Reigning three-time champion, Max Verstappen began his F1 title defence with a dominant victory at 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Verstappen led from lights-to-flag to finish ahead of Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez who battled from fifth on the grid to finish second ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
Charles Leclerc finished fourth ahead of George Russell as the lead British driver in fifth ahead of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton, with Oscar Piastri, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll rounding out the top ten.
At lights out, Verstappen made a clean getaway to head Leclerc and Russell whilst Perez jumped Sainz for fourth, as the rest of the top nine held position but Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll collided in a battle for 10th position at the opening corner.
Stroll consequently was sent spinning whilst Hulkenberg picked up serious front wing damage to rule both drivers out of contention for points – barring a well-executed strategy.
Up front, Verstappen quickly scurried away as Leclerc found himself under pressure from Russell who passed him into Turn 4 for second on Lap 3, with Perez following suit five laps later.
Leclerc soon succumbed to his outgoing teammate, Sainz – who will leave Ferrari at end of season – as the Spaniard launched an inside move into Turn 1 to take fourth on Lap 11.
Russell and Leclerc subsequently pitted at the end of that lap as a flurry of pit stops for hard tyres were unleashed across the following laps, during which Russell lost net second-place on Lap 14 after he outbraked himself at Turn 4 and Perez swept past.
Sainz meanwhile pitted at the end of Lap 14 and cleared Leclerc plus Russell by the end of Lap 18 to put himself third, which he ultimately held to the checkered flag once the second round of stops were completed.
Verstappen meanwhile controlled the race from lights to flag as he and Perez recorded their 12th one-two finish as teammates, ahead of Sainz whilst Leclec benefitted from an error by Russell to finish fourth ahead of the Brit.
Lando Norris finished a distant sixth following his overtake on Alonso on Lap 3 as Hamilton battled to seventh ahead of Piastri who finished behind the Brit after a slow second pit stop allowed the seven-time champion to pass him out of Turn 1 as he rejoined the race on Lap 35.
Alonso settled for ninth after going longer than his immediate rivals in his opening two race stints, with his Aston Martin teammate – Stroll having recovered to round out the top ten.
F1 will now head to Saudi Arabia which too will run Thursday – Saturday from 7-9 March due to Ramadan commencing next weekend.
| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 57 | 1h 31m 44.742 |
| 2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 57 | + 22.457 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 57 | + 25.110 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 57 | + 39.669 |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | 57 | + 46.788 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 57 | + 48.458 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercdes | 57 | + 50.324 |
| 8 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 57 | + 56.082 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 57 | + 74.887 |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 57 | + 93.216 |
| 11 | Guanyu Zhou | Stake | 56 | + 1 Lap |
| 12 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 56 | + 1 Lap |
| 13 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | 56 | + 1 Lap |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 56 | + 1 Lap |
| 15 | Alex Albon | Williams | 56 | + 1 Lap |
| 16 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 56 | + 1 Lap |
| 17 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 56 | + 1 Lap |
| 18 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 56 | + 1 Lap |
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Stake | 56 | + 1 Lap |
| 20 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 55 | + 2 Laps |