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      Toto Wolff claims Bahrain GP ‘one of my worst days in racing’ after Lewis Hamilton finishes 50 SECONDS behind Verstappen

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      TOTO WOLFF labelled the Bahrain Grand Prix one of his “worst days of racing” after watching Max Verstappen blitz his way to victory.The Red Bull ace crossed the line a staggering 50 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Merc – with team boss Wolff admitting he is “not bulls******g” when he says his team are THAT bad.
      Mercedes chief Toto Wolff admitted Red Bull were ‘on a different planet’Credit: Getty
      Lewis Hamilton came a distant 18th as Mercedes struggledCredit: PA
      Wolff had earlier confessed Merc will be forced to scrap this year’s car due to its poor performance after only ONE qualifying session.
      The staggering revelation comes after a winter of development and, despite initially feeling confident coming into the season, they are again trailing in Red Bull’s dust.
      He said: “One of the worst days in racing. Really not good at all, we were just lacking pace front, right and centre. Red Bull is just on a different planet.
      “I’m not bulls*****g myself and I’m not bulls*****g the media. I have always been transparent and honest.
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      “What I’m saying here is how I feel right now. I’m not overreacting; the gap is very big and in order to catch up we need to make big steps. Not conventional ones.
      “When you look at where we were at the end of last season, where it looked like we caught up a lot but, we have almost doubled, if not tripled, the gap to Red Bull.
      “For us, everything is bad and in the race you saw the consequences and we were going backwards.”
      Hamilton went winless for the first time in his F1 career last season while team-mate George Russell scored one victory for the team in Brazil.
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      But despite the prospect of another year of struggle, Wolff does not expect that to prevent Hamilton from agreeing new terms.
      Hamilton, 38, has a contract until the end of the year and both Jenson Button and Damon Hill have questioned whether he will re-sign now he’s not winning.
      Hamilton said he IS committed to the team and Wolff has also dismissed the idea he will walk away now he has a battle on his hands.
      Wolff added: “The drivers are fully aware. We’re speaking about it openly in the whole team. It is a matter of serious performance we need to find.
      “Lewis is an integral part of the team. You could hear on the radio he was picking the team up.
      “We are all sticking together and I don’t think that’s going to change just because we had another start that was really bad.
      “We have won eight constructors championships and six driver championships with him and that relationship holds.
      “It would be much too easy to lose a driver and throw in the towel but we have to dig deeper than we have ever done.” More

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      Russell predicts Red Bull have F1 title sewn up after ONE race and believes Verstappen’s car will win EVERY GP

