MAX VERSTAPPEN kicked off the 2023 Formula 1 season in style, with a HUGE win at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez finished second, and Fernando Alonso, who started fifth, claimed a podium finish.
Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, while Charles Leclerc, Esteban Ocon and Oscar Piastri all retired during the race.
- Start time: 3pm UK/10am ET
- TV channel: Sky Sports F1
- Live stream: Now
- Grid: Verstappen (Red Bull), Perez (Red Bull), Leclerc (Ferrari), Sainz (Ferrari), Alonso (Aston Martin), Russell (Mercedes), Hamilton (Mercedes).
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- Kieran Davies
The stars were bright, Fernando
Fernando Alonso's third place finish was a win itself.
Nobody before qualifying would have been placing money with bookies on an Aston Martin podium
The way the Spaniard dealt with his on track battles with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were nothing short of brilliant.
And boy did he enjoy it.
Credit: AFP 
Credit: Reuters - Kieran Davies
Worry for the rest of the field
As the dust settles on the Bahrain Grand Prix the reality is setting in with the drivers.
Max Verstappen is going to take some stopping this season.
He won this race at a canter, never troubled by anyone.
- Kieran Davies
Bahrain applauds its three amigos
The 2023 F1 season has begun in spectacular style today.
With it being a great day for Red Bull, taking two of the three podium places.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin celebrate only their second podium finish.
Credit: Getty
- Kieran Davies
Quiet day in the office for Verstappen
Max Verstappen pulls his car into its space as the race winner.
From the grid he led the race and nothing changed for the duration.
With his team taking first and second, it confirms one thing.
Red Bull…….it gives you wins.
Credit: AP - Kieran Davies
Spark gone out of Leclerc challenge
Charles Leclerc will be bitterly disappointed having to bow out of the race today in Bahrain.
After starting third on the grid, he will have had high hopes of what he could achieve today.
The electrical problems his Ferrari was having before the race came back to haunt the Monegasque driver.
Credit: Splash - Kieran Davies
F1 season starts in style
This race did not fail to disappoint today.
So many questions needing answering going into the first race of the 2023 campaign.
Here are the all important results from Bahrain:
- 1st – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- 2nd – Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
- 3rd – Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- 4th – Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- 5th – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Max Verstappen wins Bahrain Grand Prix
Lap 57/57 – Verstappen wins Bahrain Grand Prix
Defending world champion Max Verstappen gets the 2023 F1 campaign off to the perfect start.
Teammate Sergio Perez finishes exactly where he started on the grid.
The big story is Fernando Alonso, who started in fifth, taking a podium finish.
Spanish eyes on Alonso as he takes Aston Martin's second ever podium finish.
Lap 55/57 – Verstappen leads, Alonso in third
This race is now all about the battle for third.
What a great drive this has been by Verstappen also.
He has not been troubled by anyone at all today and has led from start to finish.
Machine.
- Kieran Davies
Lap 53/57 – Verstappen heading for victory
Max Verstappen is looking set for the first win of the season.
He leads Perez by 10.8 seconds now.
Perez has a gap over over 24 seconds on Alonso.
More importantly for the Spaniard, he has a 7.3 second gap on Sainz in fourth.
- Kieran Davies
Lap 51/57 – Verstappen leads, Hamilton in fifth
It is debatable whether Lewis Hamilton has seen Max Verstappen's car since the grid earlier today.
No doubt he will have his reasons, usually problems with Mercedes' ability to give him a decent car.
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso is showing everyone what driving ability can do as he thrives in this new Aston Martin.
- Kieran Davies
Lap 49/57 – Verstappen leads Perez
The real race now is for that final podium place.
Failing anything drastic happening to their cars, Verstappen and Perez look nailed on for the first and second spots.
Alonso meanwhile has a 3.7 second lead on Sainz.
Lando Norris comes in for his fifth stop to get that air supply topped up.
- Kieran Davies
Lap 47/57 – Alonso into third place
Form is temporary, class is permanent.
The oldest driver in the F1 season, Fernando Alonso gets into the slipstream of Sainz and then uses DRS to get better pace to go passed the Ferrari.
