“To one and two, baby! Mamma mia!” Charles Leclerc was over the moon yesterday at the Formula 1 season opener in the Bahrain desert when he radioed to the Ferrari pits. The Monegasse had given the Scuderia its first victory since September 2019, which even became a double success thanks to Carlos Sainz junior. Third was Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. The Red Bull team, on the other hand, had a pitch-black day: world champion Max Verstappen had to park his vehicle in the garage after a defect three laps before the end while he was second. When Sergio Perez then stopped in the second car in the finale, the disaster was complete.
View picture gallery
98 days after the dramatic World Cup final, Verstappen wanted to know right at the beginning in the twilight of Sakhir. At the start of a new era after major rule changes, Leclerc confidently defended the lead. Hamilton pushed past Perez, Kevin Magnussen also had a good distance. The Dane, who was surprisingly strong in the Haas, drove into the first corner in fifth place and should also take this position at the end. Perez left Hamilton behind again after ten laps, the seven-time world champion had nothing to counter the attack of the Red Bull driver. The Mercedes driver also had grip problems after the first pit stop. After the leaders had also swapped tires, from the 17th lap the hoped-for improvements in more overtaking maneuvers were fully met.
The thrilling exchange of blows between Leclerc and the approaching Verstappen lasted three laps. Thanks to DRS, the Dutchman passed his rival at top speed, who countered three corners later.
The scenario repeated itself in the next round. Verstappen then passed again after the home straight, but braked – and had to let Leclerc pass again. Tire wear remained a major issue, causing problems for the teams. Even the second pit stop did not get Verstappen past Leclerc, the Dutchman complained via radio for what he considered to be the wrong strategy.
decision after incident
Leclerc remained safe, only the safety car phase, because Pierre Gasly’s Alpha Tauri was on fire, brought the competitors back together. However, Leclerc again defended his position.
Verstappen already complained about problems with the steering. But it was to get even worse: the Dutchman and Perez both retired because of problems with the fuel supply, as team advisor Helmut Marko later revealed. Behind Hamilton, his Mercedes colleague George Russell also said thank you and took fourth place.
Source: Nachrichten
