Which means that’s all from me; we’ll see you in a fortnight for the second race of the season, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – but in the meantime, thanks for your company and comments; enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Aha! Here’s Giles Richards’ race report!
Driver standings
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 25
Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) 18
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 15
Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 12
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 10
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 8
George Russell (Mercedes) 6
Valltteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) 4
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 2
Alex Albon (Williams) 1
Updated
Jeddah, two weeks today, should be very different, a street circuit that might allow us greater bunching. But, if we’re honest, we can probably guess what’s going to happen … or can we?
Elsewhere:
The podium trophies are presented and the Red Bull drivers, after their double DNF of a year ago, douse each other in champagne after a dominant weekend.
Updated
It’s long! The band seem to be doing all 15 verses, but without lyrics – it’s Tubular Bells, or something.
Verstappen ascends the top of the podium, waves to the crowd, and enjoys the Dutch national anthem.
Spare a thought for poor Sharl Leclerc, though, who was cruising in third until an engine issue ruined his day. But what a drive it took to capitalise, Fernando Alonso setting a standard for the season. I can’t wait to see how he and Aston Martin do from here.
Verstappen says he made his gap early on, and after that it was just about protecting his gap and tyres. He’d never won in Bahrain but now it’s over is looking forward to Jeddah. He knows his team have a good race package, thanking them for their work and race car, and generally looks pretty thrilled with life – as you might if you were him, which you’re not.
Updated
Final placings
Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
George Russell (Mercedes)
Valltteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Alex Albon (Williams)
Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
Logan Sargeant (Williams)
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri)
Nico Hülkenberg (Haas)
Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
-
Lando Norris (McLaren)
Did not finish:Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
“Keep pushing. Serious work to do,” says Hamilton to his team; his fifth place is his worst finish here in some time.
Updated
“Exactly the start to the season we wanted and needed,” Verstappen tells his team. They concur.
Updated
Max Verstappen wins the Bahrain GP for Red Bull!
He leads from start to finish, with Sergio Perez of Red Bull second and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin third.
Updated
Lap 57/57 This has been a procession: Max Verstappen and Red Bull look – are – untouchable. A one-two in qualifying, a one-two in the race, and they are functioning almost perfectly.
Lap 56/57 Verstappen bousts a little further in front, now leading Perez by 12.164s, then we see Albon still ahead of Tsunoda with just one lap to go.
Updated
Lap 55/57 Tsunoda is now in DRS range but we focus on Verstappen, who will have fewer more serene evenings. He has absolutely smashed this weekend, and there’s no reason to think these aren’t words you’ll be reading again and again between now and November.
Lap 54/57 Tsunoda is 0.788 behind Albon, who’s 10th, chasing the final point. My sense is he won’t quite manage it, so let’s instead congratulate Gasly, who started last and is now ninth. Decernt debut for him in the Alpine.
Lap 53/57 Alonso, by the way, has 98 career podiums so far. You’d take it. He won’t just be thinking about today either, he’ll know that they way the cars are, he’s a decent chance of a decent season.
Lap 52/57 Russell skids off the track but Bottas, in eighth, isn’t close enough to take advantage. And in the other Aston, Alonso is loving this, in total control of his third place.
Lap 51/57 Hamilton hunts Sainz as we see a rare shot of Verstappen, 10.926 ahead of Perez.
Verstappen
Perez
Alonso
Sainz
Hamilton
Stroll
Russell
Bottas
Gasly
Albon
Lap 50/57 Gasly closes in on Bottas in eighth place – he might just have enough road left to nab his spot, Hamilton, meanwhile, is 0.697s behind Sainz, so will hope to have a hack at fourth before we finish, but time is not his friend.
Lap 49/57 Verstappen’s lead has stayed around 10s for the last bit and I guess he’s no reason to push it. Meantime, we learn Leclerc and Ferrari’s issue was an engine one, so they may have now issues with that part of the car and the battery.
“I remember when I first started watching F1 Lewis and Alonso were teammates,” says Anne Williams. “Good to hear they’re still fighting it out!”
