Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton feels that Mercedes have work to do to get on terms with their rivals after he ended the Bahrain Grand Prix in seventh place, with the Briton admitting that he was expecting to be closer to the fight.

Sergio Perez believes that there is room for improvement for Red Bull following the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, despite the team securing a one-two result.

We’ve become used in the previous two seasons to seeing a Red Bull with a bigger performance advantage on race day than in qualifying. This first race of 2024 suggested the same pattern. In a car in which he could easily have lost out on pole to Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished 25s clear of the best non-Red Bull.

Charles Leclerc couldn’t hide his disappointment after front brake locking issues left him struggling in the Bahrain Grand Prix, with the Monegasque ultimately finishing behind his team mate in P4.

A late-race position swap between RB drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo led to tensions boiling over after the chequered flag at the Bahrain Grand Prix – with the pair nearly making contact on the cool-down lap.

1 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), 2 – Sergio PÉREZ (Red Bull Racing), 3 – Carlos SAINZ (Ferrari)

The drivers and teams report back from International Bahrain Circuit for the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2024.

A brilliant getaway from third on the grid saw George Russell overtake Charles Leclerc on the second lap, the Ferrari man unable to stay in touch with his Mercedes rival. But from that promising start, things soon unravelled for Russell as overheating issues forced him to lift and coast, costing him not just lap time but race positions too.

Carlos Sainz hailed a “solid start” to his 2024 season after claiming the final spot on the podium in the Bahrain Grand Prix, with the Spaniard also taking the margin between himself and second-placed Sergio Perez as a “pleasant surprise”.

It was remarkable race in Bahrain on Saturday for numerous reasons. One, of course, was Max Verstappen’s imperious showing for Red Bull. Arguably more remarkable, however, was the fact that for the first time in F1 history every car that took the start in the season’s first round also took the chequered flag.

Max Verstappen has begun his title defence in style by taking victory in the 2024 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, while plenty of drama unfolded behind.

Max Verstappen was full of smiles after storming to victory in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, the Dutchman kicking off his third successive title defence with a dominant performance at the Sakhir circuit.

Carlos Sainz may have already lost his Ferrari seat for next season, but the Spaniard wasted no time in showing the Scuderia what they'll be missing in Bahrain.

Max Verstappen converted pole position into the race win with a controlled drive in Saturday night’s Bahrain Grand Prix, leading home Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez and Ferrari rival Carlos Sainz to start his latest title defence in perfect fashion.

There was action aplenty to kick off the 2024 F1 season at the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix as Max Verstappen made a strong launch to secure the lead.

Zane Maloney took his second victory of the weekend after coming through from third to take a dominant win in the first Feature Race of the season at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Live coverage of Saturday's Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2024 in Sakhir.

Luke Browning took top honours on Saturday, winning his first FIA Formula 3 race in the Sakhir Feature for Hitech Pulse-Eight.

Twenty F1 drivers. Five red lights. An instant that can make or break a race. The start of a Formula 1 Grand Prix is a critical moment, demanding extraordinary skill from the drivers and rapid decision making from their teams.