Max Verstappen led home a Red Bull one-two at the season opening grand prix in Bahrain, before declaring: “That’s exactly the start to the season we wanted and needed.” Whether it is the start Formula One wanted or needed is another matter.
The hoped-for challenge from Ferrari and Mercedes just did not materialise in Bahrain, where Red Bull were utterly dominant. Verstappen, who started from pole, got away cleanly and never looked back, winning by 12 seconds from his team mate Sergio Perez, who was 26.6sec clear of third-placed Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin.
The Spaniard’s return to the podium at the age of 41 (this was only his second podium since 2014 and his first since Qatar two seasons ago) is a great story. And it will be fun watching Aston Martin duke it out with Ferrari and Mercedes this year.
But the chances of any of them fighting Red Bull for the championship look minimal.
Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, just behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. But he would have been sixth had Charles Leclerc not suffered an engine failure midway through the race, retiring from third.
George Russell, meanwhile, finished seventh behind the second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll.
Elsewhere, McLaren’s woes continued. Oscar Piastri was forced to retire on his debut for the team with an apparent electrical issue, while Lando Norris finished 17th and last, two laps down on the winners, after also suffering myriad mechanical issues.
Unless Mercedes can find a magic bullet – team principal Toto Wolff admitted on Saturday that they were going to have to ditch their current concept and head off in a “new direction – or Ferrari can find some extra pace and reliability, or Aston Martin can turn a fairytale into a miracle, Red Bull look set for glory.
There is an interesting statistic that no one winning the opening race in Bahrain has ever gone on to win the title before. But Verstappen has already broken new ground in 2023. The Dutch driver had never won the opening race of the season before. And he had never won in Bahrain. It would take a brave man to bet against him winning a hat-trick of titles this year.
Verstappen wins Bahrain GP: as it happened
04:55 PM
Constructor standings
Seven teams on the board after one race. Think Ferrari, Mercedes and Alpine may be a bit disappointed. Alpine had a lot go wrong this weekend. Had Ferrari finished third and fourth, well, it wouldn’t have been a disaster. But they didn’t and reliability is one of the reasons why 2022 went so wrong.
04:54 PM
Driver standings after round one
Gasly loses out on that bonus point as Zhou Guanyu did the fastest lap of the race at the end. He was outside of the top 10, though, so does the bonus point is not awarded.
04:49 PM
Verstappen reacts to another win
“It was a very good first stint where I made my gap and from there on it was about looking after the tyres. Very happy to finally win in Bahrain. Nothing big, just little things you want to fine tune, I think they are quite easy to get on top of. I think we have a good race package. It will depend a bit race to race, but of course we can fight with this.”
04:48 PM
Perez speaks
“It’s a great start. When we look back at last year how we started here… it’s a nice comeback. We worked really hard over the winter. We have a strong package but it was important today to get both cars over the line. I think today was really the start that really put me out of contention. It was about minimising the damage. Finishing second was the maximum I could achieve today.”
04:47 PM
Alonso reacts to a podium
“First of all congrats to Lance, my team-mate. He had surgery 12 days ago and he’s fighting with everybody. It was a great weekend and finishing on the podium on the first race of the year, it’s amazing what Aston Martin did over the winter to have the second fastest car of the first race of the year. We had not the best start today and we had to pass on track. It felt more exciting and adrenaline.”
04:45 PM
Tom Cary’s verdict from Bahrain
Well, that did not do much to inspire confidence that we’re going to have much of a title fight this season. Alonso and Aston Martin a brilliant story and it will be fun watching them fight Ferrari and Mercedes. But the two Red Bulls were miles up the road and in all likelihood holding something back. Leclerc’s power failure a blow for Ferrari after all their reliability issues last year.
04:42 PM
Bahrain GP – Classification
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VER
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PER
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ALO
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SAI
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HAM
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STR
-
RUS
-
BOT
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GAS
-
ALB
-
TSU
-
SAR
-
MAG
-
DEV
-
HUL
-
ZHO
-
NOR
OUT: OCO, LEC, PIA
04:41 PM
Your podium
04:38 PM
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE 2023 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX!
One of the easiest wins in his career, no doubt…
Ominous. Perez second, Alonso third.
