Verstappen wins season-opening 2023 Bahrain GP

If the 2023 F1 season-opening Bahrain GP is anything to go by, Red Bull is in for another strong sea

If the 2023 F1 season-opening Bahrain GP is anything to go by, Red Bull is in for another strong season. Reigning champion Max Verstappen took a dominant win ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez, while Ferrari got off to a tough start with Charles Leclerc retiring from the race.

Arguably the biggest highlight, though, was Fernando Alonso grabbing the final podium spot in his debut race for Aston Martin. The two-time F1 champion pulled off some incredible moves on Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz, finishing third in the race.

As Verstappen led away from pole position, it soon became evident that he had a clear leg up on the rest of the field. A clean run to victory saw him drive past the chequered flag, 11.987 seconds ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez.

“It was a good first stint where I basically made my gap, and from there onwards, it was all about just looking after my tyres because you never know what is going to happen later in the race. So we just wanted to make sure that we had the right tyres and in good condition as well,” Verstappen said.

Perez lost a place to Leclerc at the start of the race. He played his cards well and re-took the position on lap 26 to hand Red Bull a 1-2 finish in the first race of the season.

Aston Martin certainly made heads turn in testing and the Bahrain GP proved that the hype is real. They did not have a perfect start, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll making contact and dropping a few places as a result. However, they were able to continue racing, and as the laps went by, Alonso soon emerged as a potential podium contender.

This potential turned into reality when Charles Leclerc stopped on track with suspected engine failure. By this point, Alonso had already moved up to fifth place after overtaking Lewis Hamilton down the inside of Turn 10. He then started hunting down Ferrari’s sole remaining driver, Carlos Sainz, who appeared to be struggling for pace.