The 2023 Formula One season began with a snoozefest as Red Bull dominated with a 1-2 finish led by Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finishing a distant third to round out the podium.
Verstappen and Perez locked out the front row with Verstappen on pole position and although Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc successfully got ahead of Perez at the race start, Verstappen went virtually unchallenged from start to finish. Ferrari’s temporary intervention ended when Leclerc was eventually passed by Perez on Lap 26 and to add insult to injury, Leclerc’s car suffered an engine failure on Lap 41 – knocking him out of the race.
The only snippet of race drama occurred when Alonso, himself a two-time Formula 1 world champion, passed seven-time F1 world champion, Lewis Hamilton and then Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Jr. on Lap 46, to claim the final podium position.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is next up on the schedule at the Jeddah Corniche circuit on March 19, 2023.
2023 Bahrain Grand Prix – Top 10 Finishers
1] Max Verstappen – Red Bull -25 points
2] Sergio Perez – Red Bull – 18
3] Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin – 15
4] Carlos Sainz, Jr. – Ferrari – 12
5] Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes – 10
6] Lance Stroll – Aston Martin – 8
7] George Russell – Mercedes – 6
8] Valtteri Bottas – Alfa Romeo – 4
9] Pierre Gasly – Alpine – 2
10] Alexander Albon – Williams – 1
