Dutchman Max Verstappen won the first Grand Prix of the Bahrain Formula One season at the Sakhir circuit on Saturday. His Mexican Red Bull teammate, Sergio Pérez, and Spain's Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari completed the podium. 

As if time had not passed, the little over 90 days between the end of the 2023 season and the start of 2024 have had the same result. Verstappen, the undisputed champion of the world's most important motorsport category, and his Red Bull team in the Constructors' Championship. 

"It's incredible, it was better than expected, the car was very good with all the tyres and we had a lot of pace. It couldn't have gone better. It's always special to have days like this. But it's a long season," said Verstappen.

Red Bull and their star man, reigning three-time world champion Verstappen, confirmed that they are overwhelming favourites to repeat as champions in the 2024 season, which will be the densest in F1 history with 24 races on the calendar.

The 26-year-old Dutchman took the 55th win of his career with a commanding lead over his main rival. Twenty-two seconds separated him from team-mate Pérez on the Bahrain circuit. He also set the fastest lap in a race in which there were no retirements among the 20 entrants. 

With Sainz on the podium, Ferrari consolidated its position as the second force in the top category, as it did at the end of 2023, when Carlos Sainz was the only one able to steal a race from the Red Bull team. "It was the best we could do. It was a complicated race with tyre management. We slipped a bit with the engine brake, which is not easy in Sakhir. We have a good momentum and we have to try to keep it," added Pérez, who once again fulfilled his role as Verstappen's wingman to perfection. 

The Mercedes driver, Briton Lewis Hamilton, who until Verstappen's arrival was the undisputed dominator of the category (7 world titles), finished seventh, two places behind his team-mate, fellow Briton George Russell.

Between them, McLaren's compatriot Lando Norris slipped in, while his team-mate, Australian Oscar Piastri, finished eighth. Spaniard Fernando Alonso and Canadian Lance Stroll, the Aston Martin pairing, completed the top ten.

Next Saturday, the second race of the year will be held in Saudi Arabia, on the first street circuit of the season in the city of Jeddah, and there will be another opportunity to try and dethrone the seemingly unbeatable: Max Verstappen. As in Bahrain, qualifying will take place on Friday and the race on Saturday.