Sergio Perez has taken his maiden Formula 1 victory in striking fashion, recovering after dropping to the back of the grid on the opening lap.
The Mexican was involved in a first-lap collision with Charles Leclerc and was forced to pit, but caught up to the back of the pack as the Safety Car was deployed.
Perez cut through the field and made his way back up to deep inside the points, before getting by Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo, who pitted late under a Virtual Safety Car.
Mercedes found itself in trouble with both of its cars under a second Safety Car period, with Perez inheriting the lead after opting not to make a pit stop.
Perez cruised to the finish line in the final laps, heading home former team-mate Esteban Ocon, who took his first career podium finish.
Racing Point secured a double podium finish as Lance Stroll fended off McLaren’s Carlos Sainz in the final laps.
Russell denied first victory on Mercedes debut
After sticking his car in second place after qualifying, George Russell got past team-mate Valtteri Bottas on the opening lap and settled into the lead, a position he held all the way until lap 64.
Confusion reigned in the Mercedes pit box, with Russell being given a mixed set of compounds as he stopped under a Safety Car period. As a result of the error, Bottas’ stop was slow, dropping him behind a handful of drivers on old, Hard tyres.
Russell was forced back into the pits to change onto the correct compounds and sprung after his rivals, completing an impressive overtake on Bottas around the outside of Turn 6.
However as he made his way into second place, he sustained a slow left-rear puncture, and was called back into the pits, denying him the opportunity to fight for his maiden win in F1.
Russell crossed the line in ninth place behind Bottas, taking his first World Championship points on his Mercedes debut.
Red Bull fails to pounce in the desert
With Max Verstappen tipped as a favourite for the race win before the start, the Dutchman was knocked out of contention on the first lap after getting mixed up in the collision between Perez and Leclerc.
As he moved to avoid being collected, Verstappen drove through gravel and ended up in the wall after losing grip, marking his fifth race retirement of the season.
With Red Bull’s hopes riding on Albon, the Thai-British driver complained of being slow on the straights during the race, and couldn’t make much headway on the cars around him, crossing the line in sixth, behind Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo.
After starring in qualifying on Saturday, Daniil Kvyat was the leading AlphaTauri at the end of the grand prix, taking the chequred flag in seventh ahead of the Mercedes duo.
From the back of the grid, Lando Norris remained out of trouble on the opening lap and moved into tenth place, where he would eventually finish.
2020 Sakhir Grand Prix Race Result
| # | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S. Perez | Racing Point | LAP |
| 2 | E. Ocon | Renault | +10.518 |
| 3 | L. Stroll | Racing Point | +11.869 |
| 4 | C. Sainz | McLaren | +12.580 |
| 5 | D. Ricciardo | Renault | +13.330 |
| 6 | A. Albon | Red Bull | +13.842 |
| 7 | D. Kvyat | AlphaTauri | +14.534 |
| 8 | V. Bottas | Mercedes | +15.389 |
| 9 | G. Russell | Mercedes | +18.556 |
| 10 | L. Norris | McLaren | +19.541 |
| 11 | P. Gasly | AlphaTauri | +20.527 |
| 12 | S. Vettel | Ferrari | +22.611 |
| 13 | A. Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | +24.111 |
| 14 | K. Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | +26.153 |
| 15 | K. Magnussen | Haas | +32.370 |
| 16 | J. Aitken | Williams | +33.674 |
| 17 | P. Fittipaldi | Haas | +36.858 |
| 18 | N. Latifi | Williams | DNF |
| 19 | M. Verstappen | Red Bull | DNF |
| 20 | C. Leclerc | Ferrari | DNF |
