Verstappen storms to victory in action-packed Bahrain F1
MANAMA, March 2, 2024
Red Bull's Max Verstappen converted pole position into the race win with a controlled drive in Saturday night’s Bahrain Grand Prix, leading home Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez and Ferrari rival Carlos Sainz to start his latest title defence in perfect fashion.
Verstappen maintained his advantage as the encounter got under way and never looked back over the 57 laps that followed, ultimately crossing the line 22 seconds clear of Perez, who made up for his low-key qualifying effort to complete a Red Bull one-two.
Carlos Sainz rounded out the podium places for Ferrari after a thrilling exchange with team mate Charles Leclerc, who struggled with tyre degradation and suffered multiple lock-ups en route to fourth, having cleared the lead Mercedes of George Russell late on.
Russell and team mate Lewis Hamilton encountered issues with their batteries across the race, with the seven-time world champion – who also reported a broken seat – having to settle for seventh position behind McLaren’s Lando Norris.
The weekend in Bahrain had been dominated by Verstappen's team principal Christian Horner, who has been at the centre of a complaint of inappropriate behaviour from a female colleague for the last month.
On Wednesday, the day before the on-track action started, Red Bull's head office announced that the grievance had been dismissed.
Verstappen brushed off controversy surrounding Horner to dominate after a brief challenge at the start from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc recovered from dropping to fifth early on to pass Mercedes' George Russell for fourth in the closing laps.
