Charles Leclerc won a close battle with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen before taking a classy victory as Ferrari took a one-two in a dramatic season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Leclerc and Verstappen staged a thrilling wheel-to-wheel dice after their first pit stops, swapping places five times in two laps before Leclerc moved ahead.
The closing laps were packed with drama, with a safety car period and then reliability problems forcing Verstappen’s retirement promoting Carlos Sainz to second.
And then the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez suffered a failure at the first corner of the final lap leaving Lewis Hamilton to take the final podium place for Mercedes.
Hamilton had looked set for fifth place as Mercedes’ pace problems became ever clearer during the race but Red Bull’s nightmare provided the seven-time champion an unexpected boost.
The irony that Hamilton gained from Red Bull’s misfortune in the first race after he lost the world title in the controversial climax to last season will be lost on few.
