Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has hailed his victory at the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix as a “special” result.
Amidst controversy surrounding Team Principal, Christian Horner and his off-track behaviour, Verstappen cruised unchallenged from lights-to-flag to take victory in the season-opening Bahrain GP for a second consecutive season.
Verstappen though is wary that not every race will be smooth-sailing in his quest for a fourth F1 title, as he explained: “It was a special one today. These kind of days don’t happen that often where the car feels spot on, including the balance and feeling of the car and everything went really well.
“The start was good and then we also looked after the car really well, so it was an enjoyable race for me. We managed to find a good rhythm and pace on this track and the wind strength and direction helped me extract a bit more from the car.”
Looking ahead to the trip to Saudi Arabia from 7-9 March, Verstappen warned that the track will pose a fresh challenge compared to Bahrain, but is hopeful that his car is strong enough to deliver another quality performance.
“This is one of our strongest circuits and looking to Jeddah we know that the track there is very different, with a lot of high speed corners and less degradation. I am hoping we can bring the same performance to next week: it’s going to be a challenge but I am looking forward to it.”
Horner meanwhile praised Verstappen for his “strong performance” to head teammate, Sergio Perez in an one-two finish for the team to start the season positively, having produced “another great car.”
Acknowledging those at the factory for their efforts in getting the car ready, Horner added: “This win is testimony to that hard work that goes on behind the scenes. So it was a great Team performance once again and we are incredibly pleased to achieve maximum points today.
“The Team have done a wonderful job with the car and they haven’t rested on their laurels. They’ve pushed hard and it has paid off today with a fantastic result.”
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