You can’t beat an OG.
Lap 48/57 We see Alonso’s overtake again, Sainz shutting the door in a way Hamilton didn’t, before conceding the inside line. Great stuff, and likely to get him P3. it’s so good to see proper driving rewarded.
Lap 47/57 Alonso looks so confident in his car, and I wonder if Aston Martin might be the surprise(ish) package of the season, because he’s made the Ferrari and the Merc look silly this evening.
Lap 46/57 Alonso consolidates, extending his lead over Sainz beyond a second; this is a gorgeous drive from him.
Lap 45/57 Alonso is right up Sainz’s tail now; he wants to get by through turn four, tries his outside/inside trick again … and Sainz does brilliantly to close the door! So Alonso goes again, Sainz shuts the door … BUT ALONSO FORCES IT OPEN AGAIN! Ah man, this is great to see, the old master showing he’s still got it, and I’ve not a clue how he does this without making contact with the Ferrari, but he does! What a man!
Lap 44/57 Verstappen leads by 10.058s and I can’t think of a race in which we’ve seen so little of the leader.
Lap 43/57 Tahe virtual safety car has gone while Gasly, who pitted when it was around, passes Albon and moves into ninth. He’ll fancy getting on the board here; Alonso is within 0.979s of Sainz, with Hamilton a further 1,790s behind him.
Lap 42/57 So Perez is now even further clear in second, 14.965s ahead of Sainz, who’s promoted to third, and Alonso is 2.451s behind him, so that final podium-place is up for grab. Poor old Sharl, though, who’s had it ripped from his clammy grasp.
Charles Leclerc is out of the race! The virtual safety car is on the track!
Lap 41/57 We see the Ferrari easing to halt at the side, and might that be another battery issue? Remember they changed it earlier today…
Updated
Lap 40/57 Alonso is pulling away a little, his lead over Hamilton now above 0.7s … and Norris, a lap behind Hamilton nearly runs into the back of him, but manages to avoid a collision.
Lap 39/57 Verstappen’s lead is down to a pathetic 11.759s following his stop, with Perez a further 12.629s in front of Leclerc. The venerable Alonso leads Hamilton by 06.s or so.
Lap 38/57 Alonso sets the fastest lap-time and goes at Hamilton again, first from the outside before ducking on the inside, he gets DRS, goes by, pulls away, and that is a brilliant move! Alonso is back in fifth, and does Hamilton have the power to respond?
Updated
Lap 37/57 Verstappen comes in, so Perez gets a little go at leading. The gaps between the top four are significant, but Hamilton is 2.363s behind Sainz in fifth, with Alonso 0.596s behind him in sixth … and he attacks down the straight, nails Hamilton on the inside … but Hamilton comes back at him, taking a really good line, and hangs onto fifth … for now….
Lap 36/57 We’ve barely heard a peep out of Verstappen, so dominant is he. His lead is now 37.679, though he’s a stop behind, and this is a terrifyingly competent piece of smack-resting.
Lap 35/57 Perez pits, then Alonso, and Leclerc duly moves into third, then Alonso comes out behind Hamilton. This could be a decent little tussle.
Updated
Lap 34/57 Ocon learns he’s another 15s penalty to serve, but sadly the director cuts after his team inform him. I daresay he used some language. Veratappen leads by 14.363s.
Lap 33/57 Fernando Alonso is having a nice day out, 15.650s in front of Sainz and well ahead of Hamilton. The top four looks set, but there should be a decent fight for the crumbs.
Lap 32/57 Russell comes in then is out in time to right with Sroll for seventh; Stroll undercuts him and gets by! Russell just didn’t have the grip he needed as his tyres were new, and that’s very well played by Aston Martin.
Lap 31/57 Hamilton pits and returns behind Russell in seventh, but his teammate will soon go in to restore the previous order.
Verstappen
Perez
Leclerc
Sainz
Alonso
Russell
Hamilton
Stroll Zhou
Lap 30/57 The earliest anyone’s ever won the driver championship is with four races to spare. I wonder if Verstappen might attack that record; I think he might.
