A yr in the past, Red Bull left the Bahrain Grand Prix locked out of the factors, wanting up at the remainder of the sector as Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez each failed to complete.
A brand new yr provided a a lot completely different story for the crew.
After locking out the entrance row throughout Saturday’s qualifying session — with Verstappen on the pole and Perez simply behind him — the drivers accomplished the weekend atop the rostrum. Verstappen pulled away from the sector to safe first at Bahrain, whereas Perez got here throughout the road forward of him to provide Red Bull a robust 1-2 end to begin the season.
The defending Drivers’ Champion mentioned after the race that it was precisely what the crew hoped for.
“This is exactly the start we wanted, a one-two finish. I’m incredibly proud that we have achieved this as a Team,” mentioned Verstappen after the race in an announcement supplied to the media, together with SB Nation. “I could see early on that we had the pace in the car, I was able to build a gap from the start and then just managed it for the rest of the race, it was a straightforward day for us. It also feels good to finally win in Bahrain, I haven’t had the best history here.”
Verstappen’s win on Sunday was his first at Bahrain in ten races at Sakhir. His earlier finest was a second-place end in 2021.
While Verstappen managed to drag away from the sector, his teammate needed to cope with just a few completely different battles on the monitor to safe his second-place end. Perez initially fell behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, however was capable of struggle his manner again into second, and that place was secured when Leclerc retired early resulting from an influence downside.
“My start wasn’t ideal, Charles was a little too aggressive, pushed me to the right and I did my best to avoid him. That meant my first stint wasn’t ideal, Charles was very strong on that new tyre and it was difficult to get through him quickly enough,” mentioned Perez after the race. “I think that’s where I lost out to Max, I was behind him by about 10 or 12 seconds and after that it was game over on catching Max, it was all about getting Charles. It was important to get by him, minimise the damage and get that P2 for the Team.”
Team Principal Christian Horner was overjoyed with the end result.
“What a race! Max certainly showed he has not lost any of his pace coming into the new season, grabbing pole and the victory with both hands. Checo had a bit of work to do with Charles, but he played it well and then from there it was about managing the race till the end,” exclaimed the Team Principal after the Grand Prix. “The pace was there, the reliability too, we also had a solid pit stop strategy. It’s great to have both the guys up there within a tenth, fighting over the fine margins. That pushes the Team forward and they certainly delivered. Comparing it to last year, when we finished with no points, is quite a contrast.”
Still, each Verstappen and his boss acknowledged that Bahrain is simply the begin to a protracted F1 season.
“However, it’s important to remember this is just race one, there’s a lot of racing still to do, but it is a great start, from the whole team,” mentioned Horner. “It was important for us to get on the board, get some good points in early and we have done that today. We look forward to see what Jeddah brings.”
Verstappen famous after the race that Jeddah is a a lot completely different monitor than Bahrain, that can carry completely different challenged for Red Bull and their 2023 challenger, the RB19. “Looking ahead to Jeddah, it’s a completely different track with different conditions, there’s a lot of long straights and fast corners, so it will give us a completely different picture of where everyone is on the grid but at least this was a very good start for us.”
Still, with how final yr began — after which ended — that is as near an ideal begin for Red Bull.
And one which has the remainder of the sector questioning the way to shut the hole on the defending champions.