04:38 PM
FINAL LAP
Alonso has pulled eight seconds on Sainz and Hamilton has stopped badgering the Spanish Ferrari driver. Happiest teams today? Red Bull, Aston Martin and Williams, I think. Logan Sargeant in 12th in the second Williams and only 7.9s behind Albon ahead of him. Creditable debut for the American.
04:37 PM
Lap 56 of 57 – Good comeback from Gasly
Got the most out of the VSC period but last to ninth is a good run, will be three points currently as he holds the bonus point for fastest lap.
04:36 PM
Lap 55 of 57 – Verstappen cruising to victory
You feel that the cruise started on lap two or three, in fairness.
04:34 PM
Lap 54 of 57 – Top 10 and gaps
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VER
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PER +11.6
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ALO +35.8
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SAI +43.6
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HAM +45.8
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STR +49.9
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RUS +51.9
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BOT +37.4
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GAS +69.6
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ALB +85.5
Albon under pressure from Tsunoda behind him for that final points slot. He’s within DRS range.
04:33 PM
Lap 53 of 57 – Verstappen leads Perez by 11s
It’s pretty close behind the Red Bulls, though. Ferrari with their noses ahead of Aston Martin and Red Bull, you think. That said Alonso is the man in third, not a Ferrari.
04:31 PM
Lap 52 of 57 – Alonso: “This is a lovely car to drive”
Can’t argue with that. Lance Stroll has had a decent race given he missed the whole of testing after his bike accident, which required surgery. Probably won’t be able to reel in Hamilton four seconds ahead but a top effort.
04:30 PM
Lap 51 of 57 – Alonso is lapping faster than the leaders
Not that he’s a threat to them in the slightest unless something very strange happens.
Really, though, as good as Alonso’s showing has been the main story is that Red Bull are in a league of their own. Need to crunch the numbers but this has been a bit reminiscent of the dominant Mercedes years from 2014-2016,
Stroll runs wide at turn 10, Russell isn’t too far behind him in seventh…
04:27 PM
Lap 50 of 57 – Alonso five seconds clear of Sainz
He says he is taking it very easy and avoiding the kerbs. Better safe than sorry. He asks his team to let him know if he needs to pick up the pace. Gasly currently holds the fastest lap bonus point.
04:26 PM
Lap 49 of 57 – Sainz so far holding off Hamilton
By my quick maths, Aston Martin will be second in the standings after this race with 23 points. They only scored 55 in the whole of last season. That is some progress.
04:23 PM
Lap 48 of 57 – Verstappen leads Perez by 10.2s
Alonso a further 26 seconds behind him, with then Sainz, Hamilton, Stroll and Russell all fairly close by.
04:22 PM
Lap 47 of 57 – Full order
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VER
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PER
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ALO
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SAI
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HAM
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STR
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RUS
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BOT
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GAS
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ALB
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TSU
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ZHO
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SAR
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DEV
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MAG
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HUL
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NOR
OUT: OCO, LEC, PIA
04:20 PM
Lap 45 of 57 – Will Alonso get a go at Sainz here? Yes
He’s a fair way back as he opens his DRS but will probably get a good go at turn four…
He gets a good exit. Sainz moves to the inside, Alonso tries the outside line… they switch back through five and six and come very close to touching! If not actually touching. Sainz thinks there was contact.
Then side-by-side out of turn eight… Sainz then locks up at turn 10… Alonso will get DRS on the back straight and takes third place!
That Aston Martin is so good in the corners.
04:17 PM
Lap 44 of 57 – Verstappen leads Perez by 9.9s
Lost a bit of time in that VSC period but maybe he is just managing his tyres. Don’t fancy Sainz’s chances of holding onto third here. And I don’t think he will get fourth, either.
04:16 PM
Lap 43 of 57 – Top 10
All of these men are currently in the points.
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VER
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PER
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SAI
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ALO
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HAM
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STR
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RUS
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BOT
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GAS
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ALB
Ocon retires, Alonso is now nearly within DRS range of Sainz ahead…
04:14 PM
Lap 42 of 57 – The racing resumes
Right, so Alonso is fourth and only 2.2s behind Sainz in third. Could we see another Alonso podium?
