Red Bull Racing began their 2024 Formula One title defence with a perfect one-two finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen picked up the 55th Grand Prix victory of his career while teammate Sergio Pérez finished in second place in the opening race of the 2024 Formula One season.
Verstappen was not truly challenged throughout the entire race, starting in pole position and holding onto the top spot for the entirety of the 57-lap race, posting a total time of 1:31:44.742 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.
The Dutchman's dominance in the race was highlighted by the fact that he held a 22.457-second lead over Pérez in second place, and completed a clean sweep of results by also posting the fastest lap of the race with a 1:39.608 time.
The second-place finish for Pérez was a hugely positive result for the veteran Mexican driver, who began the race in fifth place and battled hard with the likes of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz to secure the exact same result that opened the 2023 season.
The result also means that Verstappen claimed 26 total points (25 plus the fastest lap) while Pérez claimed 18, giving Red Bull 44 points to begin the season - a comfortable position for the defending champions to be in.
Many had been surprised by the Red Bulls' performances during qualifying in the lead-up to the race, wondering whether the RB20 would be as dominant as its previous iteration the RB19.
This performance will give Red Bull hope that they can claim a third-consecutive Constructors' Championship, with Verstappen looking to land his fourth Driver's Championship in as many seasons - with the Milton Keynes-based team currently on an eight-race winning streak, with the last time they failed to land top spot coming at the Singapore Grand Prix on September 17th last year.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, Verstappen commented: "Unbelievable, I think today went better than expected."
"I think the car was really nice to drive. On every compound, we had a lot of pace and it was just super enjoyable to drive today."
He added: "We stayed out of trouble and, yeah, great start to the year. It couldn't be better."
Speaking on his clean sweep, Verstappen said: "It's always very special to have these kinds of days, because they don't happen that often, that it all goes perfect. I just won with the car, and everything just feels great."
Teammate Pérez also commented: "It was the maximum we could have achieved. It was quite a tricky race, with the management of the tyres."
"Plenty we will learn from tonight's race, which will be important for the championship. Overall, it's a great way to start the season."
