@Max33Verstappen cruises to dominant #BahrainGP victory. #F1
Max Verstappen, #1, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Honda-RBPT, RB20, celebrates after taking his 55th-career victory at the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2024, Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. Image credit to Mark Thompson/Getty Images. Verstappen Bahrain GP Victory, 2024 Bahrain GP Results, F1 Bahrain GP Results, Formula 1 Bahrain Results. 2024 Saudi Arabian GP Preview, F1 Saudi Arabian GP Preview, 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP Preview.
Verstappen Bahrain GP Victory – Reigning world champion Max Verstappen lead from start-to-finish and from team-mate Sergio Perez to take a dominant Bahrain GP victory in a Red Bull Racing one-two as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz completed the podium.
When the 57-lap Bahrain GP began, pole-sitter Verstappen got a solid start and covers Leclerc into turn one causing the Ferrari driver to back-off into turn one.
Behind them Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg suffered front wing damage after contact with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll sending the latter into a half-spin.
At the end of the opening lap, Verstappen held a one second gap over Leclerc, with Mercedes’ George Russell third, the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez fourth as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz rounded out the top five.
Hulkenberg had no choice but to pit for a new front wing due to damage and put on a fresh set of the C1 harder compounds and emerged at the rear.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso got overtaken on the main-straight into turn one on the inside by Lando Norris as the Briton moved up into sixth place.
Russell with DRS assistance dived on the inside of Leclerc into turn three to snatch second-place from the Monegasque driver.
Leclerc suffered two lock-ups in succession bringing Perez and Sainz right behind him.
At the beginning of lap six, Verstappen’s lead increased to 3.973 seconds over second-placed Russell with Leclerc third, Perez fourth as Sainz rounded out the top five.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri also like his team-mate with DRS assistance dived to the inside of Alonso into turn one to move up into seventh place.
On lap seven with DRS assistance in the battle for third, Perez went around the outside of Leclerc (who suffered another lock-up into turn ten) and made the move stick into turn 11 to grab the position and also managed to cover the Ferrari drivers’ attack again into turn one.
Lap nine, Leclerc suffered another lock-up into turn one, bringing team-mate Sainz even closer in the fight for fourth as the former complained over the team radio of oversteer with the rear tyres sliding.
At the start of lap ten, race leader Verstappen’s gap was up to 7.852 seconds over Russell with Perez third, Leclerc fourth as Sainz completed the top five runners,
Whilst Williams Racing’s Logan Sargeant pulled off at turn one due to an issue and managed to get going again.
Meanwhile on the 11th tour, Sainz with DRS assistance got a solid slipstream on his team-mate Leclerc and dived-up the inside into turn one and overtook the Monegasque driver into turn one.
A lap later, Russell and Leclerc both pitted for a fresh set of hards and emerged in 12th and 14th respectively as the former managed to cover Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas into turn three.
A tour later, Perez reacted for a fresh set of hards along with Hamilton as Perez slotted in behind Russell in ninth as Hamilton emerged behind Piastri in 12th place.
Russell made short work of Ricciardo passing the Australian into the final former as Norris made his stop and emerged behind team-mate Piastri.
At turn 14, Perez put Russell right under pressure and with DRS assistance into turn one as the latter covered the Red Bull, but however, the former kept right behind the Briton with DRS assistance into turn three and performed the switchback to overtake the Mercedes and snatch second place.
Sainz made his stop from second place on lap 16 for his fresh set of hards and came out behind team-mate Leclerc in seventh place.
Alonso stopped on lap 16 along with Williams’ Alexander Albon as both emerged in 10th and 14th respectively.
The order at the beginning of lap the yet-to-pit race leader Verstappen held a 30.734 second lead over team-mate Perez who was second, Russell third, as Ferrari’s Sainz with DRS assistance got into the slipstream of his team-mate and made a late-lunge into turn one to overtake the Monegasque driver a second time to move up into fourth place.
