Charles Leclerc of Ferrari won a dramatic Formula One season-opening Bahrain GP on Sunday after reigning champion Max Verstappen limped out with an electrical issue two laps from the end.
Carlos Sainz made it a Ferrari one-two while Sergio Perez completed a disastrous day for Verstappen’s Red Bull by spinning out on the last lap with a mechanical problem, handing third place to Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc leads Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during the Bahrain F1 GP at the Sakhir Circuit on Sunday. Pics/AFP
For Leclerc, who kept his cool when he and Verstappen exchanged the lead five times in two laps in a furious start to the race, the victory was pure delight. “That’s exactly how we should start the season. One-two baby, one-two. Mamma mia,” he said on the team radio. Once the race trophy was in his hands, Leclerc said: “We knew this was a big opportunity for the team and the guys have done an incredible job building into amazing car.”
Leclerc’s start from pole position was immediately challenged by Verstappen under the lights in the Gulf, but he fought back to regain the lead. By lap 37 of 57, Verstappen was arguing with his own team over their instructions from the pit lane and Leclerc had extended his lead to 2.3 seconds. He held on for a deserving win. The race was disrupted when the safety car came out on the 51st lap after Pierre Gasly had to jump out of his AlphaTauri before it burst into flames. When racing resumed, Sainz attacked Verstappen for second place, but the Dutchman’s race ended as he appeared to lose all power on the 55th lap. “It was very hard out there, a lot of different issues we had to deal with and this is of course what you don’t what to have on the first race weekend,” said Verstappen.
Hamilton was all praise for Ferrari. “Big congratulations to Ferrari. It’s good to see them doing well again. It was a difficult race. We struggled through practice,” he said.
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