Max Verstappen won the first race of the Formula 1 season in Bahrain on Saturday for Christian Horner’s Red Bull Racing team. Allegations surrounding Red Bull team principal Horner have cast a pall over progress at the opening round in the Gulf Kingdom.
But Horner, who was joined by his wife Jerry in a show of unity ahead of the 57-lap race that saw Verstappen take the lead for Red Bull with his team-mate Sergio Perez finishing second, could temporarily Breathe a sigh of relief.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished third, one ahead of his team-mate Charles Leclerc, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finishing a disappointing fifth and fourth respectively for Mercedes. seven. McLaren’s Lando Norris finished sixth.
In an unusual week in Bahrain on Wednesday, Red Bull Racing parent Red Bull Ltd cleared Horner following an investigation into allegations of “inappropriate conduct” by a female colleague. A day later, hundreds of WhatsApp messages seemingly written by him were leaked to the F1 world.
Horner remained defiant throughout and showed solidarity with Jerry as they strode hand in hand along the paddock one hour and 45 minutes before the lights went out.
The pair were joined in the team’s stands by Thai billionaire Chalerm Yoovidhya, Red Bull’s majority shareholder and Horner ally, in another public show of support for the team principal. Horner kissed Jerry before he walked to the pit wall to watch his team beat its rivals. The pair stood smiling together at the foot of the podium as Verstappen celebrated his victory.
Verstappen has competed in the past three world championships and looks set to continue his winning streak into 2024 after a dominant victory. The Dutch driver beat Perez by 22.4 seconds to claim his 18th victory in the past 19 F1 races and, notably, his 36th since Hamilton’s last grand prix win. victory.
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“Guys, it’s been a great start to the year and one-two at the end, fantastic,” Verstappen said on the team radio. Horner replied: “As you said, Max, pole position, one-two finish, fastest lap, sweeping everything. What a great way to start the new year. Thank you very much.”
After the game, Sky Sports asked Horner if he was confident of leading the team to Saudi Arabia next week. He replied, “Of course, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”
Red Bull’s control of last season’s championship was so great that they have the opportunity to turn their attention to this year’s machine earlier than their rivals. Respected designer Adrian Newey appears to have built a car that could take Verstappen to another stratosphere.
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Victory seemed certain after fending off a challenge from Ferrari’s Leclerc heading into the opening corner. At the end of lap 11, Verstappen was 10 seconds ahead.
Trailing, Russell made an encouraging start by overtaking Leclerc for second on lap three. But that was as good as it could get for the Silver Arrows, with Perez leading Russell on the exit of Turn 4 on lap 14, before Sainz pushed the British driver into third three laps later. Three.
Hamilton started from ninth but made little early progress, complaining on lap 25 that his seat was broken. He began to work his way up the field, passing Oscar Piastri in the McLaren on lap 35 and then Fernando Alonso’s Astra on lap 39. Aston Martin finished seventh. But the seven-time world champion, who will join Ferrari next year, did not launch any attacks on Norris. First. Mercedes’ poor night was dealt another blow when Leclerc took fourth from Russell with 11 laps remaining, while Hamilton was 50 seconds adrift of Verstappen.
It was another brilliant performance for Verstappen, with fireworks bursting into the night sky as he cemented his status as the overwhelming favorite for another title shot – despite an off-track error at the Red Bull Ring of turmoil. “Unbelievable,” Verstappen said after his 55th career win. “Today was even better than expected. The car drove really well. We had a good pace. It was really a pleasure.”