Amazing driving, Alonso now has the chance to finish on the podium today.
Meanwhile, Verstappen is having a leisurely Sunday drive leading the race from Perez in second.
Credit: AFP - Kieran Davies
Lap 45/57 – Perez closes gap on Verstappen
Sergio Perez reduces the gap to under ten seconds on his teammate.
Fernando Alonso can taste blood now as he is only 0.3 seconds behinds Sainz.
For Sainz to keep the pace to hold him off, his tyres will not be able to see this race out.
Aston Martin has only ever had one podium finish before.
What a chance for the experienced Alonso.
- Kieran Davies
Lap 43/57 – Leclerc out of race
Not the opening race of the season Charles Leclerc wanted.
Another unreliable Ferrari car costs him.
It has opened up the race for a place on the podium for somebody else now.
Red Bull will be glad that it was only a virtual safety car in place.
- Kieran Davies
Leclerc off the track, virtual safety car out
Charles Leclerc experiences complete power failure.
The virtual safety car is in place.
He was having battery issues before the race and it seems the problems have back to haunt him.
- Kieran Davies
Lap 41/57 – Red Bull dominate, Alonso into fifth
This is some drive by Fernando Alonso this evening.
If he can finish above the two Mercedes, it will be some achievement.
There is no love lost between the two drivers from their time together before.
Meanwhile, Verstappen is having a comfortable drive.
- Kieran Davies
Lap 39/57 – Ferrari seem content with podium
It seems with hard tyres being fitted to both cars now that Ferrari have given up on catching Perez.
The most interesting battle is between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.
Coming into turn ten the Spaniard takes Hamilton.
This is a great watch.
Credit: Getty - Kieran Davies
Lap 37/57 – Verstappen leads, Alonso drops
Max Verstappen has a huge lead from his teammate now, some 12.2 seconds.
Leclerc and Sainz hold third and fourth.
Alonso's pitting cost him as he drops into sixth behind Hamilton.
The Spaniard does have fresher tyres than the Englishman though.
This is turning into a great battle between the pair.
- Kieran Davies
Lap 35/57 – Alonso moves into third
Fernando Alonso is one of the only drivers to have not pitted twice so far.
He is managing his tyres to try and build his lead.
Verstappen meanwhile is 14 seconds ahead of Perez as he comes into the pits and it is the hard tyre that is fitted.
Alonso finally takes his second pit of the race which sees Leclerc move back into third place.
- Kieran Davies
Lap 33/57 – Verstappen leads, Alonso into fourth
Aston Martin have performed the undercut which sees Stroll get ahead of Russell coming out of the pits.
Alonso is putting in some real fast lap times but is 22 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
The Spaniard still needs to pit but is looking to build more of a lead to come out of them ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
- Kieran Davies
Lap 31/57 – Red Bull dominate pace, tyres key
The last thing Red Bull would want to see in this race is the safety car.
While they hold the front two places, tyre management is key for them now.
They need to go onto a harder tyre.
With Alonso putting pressure on Hamilton, threatening an undercut, his team tell him to pit.
Credit: Reuters - Kieran Davies
Lap 29/57 – Verstappen leads from Perez
Perez is some 13.7 seconds behind his Red Bull teammate.
Leclerc needs to focus on trying to break this Red Bull dominance but sits 5.1 seconds behind.
Sainz then is a further 12.5 seconds behind.
- Kieran Davies
Ocon nightmare continues
Esteban Ocon is having a race from hell today.
Starting in the wrong position on the grid, he was awarded a five second penalty.
Then, he was given a further ten second penalty for not carrying out the previous one correctly.
Now he is being investigated for speeding in the pit lane.
All of this and he sits in last position.
- Kieran Davies
Lap 27/57 – Perez takes Leclerc on the corner
What a battle between second and third.
The Ferrari pit looks despondent as Perez use the bend to take Leclerc and he also the DRS advantage.
He still sits 13.8 seconds behind his teammate who could not have imagined such a simple stroll out in front.
Red Bull one and two here in Bahrain.
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