Max Verstappen has won the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, dominating the race en route to his 36th race win.
Red Bull controlled the entire grand prix, with Sergio Perez crossing the line in second place.
Taking the final spot on the podium was Fernando Alonso, who enjoyed a dream debut with the Aston Martin squad.
READ MORE: F1 2023 Bahrain GP – Race Results
Alonso’s podium chance came following a mechanical failure for Charles Leclerc, who retired late on.
Carlos Sainz held on to fourth place ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with Lance Stroll rounding out the top six in the sister Aston Martin car.
Off the start line, Verstappen cruised out of his starting grid box but his team-mate alongside him failed to do so.
Perez was challenged by the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz on the run to Turn 1, with the former moving ahead into second place.
Behind, there was drama between the two Aston Martin cars after Stroll tipped the back of team-mate Alonso into Turn 4.
The incident between the pair saw Alonso drop back behind both Mercedes cars of Hamilton and Russell, while Stroll, in ninth, moved behind Bottas.
On lap five however, Stroll moved back into eighth as he overtook Bottas into the first corner.
Russell made a minor mistake into Turn 10 as he locked up and ran wide, but questioned if Hamilton in front was managing or struggling with his tyres, to which Mercedes replied that he was struggling.
By lap 10, Verstappen boasted a gap of over six seconds but complained to the Red Bull squad that downshifts gave him rear locking.
Following his far-from-ideal qualifying session, Pierre Gasly was the first driver to make a pit stop on lap 10, switching from the Soft to the Hard compound.
Some of the midfield runners followed suit, with Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda also peeling into the pits on the following lap.
Alonso began to attack Russell as the Mercedes driver explained his tyres were gone, and on lap 13, moments after Hamilton pitted for Hard tyres, Alonso managed to move ahead of Russell amid a tight battle.
Ferrari opted to double stack its cars on lap 14 while Russell followed both of the Ferrari drivers into the pits. Verstappen, who was cruising out in front, came in one lap later, as did Alonso.
Oscar Piastri’s first F1 race came to a disappointing end as he was wheeled back into the pit lane with a mechanical issue.
Alonso and Russell dispatched Bottas, who had moved ahead of both of them in the pit stop phase, while Perez pitted from the lead on the Soft compound.
Several laps later, Perez moved ahead of Leclerc for second place.
The Red Bull drivers began to pull out the gap at the head of the field, and on lap 32, the second pit stops were served by the front-runners.
Hamilton was followed in by Stroll, while on the following lap, Sainz and Russell switched tyre sets. Stroll’s out lap was enough to see him get ahead of Russell.
Leclerc, Perez and Alonso were the next to come in, with Alonso setting off in pursuit of Hamilton for fifth place.
After his final pit stop on lap 37, Verstappen held a lead of 12 seconds over team-mate Perez.
Alonso and Hamilton then went wheel to wheel and came close to contact at Turn 4, with Hamilton retaining the position.
However, one lap later, Alonso swooped up the inside of Hamilton in an eye-opening move at Turn 10 to take fifth place.
Leclerc’s hopes of a podium at the season-opener were dashed when he crawled to a stop on lap 41, promoting Sainz to third with Alonso in hot pursuit.
The Virtual Safety Car that was issued during Leclerc’s retirement saw a number of drivers, who were fighting for the lower point positions, make a pit stop. This included Gasly who closed up to the back of Bottas in the latter stages, but ran out of time to make an overtake.
As he did with Hamilton, Alonso came very close to contact with Sainz at Turn 4, but successfully made an overtake for third place at Turn 11 with just over 10 laps remaining in the grand prix.
Try as he might, Hamilton couldn’t move ahead of Sainz and had to settle for fifth, with Stroll crossing the line in sixth.
Russell was seventh, with Bottas and Gasly crossing the line in eighth and ninth.
Alexander Albon held on to take the final point on offer, besting Yuki Tsunoda to 10th position.
Esteban Ocon endured a nightmare race as he was handed several penalties before Alpine opted to retire his car.
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