2024-03-02 17:59:03
SAKHIT, Bahrain – “Mad Max” already maxed out. The three-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen easily won the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday, ahead of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez, a double which offers a breath of fresh air to the team and its boss, at the center of a affair.
The Dutchman started 2024 as he finished 2023, on the top step of the podium. And in style since he was more than 20 seconds ahead of his runner-up at the finish.
“It’s incredible, today went even better than expected,” he said of the winner, celebrated with a shower of fireworks on the Sakhir track.
Starting in the lead position following dark and in an unusual cool weather for the season (less than 20°C), the Dutchman, who arrived in the Gulf monarchy with the label of driver to beat, was faithful to his rank and will never have been worried by the competition, not even by Pérez driving the same RB20 as him.
Red Bull and Verstappen are the huge favorites for this season, the densest in F1 history with 24 Grand Prix planned.
Ferrari, the second force
Behind the two “red bulls”, the Spaniard Carlos Sainz and his Ferrari complete the podium. His Monegasque teammate Charles Leclerc, who experienced some difficulties at the wheel of his SF-24, finished 4th.
By placing its drivers behind the Red Bull rockets, the Scuderia confirms its good form seen during winter testing at the end of February.
Britons George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished 5th and 7th respectively for Mercedes, while the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished 6th and 8th. Fernando Alonso and Quebecer Lance Stroll complete the top 10 at the wheel of their Aston Martins.
Starting from 12th position, Stroll gained a few positions when the lights went out, but Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) touched the rear of his car at the apex of the first corner, relegating him to last place.
Stroll was running in ninth position when he was overtaken by Alonso on lap 48. The double world champion was shod on fresher hard tires.
As for Alpine, which arrives in Bahrain with a brand new car to try to get back into the leading pack, Esteban Ocon finishes 17th ahead of Pierre Gasly, 18th. The French drivers started from the last two places on the grid.
As with the Saudi Arabian GP on March 9, the traditional Sunday race was moved to Saturday, a rare schedule in F1 in order to adapt to Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting which begins on the evening of March 10 or 11 .
Eventful weekend for Red Bull
This Verstappen-Pérez double came at the right time for Red Bull and its boss Christian Horner, the center of attention despite himself throughout the weekend.
Apparently saved following an internal investigation cleared him on Wednesday of accusations of “inappropriate behavior” towards an employee of the stable, Horner, historic boss of the stable since 2005, had to once once more defend following the wide distribution on Thursday of an anonymous email on this affair to journalists following F1, to motorsport officials and even to competing teams.
The content of this email, in particular the WhatsApp messages allegedly exchanged between Horner and this employee, cannot be independently verified but the person concerned had, in the wake of this sending, once once more had to deny the “anonymous speculations” on any inappropriate behavior on his part.
The 50-year-old Briton, married to ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, present at his side on Saturday, has always denied the facts with which he was accused.
In the paddock, several voices were raised to denounce the lack of “transparency” regarding the conclusions of the investigation, the details of which have not been revealed.
“There will still be a lot of speculation because there are a lot of unanswered questions regarding the whole process,” McLaren CEO Zak Brown said on Thursday.
For his part, Verstappen, who remained rather discreet on the subject, assured Friday evening that he remained “entirely focused on the car and performance”, just like “the mechanics and engineers”. “That’s how it should be and that’s what we continue to do because it’s none of our business,” he brushed off.
Final classification of the Bahrain Grand Prix
1.Max Verstappen (Red Bull) en 1 h 31:44.742
2.Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) at 22,457
3.Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) at 25,110
4.Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) at 39,669
5.George Russell (Mercedes) at 46,788
6.Lando Norris (McLaren-Mercedes) at 48.458
7.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) at 50.324
8.Oscar Piastri (McLaren-Mercedes) at 56,082
9.Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin-Mercedes) at 1:14.887
10.Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) at 1:33.216
11.Zhou Guanyu (Sauber-Ferrari) at 1 lap
12.Kevin Magnussen (Haas-Ferrari) at 1 lap
13.Daniel Ricciardo (Racing Bulls-Red Bull) à 1 tour
14.Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls-Red Bull) à 1 tour
15.Alexander Albon (Williams-Mercedes) at 1 lap
16.Nico Hülkenberg (Haas-Ferrari) at 1 lap
17.Esteban Ocon (Alpine-Renault) at 1 lap
18.Pierre Gasly (Alpine-Renault) at 1 lap
19. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber-Ferrari) at 1 lap
20.Logan Sargeant (Williams-Mercedes) at 2 laps
Best lap in the race: Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:32.608 on lap 39 (average: 210.384 km/h)
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