Reigning champ Verstappen dominates Bahrain GP in F1 season opener
Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, leading a dominant showing for Red Bull as teammate Sergio Perez crossed the line second.
It's the first time the reigning champ has won a season opener or at Bahrain, previously enduring four DNFs at the Bahrain International Circuit, including the 2019 Sakhir Grand Prix.
Verstappen's 36th career victory was by a margin of nearly 12 seconds over Checo and nearly 40 seconds over third.
It's the first front-row lockout Red Bull has had on both Saturday qualifying and Sunday race day since the 2013 Abu Dhabi GP with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.
Two-time champion Fernando Alonso rounded out the podium by placing third in his first race with Aston Martin. It's Alonso's 99th podium finish and only his second since 2014 when he placed second in the Hungary GP while with Ferrari.
Alonso, the oldest driver on the grid at 41, led a new-and-improved Aston, while teammate Lance Stroll, who missed preseason testing after requiring wrist operations due to a bicycle crash, finished sixth.
"Finishing on the podium in the first race of the year is amazing," an elated Alonso said following the impressive showing. "To have the second-best car on race one is just unreal."
The two Astons collided on the first lap, with Stroll running into the rear of Alonso while heading into the first turn. However, both were able to avoid any serious damage.
"Oh, and by the way, Lance is my hero," Alonso added, according to F1 insider Tim Hauraney. "An amazing performance. Well done, everyone."
Stroll split the two Mercedes, with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton placing fifth and George Russell running seventh.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc suffered a late retirement due to a power issue while running third place on Lap 41. At that time, Carlos Sainz Jr. was comfortably in fourth but lacked the pace to maintain a podium finish in the wake of Leclerc's exit, getting overtaken by Alonso.
Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas in eighth, Alpine's Pierre Gasly in ninth, and Williams' Alex Albon in 10th rounded out the points. The lone constructors not to gain at least one point in the season opener were AlphaTauri, Haas and McLaren.
McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri and Alpine's Esteban Ocon were the only other retirements alongside Leclerc.