Leclerc had started in pole position after an impressive qualifying and, after a battle with reigning world champion Max Verstappen, looked to be cruising to ...
The controversy reached its peak when a message from the race director initially said lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen would not be allowed to unlap themselves — only for Masi to appear to change his mind moments later — leaving the Red Bull driver right behind Hamilton with fresh tires and just one lap to go. In Bahrain, Leclerc held on to the lead after the restart with Verstappen hot on his tail but the Red Bull driver — who was already complaining about a steering issue with his car — dropped out of the race entirely after appearing to lose power. It was a huge result for Mercedes with the team still struggling to perfect the car — its other driver George Russell finished fourth. It went from bad to worse for Red Bull as moments later the team’s other driver Sergio Perez — who was in third — also began struggling with his car, allowing Hamilton to claim an unlikely podium position on the final lap. That was until a safety car was deployed in the closing stages which saw the pack bunch up for the restart. Charles Leclerc won the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday as Ferrari claimed a one-two after a dramatic ending to the first race of the new season.
Two years after engine troubles cost him the Bahrain Grand Prix by only three laps, Charles Leclerc has found redemption in Sakhir.
The very next lap, the Mexican suffered an engine seizure, causing his Red Bull to snap sideways in turn 1. The best the orange squad could manage were 15th and 14th, respectively. A late-race safety car was deployed after Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri ground to a halt at the exit of turn 3 with an overheated engine. Leclerc went unchallenged by Max Verstappen off the line, while Sainz maintained his third place spot through the opening leg of the race. I mean, I keep repeating myself, but the last two years have been incredibly difficult for the team,” Leclerc said. Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz followed him home in second place, with Lewis Hamilton rounding out the podium after both Red Bulls suffered engine failures in the closing laps.
Ferrari's Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were first and second in the season-opener, with Lewis Hamilton third after the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Pérez had to ...
The fight remained close to the final stages as the teams searched for an edge through the stops. After the first stops the pair went nose to tail and Verstappen flung himself up the inside with DRS on the straight. For Ferrari, their car is, on the form of this opening weekend, one of the best they have produced since they last won the drivers’ title with Kimi Räikkönen in 2007. “This is the best result we could have got, we did the best we could and are grateful for these points,” he said. Verstappen’s duel with Leclerc had been an enthralling, joyous affair but his car’s demise was a moment of bitter disappointment for driver and team, when he retired having lost power with three laps to go. Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez both retired at the very death, allowing Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes to capitalise with an unlikely place on the podium.
It's the first win for Ferrari since 2019 as Lewis Hamilton stole third place on the final lap.
Ferrari had not won a race in two years. In just one offseason, they're the championship favorite once again.
DRS gave him a massive advantage, sure, but he was able to lunge past for the lead twice and miss out on the lead on a third move. Verstappen, who told Road & Track last season that the previous generation of cars could not stay close to one another on track without DRS help while within a second and a half, was able to hang in the direct wake of Leclerc for entire laps. In the biggest surprise of the race weekend, the returning Kevin Magnussen rounded out the top five for Haas. That finish was enough to earn more points in one race than the Haas team had scored over the past two full seasons. That promoted teammate Sergio Perez to third, but Lewis Hamilton had been close behind Perez the entire restart and quickly got to pressuring the second Red Bull. Perez, reporting mechanical issues of his own, would go on to spin in turn 1 on the final lap and fall out of the points entirely. The team has retooled significantly since, moving on from marquee signing Sebastian Vettel and building an entirely new competition structure with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. entering this season as equals at a historic team that has for so long been run with one clear lead driver. That means Lewis Hamilton, who started fifth in what has proven to be a much slower Mercedes than what he had been used to in the past eight seasons, finished the podium.
SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Formula One champion Max Verstappen's title defense turned into a nightmare when the Red Bull star retired near the end of the ...
It was quickly put out and the Frenchman walked away unharmed. Leclerc was leading comfortably from Verstappen when the back of Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri car caught fire forcing him to park it on the side of the track. SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Formula One champion Max Verstappen’s title defense turned into a nightmare when the Red Bull star retired near the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, allowing Ferrari to clinch a 1-2 finish with Charles Leclerc winning ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz Jr.