Race leader Verstappen stopped on lap 18 for his fresh sets of hards and came out comfortably clear of team-mate Perez.
And around the outside of Russell with DRS assistance, Sainz overtook Russell into third place meanwhile Leclerc was reporting more issues and suffered another lock-up into turn ten.
Behind them, Hamilton and Alonso made their way past Alfa Romeo’s Zhou to take eighth and ninth respectively.
Verstappen set a 1:35.283, which was the fastest lap of the Grand Prix on lap 20 as his lead increased to over 6.952 seconds over team-mate Perez with Sainz third, Russell fourth as Leclerc completed the top five.
Fourth-placed Russell was suffering power-unit issues whilst his Mercedes team-mate was enduring battery problems and Leclerc kept saying his SF-24 racer was turning to the right.
Hulkenberg pitted for the second time on lap 22 for more hard tyres and came out in 19th.
On lap 23, both Mercedes drivers with their power-train related issues were reported to lift and coast to manage their problems.
The 25th tour saw Verstappen’s lead up to 10.954 seconds over Red Bull team-mate Perez with Sainz holding third, whilst Russell and Leclerc managing their issues were in fourth and fifth respectively as Norris is slowly catching the duo.
The lifting and coasting was due to overheating issues for both Mercedes when running in traffic, whilst Hamilton also reported his seat was broken on the radio.
On lap 29, Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu pitted from 11th place for a fresh set of hards and emerged in 17th place behind Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
The 30th tour saw race leader Verstappen’s lead up to 15.451 seconds over team-mate Perez with Sainz a further 2.548 seconds off the Mexican in third, Russell held fourth and was a further 9.417 seconds back as Leclerc completed the top five.
On the 32nd lap, Russell pitted from fourth placed for another set of the C1 white-marked hards and came out in ninth place behind Alonso meanwhile Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas suffered a very slow pit stop with front-left tyre issue, with a 52.2 second stop and came out in 19th place.
Lap 34 saw Norris and Hamilton stop for another set of hards and emerged in eighth and ninth respectively behind Alonso.
The following tour saw both Leclerc and Piastri pit for hards as both drivers came out in sixth and eighth places respectively, however Hamilton took advantage of Piastri slide at turn one with the latter slipping as the Briton took eight off the Australian.
Sainz made his stop a lap later for a set of hards and emerged comfortable in third place in-front of Russell as Leclerc with DRS made his way past Alonso to take fifth place off the Spaniard.
With 20 laps remaining, Verstappen’s lead was up to 19 seconds over team-mate Perez (who pitted for a set of softs) to cover Sainz with Russell fourth as Leclerc rounded out the top five.
Norris on the rundown to turn 11 made short work of Alonso to grab sixth place.
Race leader Verstappen pitted for a fresh set of softs on lap 38 and came out easily in-front of his team-mate Perez as the Dutchman’s Grand Prix continued trouble-free.
Lap 39 with DRS assistance in the battle for seventh place, Hamilton got a solid slipstream on Alonso and dived on the inside of his former team-mate to move up a place.
The next tour saw Verstappen set another fastest lap making use of his fresh softer rubber, meanwhile Piastri also made his way past Alonso to snatch eighth place.
On lap 42, Alonso stopped from ninth place for a fresh set of hards and emerged in 11th place behind Zhou.
On lap 43 in the fight for fourth intensified as Leclerc moved much closer to Russell’s F1 W15, making his way into DRS range.
A tour later with DRS assistance, Alonso made use of his fresher hards and with DRS assistance took tenth place off Zhou diving up the inside of the Sauber into turn four.
Lap 46 saw Russell suffer a lock-up into turn ten running wide as Leclerc ran alongside the Briton on the rundown to turn 11 and with DRS assistance made his way ahead of the Mercedes to take fourth place.
With ten laps remaining Verstappen held a 17.615 second lead over team-mate Perez with Sainz third, Leclerc fourth as Russell completed the top five.
