Lewis Hamilton wins season-opening Bahrain GP after holding off late charge from Max Verstappen, who passed Mercedes but had to hand position back for running off-track; Valtteri Bottas completes podium, Lando Norris fourth for McLaren; Sergio Perez fifth after starting from the pits
Monday 29 March 2021 06:10, UK
Formula 1 2021 is alive and kicking as Lewis Hamilton won the Bahrain GP after surviving a gripping late-race battle with Max Verstappen - with the season-opener serving up an epic and ultimately controversial superstar duel.
The lead changed hands three times between the predicted title protagonists before Verstappen, who started on pole, chased down Hamilton in the closing stages - even overtaking the Mercedes with three laps remaining as Red Bull looked set to lay down their marker for the championship.
But, dramatically, Verstappen was forced to cede the position back to Hamilton after executing the move at Turn Four while off the track.
Hamilton, who withstood immense pressure on older tyres, then aced the final laps to take his first season-opening win since 2015, giving the Englishman the perfect start in his pursuit of an historic eighth title.
"It was one of the hardest races I've had for a while," said Hamilton, who took a record-extending 96th victory.
"They have had an amazing performance all weekend, so it was going to take something really special."
It was one of the great season-openers which hinted at a season-long head-to-head fight between F1's two superstar drivers.
But Verstappen was understandably distraught after losing the chance to take his first-ever championship lead - particularly unhappy about the call to make him hand the lead back to Hamilton.
"Why didn't you just let me go, man?" he said on team radio.
"I could have easily pulled those five seconds [for a penalty]. I am prepared to lose a win like that than be second like this."
But Red Bull had no choice due to a call from Bahrain race control, as team boss Christian Horner explained to the pre-race favourite.
Valtteri Bottas was a distant third to complete the podium - not helped by a slow Mercedes pit-stop - although, adding insult to injury, took the fastest lap bonus point off Verstappen on the last lap.
Lando Norris was an impressive fourth for McLaren, with Sergio Perez recovering to fifth after being forced to start from the pit-lane following a formation lap reliability glitch.
Sakhir's opening race also saw Fernando Alonso retire on his F1 return, Sebastian Vettel pick up a 10-second penalty for a collision, and plenty of wheel-to-wheel racing through the field.
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
3) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
4) Lando Norris, McLaren
5) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
6) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
7) Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren
8) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
9) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
10) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
The Bahrain GP was always going to be won by either Hamilton or Verstappen as the star drivers, who shared the front row, showed pace early on to make it clear it was a two-horse race.
But with the momentum pendulum swinging throughout a pulsating evening in the desert, it wasn't clear who would come out on top until the end of the 56th and very last lap.
Verstappen held onto his pole lead through two early race restarts - with a Nikita Mazepin spin causing a first-lap Safety Car - but, struggling with a throttle differential issue, could never extend a big gap to Hamilton.
That led to Mercedes pitting Hamilton early and executing an undercut on Verstappen, who stayed out for four laps before stopping - losing his lead in the process as his rival took an eight-second lead.
Those differing strategies from F1's top two teams saw Hamilton gain time initially, but Verstappen would then rapidly shrink Mercedes' advantage on fresher rubber.
That played out after the second stop to set up the incredible finale.
Although Verstappen was seven seconds behind Hamilton after the final stop, it was 11 laps after the race leader - giving him a big tyre advantage - and he quickly lapped around a second faster than the world champion.
Mercedes told Hamilton that Verstappen would catch him with five laps to go, a prediction which proved to be correct.
Verstappen, after clearing traffic, had reached DRS range and seemingly it was now his race to lose, as long as he got close enough to Hamilton's W12 for a launch on the main two straights, the biggest overtaking opportunities.
On Lap 53, Verstappen closed up to Hamilton into Turn One and then edged ahead into Turn Four. But Hamilton placed his car on the inside line, forcing Verstappen to go around the outside of a corner where Hamilton had been warned about track limits earlier on in the race.
Verstappen passed Hamilton, but all four wheels of his RB16B were off the track. An illegal move. The Dutchman, instructed by Red Bull, had to let Hamilton back ahead on the next straight.
While Verstappen still had the best part of three laps to attack the Mercedes, he never got as close as Lap 53 again - making costly mistakes behind Hamilton and only getting DRS on the final lap. By which time, Hamilton had a big enough margin.
It was a masterful defence from Hamilton and a thrilling pursuit from Verstappen, who both would have been worthy victors. On Bahrain's evidence, we may be seeing a lot more of this battle in F1 2021.
The midfield battle was predictably intense, and it is McLaren and Ferrari who will come away from Bahrain in the best spirits after finishing the season-opener with both cars in the top-10.
Norris was particularly impressive for McLaren. After Pierre Gasly broke his front wing early on - in a tangle with Daniel Ricciardo - Norris passed his new Australian team-mate and then finished 20s ahead of him at the chequered flag.
He was ahead of Perez, whose Red Bull debut proved to be a comeback mission after grinding to a halt on the formation lap. While he got the car going again, he had to start from the pit-lane - before showing pace through the field which may have put him in podium contention without his issues.
Leclerc, after moving up to third on Lap One, never had the race pace of Norris but Ferrari, whose new singing Carlos Sainz was eighth, will be pleased with their winter progress.
Yuki Tsunoda salvaged AlphaTauri's day with two points on his F1 debut, with a swooping pass on two-time champion Alonso the highlight of his race.
Alonso had ran as high as seventh in the opening laps of his return but, after losing positions following his pit-stop, was forced to retire with a brake issue. Esteban Ocon was only 13th in the other Alpine.
The other new name on the grid - Aston Martin - did score a point through Lance Stroll but Vettel, like fellow veteran multiple champion Alonso, had a disappointing first race in new colours.
Despite gaining six places from the back of the grid on the first lap, Vettel never seemed to have midfield pace and his top-10 hopes were ended when clumsily crashing into the back of Ocon after being overtaken into Turn One.
A 10-second penalty would follow.
Mick Schumacher was last on his F1 debut, although at least managed to recover from an early spin to finish the race in his backmarker Haas.
