Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc won the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon, overcoming an epic battle with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and a late Safety Car period to cement his early-season title prospects, while Red Bull suffered a double retirement.
Starting from pole, Leclerc surged away from Verstappen and kept the lead until the first round of pit stops, when we saw our first of many battles between the Monegasque and the Dutchman this year.
Verstappen passed Leclerc three times in a row to grab the lead in the Grand Prix, but each time the Ferrari driver fought back to retake P1 seconds later.
Indeed, this seemed to be Verstappen’s greatest chance of winning, and it proved to be so, as Leclerc was able to open up a distance in the following laps, which he was able to retain after the second round of pit stops.
Red Bull elected to pit both Verstappen and Sergio Perez once more in an attempt to do something new, but the Dutchman immediately reported power steering troubles, and his problems were only going to grow worse.
After a Safety Car period brought on by Pierre Gasly’s fire, Leclerc needed to re-establish his lead, which he did with ease, while Verstappen struggled with power troubles.
With only a few circuits remaining, the Dutchman began crawling to the pitlane, with Carlos Sainz claiming P2 to complete a Ferrari one-two.
Red Bull’s worries, on the other hand, were just beginning, as Sergio Perez, who had been promoted to third due to his teammate’s problems, began complaining about a lack of power as well.
Red Bull’s night was finished off by Perez’s engine cutting out and putting him out of the race with only a few turns remaining in the 57-lap race, securing a podium berth for Lewis Hamilton.
F1 is firmly back, with a Ferrari one-two and an improbable podium for Hamilton on a bad day for Red Bull.