Leclerc wins F1 opener for Ferrari as Red Bull implode

Charles Leclerc claimed a brilliant win for Ferrari at the season-opening Bahrain GP while Max Verstappen suffered a late reliability failure as a new era of Formula 1 got off to a pulsating start under the lights in the desert.

Leclerc and Verstappen went toe to toe for much of the first race of the year, and had multiple brilliant wheel-to-wheel battles, before a Safety Car preceded last-gap drama, agony for Red Bull and joy for Ferrari.

Verstappen, the reigning world champion who was running second, saw his race ended with a DNF with just three laps remaining, opening the door for Carlos Sainz to seal a Ferrari one-two.

It was Ferrari's first win since 2019, ending the second-longest drought in their history, with the Italian giants returning to the front with their all-new car.

The heartbreak, meanwhile, was not over for Red Bull as Sergio Perez, who also had reliability concerns, spun when under pressure from Lewis Hamilton in a battle for third on the final lap.

That completed damage limitation to the extreme for Mercedes as George Russell finished fourth at the end of a race where the sport's world champions were much slower than their rivals.

More to follow.