Formula 1 ®
MAX WINS AS EXPECTED, PEREZ DOES ALL THE HARD WORK FOR P2 AND, SAINZ COULD NOT BE STOPPED TO GRAB LAST SPOT ON THE PODIUM.
Max Verstappen started the defence of his FIA Formula One World Championship title with victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix 2024 season opener on Saturday as Mexican teammate Sergio Pérez made it an Oracle Red Bull Racing 1-2 around the Sakhir circuit.
After the first round of pit stops, Verstappen – starting on pole – held a 5.458s lead over teammate Pérez with Visa Cash App RB F1 Team’s Yuki Tsunoda back in 11th place after 19 laps and Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo battling it out in a close group back in 16th place.
Verstappen went on to bank a comfortable victory by 22.457s and claim the fastest lap to earn 26 points with 18 for Pérez in second as Ricciardo got past Tsunoda to finish in 13th and 14th place respectively at the finish.
Max
These kind of days don’t happen that often where the car feels spot on.
“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. 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. We have to thank everyone at the factory who has contributed to a great start of the year. It is always a big challenge to build a new car and follow up such an unbelievable season, but I’m excited to kick things off this season with a win.”
Checo
You can’t get better than a one-two to start a year which looks like it’ll be a really tight battle.
“It was a really strong race from the Team, it’s a great start to the season, you can’t get better than a one-two to start a year which looks like it’ll be a really tight battle. I overtook Carlos at the start and from there we were able to chip away at things. There were a few issues that we need to iron out but it is just important to keep the momentum with us now. From my side it is good to now have a full race distance behind us because there will be a lot of learning to do on how we manage tyres, how we push and then we can go from there. We had a good pace, but I think it is going to be track dependent. I just want to keep improving because the season is long.”
Ferrari
Carlos Sainz
It’s a solid start to the season and very good points for the team. I felt really good in the car all race long, being able to control the pace and doing good overtakes. I tried everything to manage the tyres on the last stint to try and attack Checo (Perez) at the end of the race, but they are still faster than us. However, I think we have a very good baseline to work on and we need to keep pushing to close the gap.
On to Jeddah!
Charles Leclerc
It was a disappointing race from my side. There was an issue with the brakes, so I struggled to stay on track, especially in turns 9 and 10. We would have had the pace in the car to put up a good fight so I can’t wait to get back in the car in Jeddah.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso
“I’m happy to score some points from the race today and it was probably where we expected to finish. It ended up being a bit of a quiet race for us with a gap ahead and behind us. We thought we would stay out longer on both stints and hope there was an advantage to gain from a Safety Car, but it wasn’t to be. I think we have some analysis to do on our one lap pace against our race performance. I’m feeling confident that we can improve as the season progresses and let’s see if we can be a bit stronger in Saudi Arabia next week.”
Mercedes
George Russell
It was a strange day today. Both Lewis and I faced a similar issue. The power unit was overheating from very early on, so we were managing that throughout. It was a shame as we made a really good start. I managed to make a good pass on Leclerc for second but very quickly, I had warnings on my steering wheel. To manage the overheating, we were losing tenths-of-a-second per lap, and it was very difficult to hold off anyone behind me. It’s a shame that we didn’t get to show any real potential of the car.
Formula 2 ®
Maloney completes Sakhir double with dominant victory!
Zane Maloney made it two wins from two after coming through from third to win the
Sakhir Feature Race, kicking off the 2024 FIA Formula 2 season in strong style.
Josep María Martí followed up his third-place finish in the Sprint Race to finish second while his
fellow rookie Paul Aron battled from 12th to finish third for Hitech Pulse-Eight
A fast start on the Option tyre from Sprint Race winner Maloney saw him take the lead from
third place on the run down to Turn 1. Behind him, front-row starters Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar collided at the same corner.
The Campos Racing driver was left stranded in the middle of the road, giving Enzo Fittipaldi
nowhere to go and the Van Amersfoort Racing driver collected Hadjar, with both out as a result.
A Safety Car intervention was needed with the marshals removing both cars as the Stewards
handed Bortoleto a 10-second penalty for his part in the incident.
Back to green flag racing on Lap 5, Maloney extended his advantage to beyond a second over Zak
O’Sullivan, with Martí now up to third after overtaking Dennis Hauger. Bortoleto’s difficult
opening few laps were compounded by a tough restart as he lost out to Jak Crawford for fifth.
Martí and Crawford, like Maloney, had opted for the softs and were looking to make early
inroads with the Campos driver overtaking O’Sullivan for second. Crawford later jumped ahead of Hauger for fourth.
– Zane Maloney, Rodin Motorsport
“Of course, so happy to get the Sprint Race and the Feature Race victory this weekend. The team
Rodin did an unbelievable job and I just had to drive the car as quick as I can. Thank you everyone
for the support of course I know Jeddah is going to be another story so we will push on in
Jeddah.”