Verstappen Wins Bahrain Grand Prix in F1 Season-Opening Race

The first race of the Formula 1 season wasn’t much of a race at all.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull opened the defense of his world championship with a dominant performance on Sunday at the Bahrain Grand Prix, sending a message to the rest of the series that he will not surrender his championship easily.

Starting on the pole, Verstappen pulled away from the starting line, beat his top rivals and his teammate Sergio Perez to the first turn and never looked back. His lead grew slowly at first, two seconds, then four, then five, but eventually grew to more than 25: an eternity in a sport where teams measure improvements and advantages in hundredths of seconds.

Perez followed Verstappen along the line to complete a banner day for Red Bull. The big surprise was right behind, though: Fernando Alonso, the oldest driver in the field at age 41, finished third to give Aston Martin a surprise trip onto the podium in his first race for the team.

Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, had expressed a bit of doubt before the race, calling the first start of the season of any season, “a bit of a trip into the unknown.” And Verstappen’s ride was not flawless: He grumbled about some gear troubles on his radio, worried about tire conditions and, afterward, suggested Red Bull could still get better.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/05/sports/autoracing/formula-1-race-bahrain.html