verstappen saw his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez clinch an impressive second place while Carlos Sainz of Ferrari secured third place finish in the F1 season opener. Beginning his race in the first pole position, Max Verstappen took an early advantage as the race got underway and never looked back as maintained ahead of other drivers in 57 laps.
The defending champion crossed the finishing with 22 seconds ahead of Sergio Perez on the Bahrain grid. Carlos Sainz had a exhilarating encounter with his teammate Charles Leclerc for the third and fourth place finishes. However, Sainz triumphed over Leclerc to make it to the podium.
George Russell of Mercedes, who finished third in the qualifying round of the Bahrain Grand Prix, secured the fifth spot in the main race of the Formula 1 season opener. McLaren Mercedes' Lando Norris finished behind Russell with a timing difference of almost two seconds.
Not an ideal start for Lewis Hamilton to farewell F1 season with Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton would've hoped to kickstart his farewell Formula 1 season with Mercedes with a win or podium finish at Bahrain Grand Prix 2024 However, the seven-time World Champion faced disappointed as he couldn't make it to the podium, finishing seventh behind George Russell and Lando Norris.
Hamilton faced issues with batteries throughout the race and reported a broken seat, which might have hindered his chances to improve his timing and make it to the podium finish.
The legendary British driver is the five-time champion at Bahrain Grand Prix, having last won the title in 2021.
Oscar Piastri's eighth-place finish led to having two McLaren Mercedes in the top 10 while Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin crossed the line ninth and his teammate Lance Stroll taking 10th position.
Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hulkenberg fall behind compared to qualifying round finish
Yuiki Tsunoda of RB Honda and Haas F1 Team's Nico Hulkenberg finished the 14th and 16th, respectively in the main race of the Bahrain Grand Prix. However, neither managed to improve upon their positions in the qualifiying round.
Tsunoda finished 11th while Hulkenberg 10th in the qualifying round. Nico Hulkenberg was impressive in Q3 after having a moderate outing in the initial qualifying rounds of the F1 season opener at Bahrain International Cricuit on Friday, March 1.
Williams Mercedes's Lance Stroll finished 15th as compared to his 12th-place finish in the qualifying round of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Kick Sauber Ferrari's Valterri Bottas finished second from the bottom, 19th position. Bottas secured the 16th pole position during the qualifying round of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