On lap 48 with the fresher rubber, Alonso with DRS assistance jumped into ninth place overtaking his team-mate Stroll into turn one.
Lap 52, saw RB have a bit of an intra-team battle with Tsunoda ordered to let team-mate Ricciardo through and the former let the Australian through at an awkward placed between turns five and six allowing Magnussen to pull clear and all three drivers were cleared by race leader Verstappen.
Tsunoda said to his team sarcastically: “Thanks guys, I appreciate it.”
Ricciardo ran out of laps to try and overtake Magnussen and remained in 13th.
Verstappen crossed the line to win the Bahrain GP by 22.457 seconds over his team-mate Perez to take his 55th-career victory whilst Sainz finished in the final podium place.
Ferrari’s Leclerc came home fourth and in-front of the Mercedes duo Russell and Hamilton who were fifth and seventh respectively as McLaren pairing Norris and Piastri placed in sixth and eighth.
Aston Martin duo Alonso and Stroll rounded out the final points places in ninth and tenth.
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber’s Zhou finished outside the top ten in 11th place and ahead of Haas F1’s Magnussen who was 12th and the RB duo of Ricciardo and Tsunoda who were 13th and 14th respectively.
Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon settled for 15th and in-front of the other Haas VF-24 entry of Hulkenberg who took 16th and Alpine pairing Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly who placed 17th and 18th in the classification.
Sauber’s Bottas and Williams’ Sargeant brought up the rear.
2024 Bahrain GP – The Top Three
2024 Bahrain GP Winner – Max Verstappen, #1, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Honda-RBPT, RB20:
“Unbelievable, I think today went even better than expected. The car was really nice on every compound, it was really lovely to drive. It was a lot of fun, I felt really good in the car. It’s special to have these kind of days, where it all feels perfect, and you feel at one with the car. It’s a long season, a couple of days rest and then yeah, we go again!”
2nd Place – Sergio Perez, #11, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Honda-RBPT, RB20, +22.457s:
“Maximum we could have achieved, tricky race with the management of the tyres. Overall, a great way to start the season. Compound to compound, we were sliding, and we had issues with engine braking. I’m sure we will analyse and learn for Jeddah.”
3rd Place – Carlos Sainz, #55, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-24, +25.110s:
“I felt really good out there today, the start wasn’t ideal, but I managed my tyres really well, overtook two or three cars and keeping up with a Red Bull at the end, which was a nice surprise. [Jeddah] will be a surprise for everyone to see where we are, I expect Red Bull and McLaren to be competitive there.”
Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2024 Race Results Classification (57 Laps)
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | TIME/RETIRED | PTS |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 57 | 1:31:44.742 | 26 |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 57 | +22.457s | 18 |
| 3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 57 | +25.110s | 15 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 57 | +39.669s | 12 |
| 5 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 57 | +46.788s | 10 |
| 6 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 57 | +48.458s | 8 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 57 | +50.324s | 6 |
| 8 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 57 | +56.082s | 4 |
| 9 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 57 | +74.887s | 2 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 57 | +93.216s | 1 |
| 11 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 12 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 14 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 15 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 16 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 17 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 18 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 19 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 20 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 55 | +2 laps | 0 |
* Note – Verstappen scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.
https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2024/races/1229/bahrain/race-result.html
Click here for the 2024 Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructors Championship Standings.
Round two of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship returns to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia next weekend for the Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 from Thursday March 7-Saturday March 9.
#F1 #BahrainGP Qualifying Report: @Max33Verstappen claims 33rd-career pole.
#F1 #BahrainGP FP3 Report: @Carlossainz55 pips @alo_oficial to top time-sheets by 0.141s.
#F1 #BahrainGP FP2 Report: @LewisHamilton heads @MercedesAMGF1 one-two.
#F1 #BahrainGP FP1: @danielricciardo pips @LandoNorris by 0.032s.
#F1 Gulf Air #BahrainGP and 2024 Season Preview. #Formula1 #F1sBack