04:13 PM
Tom Cary in Bahrain
Spontaneous round of applause in the media centre at the Bahrain International Circuit for that Alonso pass on Hamilton. Think that was more an appreciation of good driving skills than partisanship. Hamilton won’t be happy but at least he’s not in a McLaren. Poor Norris is on Hamilton’s tail but a whole lap behind.
04:12 PM
Lap 41 of 57 – LECLERC IS OUT OF THE RACE!
From third, he pulls over to the side of the track complaining of a lack of power.
We have a virtual safety car. I don’t think we will need a full safety car because he has pulled over in a place where the car should be easy to recover.
04:11 PM
Lap 40 of 57 – Top six and gaps
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VER
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PER +11.9
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LEC +24.6
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SAI +34.0
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ALO +36.4
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HAM +37.2
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STR +43.2
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RUS +45.3
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BOT +56.9
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ALB +64.5
04:10 PM
Lap 39 of 57 – Verstappen leads Perez by 11.8s
Who is, in turn, 12 seconds ahead of Leclerc. Sainz nine seconds behind him but is being closed down by Alonso.
The Hamilton/Alonso battle resumes.
04:08 PM
Lap 38 of 57 – The Hamilton/Alonso battle for fifth resumes
Alonso is quite eager to get the move done. He gets alongside him at turn nine and then puts the move on him up the inside of turn 10! That is not a usual place for an overtake. He then gets DRS and holds the place. He got a bit squirrely on the exit of turn eight but kept it ahead…
04:06 PM
Lap 37 of 57 – Alonso is within DRS range of Hamilton
He also sets the fastest lap. He isn’t quite close enough to make a move into turn one but Hamilton makes a bit of a mess at turn one which will compromise him down the straight for turn four… it looks like Alonso has the spot but the Aston Martin runs wide and Hamilton retakes the place! Not sure what happened there. Looks like he got a bit trigger happy with the throttle on exit.
Verstappen now has a full pit stop’s advantage on Leclerc. 22.7sec now.
04:04 PM
Lap 36 of 57 – Alonso questioning why he was brought in
Verstappen is about to come in for his second stop. Surely only a complete disaster here can rob him of the race victory…
It’s fast for the Dutchman. He retains the lead in what has been an easy afternoon drive for him.
04:02 PM
Lap 35 of 57 – In comes Alonso
He won’t be ahead of Hamilton, but he’s not all that far behind as he exits the pits and he will have tyres fresher by four or so laps.
A bit of a slow stop for Perez but he comfortably holds onto second place.
04:00 PM
Lap 34 of 57 – Full order
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VER
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PER
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ALO
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LEC
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SAI
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HAM
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STR
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RUS
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BOT
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ALB
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GAS
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TSU
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SAR
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DEV
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MAG
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HUL
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NOR
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OCO
OUT: PIA
03:59 PM
Lap 33 of 57 – Verstappen leads Perez by 14.1s
Leclerc is a further eight seconds behind. Alonso’s pace on these old tyres is still pretty handy, only a few tenths slower than Hamilton, who he is hoping to jump…
Ferrari mechanics out for Leclerc. Hard tyres to hard tyres to finish the race.
03:57 PM
Lap 32 of 57 – In comes Sainz
Will Alonso come in? Doesn’t look like it. Russell also stops from sixth. But he will lose out to Hamilton. He might even be behind Stroll… nope! He just keeps the place at turn one but can he hold onto it?
Nope. Stroll goes around the outside before turn four to take seventh place.
03:55 PM
Lap 31 of 57 – Hamilton stops from fifth
It’s to cover off the undercut threat from Fernando Alonso. “My tyres are okay!” he says on the radio, before being told why they are pitting him. Would imagine the Aston Martin will go a bit longer and try to make the most of a tyre advantage in the final stint.
03:53 PM
Lap 30 of 57 – Verstappen leads Perez by 13.5s
Alonso has slipped back a few tenths from Hamilton in the battle for fifth. Logan Sargeant currently running in the points for Williams, though a few cars behind him have stopped twice and he has not.