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      GEORGE RUSSELL is in no doubt who will win this year’s F1 title.In fact, he thinks Max Verstappen’s Red Bull will win ALL 23-races such is the superiority of the Dutchman’s car.
      George Russell finished P7 in BahrainCredit: PA
      Russell has predicted Max Verstappen to win EVERY Grand Prix this seasonCredit: PA
      “Red Bull have got this championship sewn up,” said the Mercedes man after Verstappen won in Bahrain and he finished seventh.
      “I don’t think anyone will be fighting with them this year. They should win every single race this year, is my bet.
      “With the performance they’ve got. Their pace seemed weaker this weekend than it was in testing, but they’ve got it easy at the moment.
      “They can do what they like. They might not be on pole all the time because we know Ferrari are very competitive in qualifying, but when it comes to race pace they’re in a very strong position.”
      Read More in F1
      Let’s take nothing away from Christian Horner’s team who, thanks to the pen of designer Adrian Newey, have an absolute rocketship of a car.
      It is an improvement on last year’s model – which the cynics are suggesting is remarkably like this year’s Aston Martin, which propelled Fernando Alonso to third-place at the Sakhir Circuit.
      But the reality for F1 fans tuning into this season’s opening race with such expectation is that it could turn into a long, hard watch.
      That could prove to be a problem for Formula One, who until last year at least had been treated to some pulsating battles to keep things interesting.
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      F1 does have a history of seeing a team dominate.
      Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes have dominated for spells in the modern era.
      However, the difference is now the sport is enjoying a booming spell of popularity and the question is whether this new generation of fans, converted by the Netflix series, will remain suitably entertained.
      If Verstappen is winning week after week by a considerable margin, and Ferrari and Aston Martin are alternating for third place, the novelty will soon wear off.
      Make no mistake, Red Bull’s advantage is huge.
      Not even a cost-cap penalty of a £7million fine and a reduction in wind tunnel testing has slowed them down.
      If anything, they are quicker by virtue of Mercedes’ dreadful design that has been produced after pigheadedly sticking with a failed concept, which has now been consigned to the bin.
      And while Ferrari looked to offer some hope they could put Red Bull under a bit of pressure, their old Achillies heel proved to be their weakness when Charles Leclerc pulled over with an engine issue and failed to finish the race.
      There were rare moments of excitement.
      Two-time world champion Alonso battled with Lewis Hamilton on lap 38 with the Spaniard getting past the Brit with an excellent piece of driving through turns nine and ten.
      In truth, Hamilton, who was fifth, was a sitting duck as he delivered his assessment after the opening race of the year.
      He said: “We’re miles away. There was a Ferrari that would’ve been ahead of Alonso so we would’ve really been sixth, the podium was nowhere near.
      “We’ve just got a lot of work to do, we’ve just got to add downforce to the car, we’re just lacking a lot of downforce.”
      Alonso then swooped past Carlos Sainz on lap 45, to take a place on the podium for the first time since the 2021 Qatar GP.
      Esteban Ocon provided some light relief with a shocking performance that at least made us laugh.
      He was penalised for being out of position on the startline.
      He then failed to serve the five-second time penalty correctly, triggering another sanction.
      And in making his pitstop, he was penalised for speeding in the pitlane before eventually retiring from the race.
      Other than that, it was all fairly routine for the rest, apart from McLaren who are in a crisis.
      Oscar Piastri was forced to retire on his debut GP with a gearbox problem and team-mate Lando Norris came last after stopping SIX TIMES.
      Read More on The Sun
      The saving grace is the stat that since 2016, no driver who has won the first race of the season has then gone on to lift the title.
      That is likely to change this year.
      Lewis Hamilton finished the season opener in P5Credit: PA More

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      Max Verstappen strolls to Bahrain Grand Prix win and looks cert to retain title after ONE race as Alonso gets third

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      MAX VERSTAPPEN kicked off his F1 title defence with a routine win here in Bahrain.The Red Bull man cruised to victory ahead of his team-mate Sergio Perez, who was second, as the 2023 season got off to a familiar start.
      Max Verstappen carried on how he left off in 2022 as he cruised to victoryCredit: Getty
      Verstappen won by an almost 12 second gapCredit: Getty
      Fernando Alonso’s pace in the Aston Martin proved too much for Lewis HamiltonCredit: AP
      The podium was littered by familiar namesCredit: Getty
      Verstappen has now won five of the last six F1 racesCredit: PA
      Alonso enjoyed his time on the podiumCredit: PA
      Bahrain Grand Prix organisers made sure the spotlight was on the winner
      Red Bull looked supreme once again while Ferrari suffered reliability problems that forced Charles Leclerc to retire. And Mercedes were again off the pace.
      It had an all-too familiar feel as Lewis Hamilton was fifth – the only new element being an impressive performance from Aston Martin duo Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
      Two-time world champion Alonso battled with Hamilton on lap 38 with the Spaniard getting past the Brit with an excellent piece of driving through turns nine and 10.
      Alonso then swooped past Carlos Sainz on lap 45, to take a place on the podium for the first time since the 2021 Qatar GP.
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      It was vintage from Alonso, who had looked impressive over the whole weekend while Stroll, who had broken his wrist only two weeks earlier, was sixth.
      The Aston form will pile the woe on Mercedes, as they were beaten by their customer team.
      Merc boss Toto Wolff bizarrely admitted the team had made a mistake for the second year running with the design of their racecar – a huge error that could have serious ramifications if Hamilton decided not to re-sign with the team.
      But while Mercedes were off the pace, Ferrari will be concerned by Leclerc’s engine failure that cost him a place on the podium.
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      The situation is even more bleak for McLaren. Oscar Piastri was forced to retire on his debut GP with a gearbox problem.
      After all the build up for the Australian he was told to pull into the pits after only 13 laps.
      Team-mate Lando Norris did not do much better. Despite finishing the race, he came home in last place after stopping SIX TIMES.
      It is a worrying start to the season for the Woking-based team, who had warned that they had failed to hit the targets they had set themselves over the winter.
      Meanwhile, Esteban Ocon had a shocker. He was penalised for being out of position on the startline.
      He then failed to serve the five-second time penalty correctly, triggering another sanction.
      And in making his pitstop, he was penalised for speeding in the pitlane before eventually retiring from the race.
      Charles Leclerc was forced to retire from the raceCredit: Getty