Lap 29/57 Lando Nozza pits again, comes out in 19th, behind Hulkenberg, and he’s another who’s had better days. At the front, Verstappen leads by 13.565s, with Perez now 4.546s in front of Leclerc; perhaps Ferrari will try an extra stop, or a different tyre to try for P2, P1 already gone barring mechanical failure.
Lap 28/57 Ahahahahaha! Coming into the pit lane to serve his 10s penalty, Ocon speeds! That’s being investigated, and I daresay there are some tempers about.
Lap 27/57 Hamilton’s been managing his tyres but his team tell him to up the pace now, while Perez, now in second, is told to look after his. Red Bull, meanhile, have never taken P1 and P2 in a season-opener. Well, that looks almost a cert this time around.
Lap 26/57 Perez gets DRS up the hill, barges by Leclerc on the inside and into second; Leclerc comes back at him, but he’s out of range now, so Red Bull secure first and second.
Lap 25/57 Verstappen powers away. He looks untouchable.
Verstappen
Leclerc
Perez
Sainz
Hamilton
Alonso
Russell
Stroll
Bottas
Albon
Tsunoda
Updated
Lap 24/57 Yup, Piastri is out of the race … and we see Perez just 0.484 behind Leclerc with DRS, then learn that Ocon hsa been given a 10-second penalty for not serving his five-second penalty properly. You’ve got to laugh.
Lap 23/57 I hope Carlos Sainz’s nickname is Little. Ansd yes, that was kind of an excuse to recommend Little Simz’s album No Thank You – one of the best if not the best of 2022.
Lap 22/57 Alonso has been pestering his team to find out if action has been taken against the cad who he reckons impeded him on the first lap; his team, of course, don’t want to tell him it’s Stroll, his teammate. Surely someone at Aston Martin has a sense of humour? Verstappen leads Leclerc by 11.175s. Perez is next, then Sainz, then Hamilton.
Lap 21/57 Verstappen is absolutely killing this.
Lap 20/57 Ocon, it seems, didn’t serve his time-penalty properly, so he’s in more trouble. Menatime, William Preston emails: “Has there ever not been an opening race where one car and driver gets a proper stomp on from the outset, and we all sigh and say ‘Well, might as well call it now’? It’s an F1 tradition, as are the thrilling heroics the mechanics and engineers put in between the times to make it much tighter by the redemptive third act. It’s a beautiful story each year, and looking forward to this one.”
Yup, agree. We think we know and maybe we do, but we don’t watch the last five minutes of a Poirot because ultimately it’s not about who killed Lady Merryweather-Smythe, it’s about why and how.
Lap 19/57 In comms, they note that Verstappen and Red Bull are like Schumacher and Ferrari were, with enough pace to pretty much do whatever they want. Verstappen and Perez are on softs, but Albon is the only other member of the top 10 not using hards.
Lap 18/57 Norris pits again and I’m not sure how long he’ll be staying out there – his team will want to protect their car. Save when pitting, the top five has been the top five since the first corner.
Lap 17/57 Perez pits, Verstappewn resumes the lead, and the game is 10.189s.
Lap 16/57 “Just as well I haven’t subscribed to Sky!” sighs Anne Williams. “From the sounds of things Verstappen is going to cruise through all the races barring engine failure or someone taking him out!”
It does look like that, but we also know something always happens. Meanwhile, Alonso has Bottas under pressure, takes him out easily, and he’s sixth.
Updated
Lap 16/57 Piastri seems to have a gearbox issue – electrical -related – and Perez now leads with Verstappen pitting.
Perez
Verstappen
Leclerc
Sainz
Hamilton
Bottas
Alonso
Russell
Stroll
Albon
Tsunoda
Gasly
Updated
Lap 15/57 Verstappen pits and exchanges softs for softs, while we learn that Ocon, who has damaged his front wing, has been hit with a five-second penalty for being in the wrong position at the start.