03:51 PM
Lap 29 of 57 – Could be another penalty for Ocon
After picking up a five second penalty for being out of place on the grid, he then picked up another for the car being worked on in his next stop before the five seconds were up. He is now being investigated for speeding in the pit lane serving his second penalty of the day. So it could well be three penalties. Anyway, he’s in 17th. And the five-second penalty is confirmed.
Norris stops again as they top up the air…
03:49 PM
Lap 28 of 57 – Top 10 and gaps
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VER
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PER +14.0
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LEC +16.4
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SAI +29.1
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HAM +32.9
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ALO +34.7
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RUS +39.5
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STR +40.9
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BOT +49.2
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SAR +61.3
God this is depressing. At least in the Mercedes dominance there was a hint that Rosberg might prevail over Hamilton…
03:48 PM
Lap 27 of 57 – Hamilton told to continue on tyre management
Alonso is in sixth behind him, the gap just 1.6s.
Verstappen leads, Perez, Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton, Alonso, Russell, Stroll, Bottas and then Albon makes up the top 10.
03:47 PM
Lap 26 of 57 – Perez gets Leclerc for second
Perez puts it up the inside at turn one to make it a Red Bull 1-2.
It looked like Leclerc wanted to try the cutback and get a better run into turn four after the straight but Perez had DRS heading there and kept the slot, despite it looking like Leclerc wanted to send one up the inside.
03:46 PM
Lap 25 of 57 – Perez on different tyres to Leclerc ahead
It’s very close as they cross the line…
03:44 PM
Lap 24 of 57 – Problems for Leclerc
Perez is within DRS range for second place…
03:44 PM
Lap 23 of 57 – I mentioned it’d be nice to see a Williams in the points
Alexander Albon doing a sterling job so far, he’s in 10th.
03:42 PM
Lap 22 of 57 – Can’t say this has been the most thrilling race
Norris is the only driver within DRS range of the man ahead. And that is for 18th place with Esteban Ocon, who has been awarded another penalty, five seconds, for his initial five-second time penalty not being served correctly.
03:40 PM
Lap 21 of 57 – Perez sets the fastest lap of the race
But he still trails Leclerc by three seconds. Verstappen leads Leclerc by 10.5s.
Alonso’s pace has tapered off a bit in his attempt to reel in Hamilton.
03:38 PM
Lap 20 of 57 – Full order at just over third distance
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VER
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LEC
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PER
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SAI
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HAM
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ALO
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RUS
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STR
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BOT
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ALB
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TSU
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GAS
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SAR
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DEV
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ZHO
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HUL
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MAG
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OCO
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NOR
OUT: PIA
03:37 PM
Lap 19 of 57 – Alonso is catching Hamilton rather quickly
Half a second on the last tour of this circuit. Norris said McLaren weren’t in as bad a shape as everyone in the media was making out but this is a nightmare race for them. Piastri is out and Norris is having to stop to have his team top up the air… not on his tyres.
Verstappen is on the soft tyres, by the way. Was fed duff information from F1 and we haven’t seen an awful lot of the leader on the TV screens. Perez also on the softs.
03:34 PM
Lap 18 of 57 – Leclerc keeps second after Perez’s stop
Comfortably in the end. Bottas now under pressure from Russell. And Russell makes the pass at turn four.
Alonso about 4.5s behind Hamilton in fifth. That could be one to watch in a few laps.
Verstappen’s pace is again in a league of its own. Perez has moved to the soft tyres.
03:33 PM
Lap 17 of 57 – Alonso gets Bottas for sixth
A decent race for Bottas here after starting 12th. Was the earliest of the top 10 to go onto the hard tyres.
Out come the Red Bull mechanics for Sergio Perez, who is the last driver to pit…
Can he jump Leclerc? Maybe not now, but perhaps with a bit of tyre life towards the end of the race.
Sounds like Norris will be in to retire…
03:32 PM
Lap 16 of 57 – Perez leads Verstappen by 10.6s
Ocon serves a five second penalty for not being entirely within his grid slot. Russell with the new fastest lap of the race on hard tyres. Correction on the tyre type: Verstappen has gone onto the hards according to the timing screens and tyre information.
