2023 F1 Bahrain GP: Red Bull takes 1-2, Alonso lands podium in season opener 

MANILA: In the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix, Max Verstappen overcame teammate Sergio Perez to win for Red Bull. Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin finished third, and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari retired from the competition.

Verstappen got a strong start, but teammate Perez dropped back and lost second position to Leclerc; Ferrari's Carlos Sainz could not quite pry P3 off the Red Bull. Everyone save for hard-shod Kevin Magnussen of Haas started the 2023 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix on soft tires. The current champion extended his lead and ultimately prevailed by more than ten seconds. With both Red Bull drivers using identical soft-soft-hard driving styles, Perez completed the one-two.

As Lance Stroll lunged at teammate Alonso into Turn 4 and hit the rear-right of his vehicle, letting both Mercedes ahead, Aston Martin's hopes of disrupting the podium battle appeared to have been dashed on Lap 1 of the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix.

But, Leclerc's engine problem forced him to withdraw on lap 41, shattering Ferrari's chances of the podium. Alonso had just pulled off an extremely great maneuver to pass Lewis Hamilton for fifth place around the inside of Turn 10. In a remarkable duel through Sector 2, Alonso overcame Sainz on Lap 45 to secure his first podium finish since Qatar 2021.

Sainz fought off a brief push from Hamilton, who finished fifth overall, and settled for fourth as a result. Stroll was likely more delighted to see Alonso finish on the podium than he was to not receive a penalty for striking his teammate on lap one. Although George Russell was passed by the Aston Martin in the second pit stops and finished seventh, the Canadian made an amazing recovery from his wrist injury to finish sixth between the Mercedes.

Valtteri Bottas finished a strong eighth for Alfa Romeo by taking advantage of his competitors' shaky starts, while Pierre Gasly came from P20 for Alpine and finished ninth after three pit stops. After a strong start, Alex Albon finished 10th for Williams, and Yuki Tsunoda's AlphaTauri almost missed out on the final point.

Although Zhou Guanyu, driving for Alfa Romeo, pitted on the penultimate lap of the race to move Kevin Magnussen, whose hard-hard-soft gambit did not result in points, up to P13, Logan Sargeant, driving for Williams, battled with him for 12th place on his debut.

In his AlphaTauri debut, Nyck de Vries took P14, dropping Nico Hulkenberg to 15th with a five-second time penalty. Alfa Romeo's Zhou was ranked 16th, and Lando Norris struggled in the race after making a sluggish pit stop, which caused him to fall down the leaderboard. The McLaren driver finished last in the standings of the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix after a final-lap pit stop with soft tires.

Esteban Ocon had a disastrous opening race for Alpine, receiving a five-second penalty for incorrectly lining up on the grid, a further 10-second penalty for incorrectly serving that penalty, and a further five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Alpine made the late decision to retire him.

Oscar Piastri's debut was cut short after just 13 laps as he came into the McLaren pits with an electrical problem. Leclerc's retirement on lap 41 stunned everyone.

Alonso, on the other hand, was ecstatic to place third for the first time in almost a year. Red Bull had a flawless start to 2023, but anything can happen. In the first race of the previous season, both Red Bulls retired.

2023 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix Facts

Max Verstappen has never won the season-opening race before. On his ninth attempt, he became the first driver to win the Bahrain Grand Prix.

For ten years, Red Bull has failed to win in Bahrain since Sebastian Vettel won the 2013 Bahrain daylight race.

In the 50th Grand Prix appearance for the manufacturer, Fernando Alonso earned Aston Martin's second podium place. Alonso finishes on the podium for the first time since Qatar 2021 and just the second time in his past 122 Grands Prix.

In the previous 37 years, only one driver older than Alonso, 43-year-old Michael Schumacher at the Valencia 2012 F1 race, has finished on the podium.

The 22nd anniversary of Alonso's F1 debut in Australia 2001 was also observed on Sunday.

2023 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix Quotes

“It was a very good first stint where I basically made by 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. Of course, very happy to get my first win here also in Bahrain,” Max Verstappen expressed.

When asked if there were any positives to take away from the weekend, Leclerc first cited his and Ferrari's choice not to perform a second qualifying lap and bank an additional set of soft tires on F1.com before giving a candid evaluation.

As a result, going into the second round of the season in Saudi Arabia, Ferrari is currently fourth in the constructors' standings with 12 points, trailing only Mercedes (16), Aston Martin (23), and leaders Red Bull (43).

The 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend takes place on March 17 to 19.

Photos from Formula 1

Also read:

Mighty medic: Aston Martin DBX707 fielded as 2023 F1 medical vehicle

Fighting back: Ferrari guns for 2023 F1 championship with SF-23