Lap 14/57 Russell pits, then we see Ocon’s plate dangling off; he’s in 14th. Hamilton, meanwhile, is out of the pits in seventh, while Piastri, the next big hope, is in the pit with some kind of issue and he looks to be done for today; what a disaster this weekend has been for him. Verstappen still leads, by plenty.
Lap 13/57 Hamilton pits – Russell wanted to a couple of laps ago – and here comes Alonso, looking to nail him down the straight! Alonso nudges ahead, Russell finds a great line to come back at him … then Alonso finds yet more gas and breezes by!
Lap 12/57 Alonso’s Aston is waaaaaay faster than Russell’s Merc which, like Hamilton’s has a problem with its rear tyres; it feels like a matter of time before sixth and seventh swap. Albon and Hulkenberg pit; Verstappen leads by 8.481s.
Lap 11/57 Alonso is hunting Russell now, but without much success, while Norris pits and has an engine issue. He’ll be gutted and that might be the end
Lap 10/57 Alonso, though, is 0.9ish behind Russell and has DRS; Russell thinks he might be being held up by Hamilton. Otherwise, Gasly is first to pit and presumably will prompt others to do the same. He comes back, after an untidy change, last.
Updated
Lap 9/57 Verstappen leads by 6.266s and there’s not much movement anywhere now; who will blink first and change tyres?
Lap 8/57 Verstappen is in such great nick it’s disgusting.
Updated
Lap 7/57 George Russell holds the fastest lap so far, but he still trails Hamilton by the best part of a second.
Verstappen
Leclerc
Perez
Sainz Jr
Hamilton
Russell
Alonso
Stroll
Bottas
Ocon
Albon
Norris
Lap 6/57 Magnussen beings up the rear, suffering for his choice of hards – but we’ll how that unfolds. Versatappen leads by 4.783s.
Lap 5/57 Stroll nips by Bottas and now sits eighth; Verstappen’s lead is 4.021s and he’s lapping nearly a second faster than the lads behind him. He’s just got to stay on the circuit to win.
Lap 4/57 Stroll tells his team he was hit; he doesn’t know it was his teammate doing the hitting. Verstappen’s lead, meanwhile, is just over three seconds, now, with Hamilton another 3.346s behind in fifth, Russell a further 0.5s or so further back.
Lap 3/57 We see the start again and Perez got a real dog. That’s great news for Ferrari, who split the Red Bulls so will be able to influence the shape of the race rather than just follow them home.
Lap 2/57 Right, we’ve some shape and form now. Verstappen leads by 1.998s and we see that Stroll almost gave his teammate a puncture at the start.
Verastappen
Leclerc
Perez
Sainz
Hamilton
Russel,
Alonso
Bottas
Stroll
Norris.
Lap 1/57 Lights out the 2023 F1 season is live! The Red Bulls start quickly and Verstappen lays down the smack … but Leclerc diddles Perez on the inside! He’s in second, while the Aston Martins bump wheels … they look OK.
Updated
We’re ready…
Stroll tries out his brakes between turns nine and 10, while the Red Bulls try to yank everyone through as quickly as they can.
Updated
The formation lap is go!
The circuit looks great from above, lights piercing the darkness. The cars are lined up and we should be good to go.
That said, I wonder if Max might; he’ll want to think he’s the best driver, not the bloke who happens to be in the best car.
“Mercedes failure has deprived Hamilton of so much,” emails Jeff Sax. I don’t think anyone would dispute that, not even Toto.
The mechanics are checking Sharl Leclerc’s car but think it’ll be fine. They’ve also had a scare with Sainz’s car, so have changed the battery.
Norris says he’s not as high on the grid as he’d like to be, but it’s not as bad as it could’ve been. He thinks the car is better than people have been saying, but accepts that the car isn’t ideal – it’s easy to make mistakes and impossible to drive it perfectly in every lap, which is what it demands – “but we’re working on it, don’t worry”.
Anthem time.
Christian Horner tells Sky it could be a great race, and pretends he thinks it might be close. You’re fooling no one, old mate.
Rory Bremner and Jeremy Clarkson are knocking about on the circuit. That’s a relief.