Perez trying the overcut, it seems.
03:30 PM
Lap 15 of 57 – Top 10 and gaps
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PER
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VER +11.6
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STR +20.1
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LEC +21.4
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SAI +31.9
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HAM +33.9
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BOT +38.3
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ALO +40.6
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RUS +14.3
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MAG +44.2
Drivers in italics yet to stop.
03:28 PM
Lap 14 of 57 – The pit stops are coming thick and fast now
Steering wheel problems for Piastri who is told to pit and to change the wheel. He says he lost the ability to shift. A slow stop for Russell who comes out in 10th. Changing the wheel doesn’t help for Piastri, the engine is dead and this could well be the end of his race.
Verstappen stops and goes onto a set of soft tyres.
03:26 PM
Lap 13 of 57 – Russell defends well at turn one
But Alonso gets a much better exit at turn three… Alonso puts it up the inside to take the place at turn four, the battle continues side-by-side through the esses… but the Aston Martin holds the place, Alonso back up into fifth now.
In comes Leclerc from second and Sainz follows him.
03:25 PM
Lap 12 of 57 – Verstappen leads Leclerc by 8.7s
The Aston Martin is fast in the twiddly bits of the track as Alonso attacks. He gets DRS on the back straight but cannot make a move…
It’s into the final corner where he is closest. One of the Mercedes is coming in… it’s Hamilton. Russell will have to fend off Alonso for another lap here…
03:23 PM
Lap 11 of 57 – Alonso on the rear wing of Russell
He gets DRS into turn four but it’s not powerful enough. An engine problem for Lando Norris… he has been in the pit lane and has dropped to very last.
Alonso is now very close to Russell towards the end of the lap and will get DRS on the pit straight. Russell says his tyres are gone, but the Mercedes is pretty slippy on the straight.
03:21 PM
Lap 10 of 57 – Verstappen complains of rear locking on the downshifts
He currently holds the fastest lap bonus point, but still takes another half-second out of Leclerc. Seven seconds the gap now…
03:20 PM
Lap 9 of 57 – Verstappen leads Leclerc by 6.2s
So that works out at about 0.7s faster per lap…
Still, the season is not won at the first race and maximising what they can get. And second would probably be that for Ferrari today.
Gasly comes into the pits from down the field. Alonso is within DRS range of Russell in seventh.
03:18 PM
Lap 8 of 57 – Russell on the radio
“Is Lewis managing or is he slow, because I feel like I’ve got a bit more pace,” he asks. He is told he is struggling. Russell had just locked up at turn 10 and ran wide on the exit.
03:17 PM
Lap 7 of 57 – Top 10
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VER
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LEC
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PER
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SAI
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HAM
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RUS
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ALO
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STR
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BOT
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OCO
03:15 PM
Lap 6 of 57 – Verstappen now leads Leclerc by 4.5s
He is the only man lapping in the 1:37s. Everyone else is in the mid 1:38s at absolute best, most in the mid 1:39s. Painful.
03:12 PM
Lap 5 of 57 – Stroll gets Bottas for eighth
Up the inside at turn one. Leclerc has a big lock up in turn one and loses more time…
Perez is now within 0.7s of the lead Ferrari.
Incident between Alonso and Stroll has been looked at and there will be no further investigation.
03:11 PM
Lap 4 of 57 – Verstappen leads Leclerc by 2.7s
Hmmm. This is a bit ominous. Verstappen was nearly seven tenths faster than the lead Ferrari on the last lap. Sainz has just posted the fastest first sector.
03:08 PM
Lap 3 of 57 – Early top 10
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NOR
03:08 PM
Lap 2 of 57 – Stroll tagged Alonso at turn four
He went in so, so deep and tagged the rear right of Alonso. Poor from Stroll there, got far too eager and it could have been much worse, but it cost Alonso a place.
Verstappen leads Leclerc, Perez, Sainz, Hamilton and then Russell.
03:06 PM
THE 2023 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX IS GO!
It’s a decent start from Verstappen who keeps the lead but Perez is a bit sluggish and is swamped on either side by the Ferraris! He gets his elbows out at the start of the lap but keeps third… with Leclerc into second.
