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sport">Verstappen left from second place on Sunday afternoon. During Saturday’s qualifying, the Dutchman only had to tolerate Leclerc. Like Red Bull, Ferrari also made an excellent impression from the test days. The Monegask’s pole position and Sainz’s third time in qualifying confirmed that.
sport">Despite the fact that Verstappen was not allowed to start from the hoped-for first starting position, he looked confidently at the race immediately after qualifying: “I think we have a good chance of winning on Sunday”, he said afterwards.
sport">Hamilton ‘only’ started from the third row in Sakhir. The Briton did not get further than the fifth time on Saturday. Teammate George Russell didn’t even get past the ninth fastest time, so he knew he had to chase after Sunday.
sport">Just before the start, Formula 1 made a statement. All drivers together on the grid drew attention to an action by Unicef and made an appeal to donate.
sport">Sign up for the Formula 1 newsletter and don’t miss out on all the news about Max Verstappen this season
Start
sport">At the start, Leclerc immediately slammed the door, forcing Verstappen outside. The Dutchman did not pass, but retained his second place. Hamilton and Russell both got off to a good start in their Mercedes. The Briton moved up to fourth place and Russell even took two places and was seventh after the start.
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Max Verstappen in action in Bahrain.
Ⓒ Proshots
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sport">Kevin Magnussen got off to an excellent start. The Haas driver won two spots and briefly rounded out fifth, but was soon overtaken by Sergio Perez and Russell. Esteban Ocon and Mick Schumacher collided after the start, with the Haas driver spinning. Schumacher was able to continue on p13. Not much later, Ocon was awarded a five-second penalty from race officials for the incident.
sport">Meanwhile, Verstappen saw how Leclerc drove away from him more and more. After thirteen rounds he had a gap of almost 3.5 seconds. The Dutchman, meanwhile, complained about the on-board radio with his team that he lacked traction.
Pitstop
sport">Hamilton decided to come in on lap twelve and exchanged his soft tires for a set of hard ones. Two laps later, Verstappen also decided to get new tires. He went for a new set of soft tires. At Ferrari they took no risks and called Leclerc in a lap later. The Monegask did come out ahead of the Dutchman on the medium tire, but little of his lead was left. Leclerc felt the Dutchman’s hot breath on his neck.
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Verstappen in battle with Leclerc.
Ⓒ Proshots
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sport">A great fight unfolded on track, in which Verstappen, while the sparks were shooting from under his car, overtook Leclerc a number of times. The Ferrari driver, in turn, threw the Dutchman back again and again. After two rounds full of spectacle, Verstappen had to let Leclerc go again. The Ferrari driver was able to take a breath and again drove away from the Dutchman for four seconds.
sport">Verstappen, who had problems with his brakes, decided for a second time on Sunday afternoon for a undercut to go. He returned to the track on medium tires. Again Ferrari decided to react immediately and Leclerc also came in for a set of new tires. It turned out to be a good set from Red Bull again, because the gap on Leclerc had become smaller. Still, there was no new fight on the track.
sport">Much to Verstappen’s frustration. The Dutchman did have the feeling that he could attack the Monegask, but his team had to take it easy in his outlap. Not much later he was told that he was free to push.
sport">But instead of getting closer, the Dutchman lost time on his competitor. With five laps to go, Leclerc’s lead had risen to five seconds.
Drama Verstappen
sport">In an ultimate attempt to top Ferrari, Verstappen came in for new tires for the third time. This time Ferrari decided not to answer immediately and the Dutchman seemed to quickly gain time on his competitor. A safety car, after Pierre Gasly’s car caught fire, threw a spanner in the works for Red Bull and Verstappen.
sport">Leclerc now also came in and was able to make a ‘free’ pit stop. The whole field collapsed again and Verstappen knew he had another chance to attack Leclerc at the restart. Still, the Dutchman continued to report problems about the on-board radio. His steering wheel was also not working properly.
sport">Verstappen lurked and lurked, but Leclerc picked the right point to get back on the gas and had a blast. Instead of attacking, Verstappen suddenly felt Sainz’s hot breath. With two laps to go, a drama ensued for the Dutchman who fell completely silent. He eventually had to go to the pit lane to park his car. Not much later, the drama for Red Bull was complete, after Perez also dropped out.
sport">It turned out to be a great afternoon for Ferrari. Leclerc rode unthreatened to the win. Sainz came in second and Hamilton completed the podium. The Briton was therefore able to limit the damage optimally in Bahrain.
GP Saudi Arabia
sport">Verstappen can already pick himself up next weekend. The second race of the season is then scheduled in Saudi Arabia.
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