      Complete F1 2023 race calendar – details on every Grand Prix this year More

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      Lewis Hamilton drops huge hint when he will retire as Mercedes’ British star looks to win eighth world title

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      LEWIS HAMILTON has revealed he will NOT retire until he wins an eighth world title.The Mercedes star, 38, begins his 17th successive Formula 1 season on Sunday as the 2023 campaign gets underway in Bahrain.
      Lewis Hamilton wants to continue until he wins a record-breaking eighth titleCredit: Reuters

      And Hamilton’s team are continuing to play catch up to Max Verstappen’s Red Bull following a disappointing 2022.
      The Brit went the entire year without claiming a Grand Prix victory for the first time since his F1 debut way back in 2007.
      The underwhelming season came after a record-breaking eighth world title was dramatically snatched away from him in 2021 when Verstappen overtook him on the last lap of the final race.
      It means Hamilton remains locked together with Michael Schumacher on seven world championship triumphs.
      READ MORE ON LEWIS HAMILTON
      And Mercedes’ struggles over the past 12 months have left many speculating whether the Stevenage-born racer will retire on seven wins.
      But Hamilton has now attempted to quash any talk of that being the case.
      He undertook a lie detector test for Sky Sports’ F1 coverage and was asked by presenter Simon Lazenby: “Are you going to keep going until you get your eighth title?”.
      To which he simply replied: “Yes”.
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      And the polygraph was unwavering following Hamilton’s response.
      It comes after Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff confidently insisted he will keep leading the team until Hamilton gets his historic eighth win.
      He said: “Even if I need to push him around to win the eighth. We’re going to do everything that’s needed.” More

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      Lewis Hamilton arrives for Bahrain GP in bizarre all-brown outfit with Mercedes star already facing nightmare season

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      LEWIS HAMILTON arrived for the Bahrain GP rocking an all-brown outfit with fears already emerging about the season ahead.He is known for his love of stylish clobber, previously revealing that fashion “helps take the weight” off the pressures of competing.
      Lewis Hamilton arriving for the Bahrain Grand PrixCredit: Getty
      Hamilton donned an all brown outfit ahead of the raceCredit: Getty
      He completed his look with a pair of stylish shadesCredit: PA
      The 37-year-old will start the race seventh on the gridCredit: Splash
      Hamilton could be in for another difficult seasonCredit: Reuters
      Sunday’s arrival came after Max Verstappen stormed to pole in qualifying for the Bahrain GP.
      Meanwhile F1 legend Hamilton could be in for another nightmare season, with Toto Wolff admitting Mercedes may be forced to SCRAP their new car if they want to win titles again.
      The seven-time world champion will start Sunday’s race way down in seventh on the grid.
      And ahead of the race, