Reigning champion Verstappen sends out warning to rivals with Bahrain Grand Prix victory

Red Bull's Max Verstappen delivered a chilling warning to his Formula One rivals as he won the opening race of the season in Bahrain on Saturday with ease.

Verstappen blew away the field in the 57-lap race to lead a Red Bull one-two, with teammate Sergio Perez taking second place, trailing in a distant 22 seconds behind the flying Dutchman.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took the chequered flag in third, one place ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton a disappointing fifth and seventh respectively for Mercedes. McLaren’s Lando Norris finished sixth.

Verstappen has raced to the past three world championships and his crushing streak looks set to continue into 2024 following a commanding lights-to-flag win.

The Dutch driver saw off teammate Perez’s challenge by 22.4 seconds to take his 18th win from the last 19 races and, remarkably, his 36th victory since Hamilton last won a Grand Prix.

Such was Red Bull’s stranglehold on last season’s championship, that they were afforded the luxury of turning their attention to this year’s machine earlier than their competitors.

And revered designer Adrian Newey appears to have built a car which could take Verstappen to another stratosphere.

After holding off the challenge from Ferrari’s Leclerc on the run down to the opening corner, his victory never appeared in doubt. By the end of lap 11, Verstappen had already pulled 10 seconds clear.

Conquering the competition in Bahrain