Toto Wolff concedes Mercedes need a winning car and a winning driver; he knows he has to provide the former in order to secure the services of the latter.
“So, Sir Jackie, who inspired your look?”
Lawrence Stroll reckons Lance is ready to go, saying he’s done amazingly to get himself into the car after injuring his wrist in a cycling crash a couple of weeks ago. He’s such an exciting talent, and it’s surely a matter of time before he’s in a car that can win the whole thing.
“Does anyone else get the feeling we’re reaching peak saturation with F1?” wonders Samuel Brotherwood. “The end of last season doesn’t feel that long ago and this year is even longer. If/when Verstappen wins, isn’t it just a continuation of the race that preceeded this one? We are stuck in the Marvel meta-world (or whatever it’s called).”
I don’t think the number of races is a problem, but knowing from the outset that Verstappen will win and Pérez will almost definitely come second isn’t ideal.
“Looking forward to the new season,” emails Luke Forrester. “I do feel that F1 somewhat lost its soul the day Jarno Trulli hung up his helmet, but oh well. Just as a suggestion for this year, could we maybe have the full qualifying and race results, and possibly a drivers’/constructors’ table as well? The race reports are great but they don’t always let you know where all the drivers finished; and anyway, it would be convenient to see the positions at a glance. Currently you have to find out by leaving the Guardian and visiting other sites. Anyway, let’s hope this season is a good one!”
I can only speak for myself, but I always do a full 1-20 at the end of the race, and a driver championship for as many drivers are seriously relevant to anything.
Elsewhere:
In fairness to Hamilton, he seems in good spirits. I guess when you’ve got seven world titles it’s easier to be sanguine, except if you’re capable of winning seven world titles, being sanguine is likely something you’re not. I’d love to know how his conversations with Wolff have gone.
Email! “Good, a live commentary from the Guardian!” says Anne Williams. “I phoned up Guardian customer services about an hour ago and they didn’t know whether it was going to be live or not, so know I know!”
We got you Anne – and will have for the duration of the season, so feel free to continue knowing.
Hamilton tells Sky he’s really excited, happy to be there, glad of another year to work with the team. He likes racing on the track and hopes to be battling “Fernando and the Ferraris … the Red Bulls will be long gone”. Ohhhhhh maaaaaaaan.
“We got it wrong last year, we thought we can fix it while sticking to this concept of car and it didn’t work out. So we just need to switch; we need to switch our focus on to what we believe can be the right direction and what it is we are missing.”
Oh man.
Red Bull, Red Bull, Ferrari, Ferrari. It’s hard not to look at today’s top four and wonder if it reflects what we’re going to see this term. You also have to wonder if George Russell will again finish ahead of Hamilton, who recently told Sky he’ll be sticking around until he wins that record-breaking eighth title. But imagine his mood this weekend after hearing Toto Wolff near-enough write off the season before it’s even begun.
Updated
The grid
Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari)
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
George Russell (Mercedes)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Nico Hülkenberg (Haas)
Lando Norris (McLaren)
Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
Alex Albon (Williams)
Logan Sargeant (Williams)
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri)
Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Preamble
Aaaaaand we’re away! Happy new year people, and welcome to another season of F1 madness which starts right here – figuratively speaking, for those of us not in Bahrain – and with a rhetorical question: can anyone stop Verstappen. Or, indeed, stap Verstoppen?
Er, no, is the short answer: Red Bull’s double-champ is in poll for today’s race after another brilliant qualifying drive and looks a lock to complete a hat-trick. Partly, that reflects a driver and team in perfect synchronicity … and partly it reflects one that isn’t, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes painfully aware that the design issues which hampered them last season will continue to do so this.
It’s an almighty mess, it really is. But Verstappen – or Verstappz, as he’s presumably known in the paddock – won’t care and neither, in the end, will we. Because the point is not the destination but the journey, and though we think we know what’s going to happen over the next nine months, we also know that everything we’ve ever seen in this crazy sport tells us we don’t really have a clue nor anything approximating to one. Bring it on!
Lights out: 7pm local, 3pm GMT
