“Mad Max” already at max. The three-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen easily won the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday, ahead of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez, a double which offers a breath of fresh air to the team and its boss, at the center of a affair.
The Dutchman started 2024 as he finished 2023, on the top step of the podium. And in style since he was more than 20 seconds ahead of his runner-up at the finish.
“It’s incredible, today went even better than expected,” he said of the winner, celebrated with a shower of fireworks on the Sakhir track.
Starting in pole position at nightfall and in an unusual cool weather for the season (less than 20°C), the Dutchman, who arrived in the Gulf monarchy with the label of driver to beat, was faithful to his rank and he will never have been worried by the competition, not even by Pérez driving the same RB20 as him.
Red Bull and Verstappen are the huge favorites for this season, the densest in F1 history with 24 Grand Prix planned.
Ferrari, the second force
Behind the two “red bulls”, the Spaniard Carlos Sainz and his Ferrari complete the podium. His Monegasque teammate Charles Leclerc, who experienced some difficulties at the wheel of his SF-24, finished 4e.
By placing its drivers behind the Red Bull rockets, the Scuderia confirms its good form seen during winter testing at the end of February.
Britons George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished 5th respectivelye and 7e for Mercedes, while the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri rank 6e and 8e. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll complete the Top 10 at the wheel of their Aston Martins.
As for Alpine, which arrives in Bahrain with a brand new car to try to get back into the leading pack, Esteban Ocon finishes 17e ahead of Pierre Gasly, 18e. The French drivers started from the last two places on the grid.
As with the Saudi Arabian GP on March 9, the traditional Sunday race was moved to Saturday, a rare schedule in F1 in order to adapt to Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting which begins on the evening of March 10 or 11 .
Eventful weekend for Red Bull
This Verstappen-Pérez double came at the right time for Red Bull and its boss Christian Horner, the center of attention despite himself throughout the weekend.
Apparently saved after an internal investigation cleared him on Wednesday of accusations of “inappropriate behavior” towards an employee of the stable, Horner, historic boss of the stable since 2005, had to once again defend after the wide distribution on Thursday of an anonymous email on this affair to journalists following F1, to motorsport officials and even to competing teams.
The content of this email, in particular the WhatsApp messages allegedly exchanged between Horner and this employee, cannot be independently verified but the person concerned had, in the wake of this sending, once again had to deny the “anonymous speculations” on any inappropriate behavior on his part.
The 50-year-old Briton, married to ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, present at his side on Saturday, has always denied the facts with which he was accused.
In the paddock, several voices were raised to denounce the lack of “transparency” regarding the conclusions of the investigation – the details of which have not been revealed.
“There will still be a lot of speculation because there are a lot of unanswered questions about the whole process,” McLaren CEO Zak Brown said on Thursday.
For his part, Verstappen, who remained rather discreet on the subject, assured Friday evening that he remained “entirely focused on the car and performance”, just like “the mechanics and engineers”. “That’s how it should be and that’s what we continue to do because it’s none of our business,” he brushed off.