Looks like the two Aston Martin cars touch! Alonso down to seventh behind the two Mercedes cars and Stroll now in ninth…
Crucial for Leclerc to get into second if he is to win this race.
Some carbon fibre flies off somewhere on the back straight and we have yellow flags in that sector.
03:03 PM
Stroll has a bit of an off on the formation lap
Far from ideal, he’ll have to clean his dirty tyres. Locked up and ran wide at turn 10, the usual place for that.
03:02 PM
The formation lap is go
Everyone away cleanly. Verstappen leads them away.
02:57 PM
I was impressed by Logan Sargeant yesterday
Nearly made it into Q2 on his Williams debut. Could have been more for Alex Albon too, but for a broken front wing. Would be good to see a Williams in the points today.
02:51 PM
Just under 10 minutes to go, then
Predictions. Yeah, can’t see beyond Verstappen. Perez probably in with a decent chance of second, too. Would be good to see Alonso on the podium and I think he will secure that slot…
Might be an interesting race with a late safety car, or with a bit of argy-bargy between the two Red Bulls. Let’s remember Verstappen had a bit of a disagreement, shall we say, with his team and Perez at the end of last season.
02:49 PM
Kind of hard to believe they’ve been racing in Bahrain for 20 years…
02:46 PM
Telegraph Sport’s Tom Cary in Bahrain
Decent buzz in Bahrain. Just bumped into former McLaren comms man Tim Bampton, back in a new role as the liaison between F1 and Apple who are making the new Jerry Bruckheimer – Brad Pitt film. Apparently they will be filming live at six races in the second half of the year.
No Brad but various producers and assistants etc are already here and sussing out how it all works. Will be interesting to see what impact the film has on the sport’s popularity with Netflix DTS now getting quite long in the tooth.
02:44 PM
The starting grid
1. VER 2. PER
3. LEC 4. SAI
5. ALO 6. RUS
7. HAM 8. STR
9. OCO 10. HUL
11. NOR 12. BOT
13. ZHO 14. TSU
15. ALB 16. SAR
17. MAG 18. PIA
19. DEV 20. GAS
Just under 15 minutes to go.
02:42 PM
Toto Wolff speaks to Martin Brundle
“I think the good thing in our group is that we are so crystal clear and transparent with one another… we just need to dig deep now. I think [Lewis] needs a winning car, we need a winning driver, so then there should be nothing in the way.”
02:39 PM
If you want to know how bad yesterday was for Mercedes
At the same race last year they were 0.680sec behind the pole time, this year that is… 0.632sec. So, marginally better if you want to look at it like that. Not good…
Aston Martin, similarly, were 2.219sec off the pole time… this year 0.628sec. That is some improvement.
02:32 PM
A bit of strategy chat now…
A definite two-stopper and three stops not all that unlikely…
Neither Ferrari driver has a new set of mediums, but Leclerc does have a new set of softs.
02:28 PM
Watch: Onboard Verstappen’s pole lap
02:26 PM
Fernando Alonso’s thoughts
“Let’s see, we will try to do our best, it is only race one of the season. We start P5 even if it starts a bit strange we are not happy with that and want more because the car felt amazing during pre-season. I think we are in the mix, between the Ferraris and the Mercedes, our strength has been long-run pace. Let’s see how we can do.”
02:18 PM
Lewis Hamilton speaks before the race
He sounds quite upbeat for a man who thinks he’s going to be in a tough battle for fourth or so.
“I am just really excited… happy to be here. Grateful for another year and another opportunity to work with the team. I really love racing at this track. I am just hoping that we can stay in some sort of fight with someone today. Fernando and the Ferraris… the Red Bulls will be long gone. Hopefully the race between the three teams behind can have a good battle.”
02:14 PM
How the grid will look this season
Red Bull: Max Verstappen (1) and Sergio Pérez (11)
Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton (44) and George Russell (63)
Ferrari: Carlos Sainz (55) and Charles Leclerc (55)
Alpine: Esteban Ocon (31) and Pierre Gasly (10)
McLaren: Lando Norris (4) and Oscar Piastri (81)
Alfa Romeo: Valtteri Bottas (77) and Guanyu Zhou (24)
Aston Martin: Lance Stroll (18) and Fernando Alonso (14)
Haas: Kevin Magnussen (20) and Nico Hulkenberg (27)
AlphaTauri: Yuki Tsunoda (22) and Nyck de Vries (21)
Williams: Alexander Albon (23) and Logan Sargeant (2)
Wonder if we’ll get to the end of the season with it still like this… it is never guaranteed.
