Having secured a Red Bull 1-2 in Bahrain to open the 2024 season, the defending world champions looked good value to repeat the feat from lap one as Verstappen launched off the line and Sergio Perez battled Charles Leclerc.
The Ferrari driver held on for a short while before succumbing to the Mexican’s pace, but complications arose via Lance Stroll’s crash on the seventh lap – which drew out the safety car.
Perez’s unsafe release from an early pit stop in front of Fernando Alonso resulted in a five-second penalty as the bulk of the frontrunners changed to the hard tyres. However, he would cruise home in second behind Verstappen with a sizeable lead over Leclerc.
Only Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton stayed out, leaving the McLaren briefly in the lead at the restart before Verstappen’s tyres warmed up and he reeled him in to return to first place.
The duo remained a thorn in …
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