02:08 PM
Charles Leclerc speaks to Sky Sports F1
“Our objective this year is to fight for the world championship and to win it. I feel we are a little bit on the back foot in the race, which is why we kept the choice of [saving a new set of softs]. Whether it will be enough to fight with Red Bull I don’t know.
“Everybody is saying we have been sandbagging until now… we have been under the radar but I don’t think it was wanted. We found our way on Friday which is good. I am sure there is more potential in the car, we just need to unlock it.”
02:04 PM
The class of 2023
I swear these photos used to be a bit more tightly packed.
Two genuine rookies in that bunch (Logan Sargeant and Oscar Piastri) and one who has competed in just one race, last season, Nyck de Vries.
01:57 PM
A change for Ferrari (already!)
We’ve not even done the first race of the year yet and there’s a change for Leclerc… the team have changed both the control electronics and energy store as they were concerned with some readings shown by the one used yesterday.
01:52 PM
Qualifying times
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Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1min 29.708secs
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Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull 1:29.846
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Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:30.000
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Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spa) Ferrari 1:30.154
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Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:30.336
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George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:30.340
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Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:30.384
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Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:30.836
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Esteban Ocon (Fra) Alpine 1:30.984
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Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) MoneyGram Haas F1 1:30.809
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Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:31.381
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Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake 1:31.443
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Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake 1:31.473
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Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:32.510
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Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:31.461
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Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams 1:31.652
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Kevin Magnussen (Den) MoneyGram Haas F1 1:31.892
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Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:32.101
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Nyck de Vries (Ned) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:32.121
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Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:32.181
12:49 PM
Good afternoon F1 fans
Welcome to our live coverage for the first race of the 2023 Formula One season: the Bahrain Grand Prix, just outside of Sakhir. It has been an interesting run-in to the season so far. Throughout testing it looked like Red Bull might be in a league of their own. Yet throughout the first practice sessions on Friday and Saturday, there were hints that things might not be going all Red Bull’s way.
The big surprise was the pace of the Aston Martin. The team, who signed Fernando Alonso from Alpine for this year, were buoyant and their form in testing was strong. It was even mooted that they could disrupt the traditional top three of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, who took every podium spot but one last season.
As the chequered flag fell on Q3 yesterday, the story was indeed one of Red Bull strength. Max Verstappen had the pace to take a 21st career pole position with his team-mate Sergio Perez lining up alongside him, just about a tenth and a half behind.
Ferrari, though, were definitely in the fight. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will line up third and fourth, but with a slightly better performance they could have challenged for the top spot. Lelcerc was only a tenth and a half behind Perez, but the Monegasque only did one run in Q3, and not when the track was at its best. The reasoning for that was having newer tyres for the race, and it is not outlandish to suggest he could have split the Red Bulls.
In the end the Aston Martin pace was not quite up there with Ferrari and Red Bull, Alonso finishing more than six tenths down on Verstappen’s fastest time. It was, however, a time fast enough to beat both Mercedes cars, who were sixth (George Russell) and seventh (Lewis Hamilton).
Was that a shock? Maybe. And the overall size of the gap did not suggest that Mercedes have done much to close to the gap at the front after a difficult 2022 season. It also led to team principal Toto Wolff suggesting that the team may abandon the concept for their 2023 car and try something else, despite sticking with an under-performing car from last year to this.
“I don’t think that this package is going to be competitive eventually,” Wolff said after qualifying. “We gave it our best go, also over the winter, and now we all just need to regroup, sit down with the engineers, be totally non-dogmatic, and ask ‘what is the development direction we want to pursue in order to be able to win races?’”
A sobering though for a once-dominant team.
The race gets under way at 3pm GMT under lights in Bahrain and we will be here for all of the build-up, latest updates and reaction from the first race of the 2023 season.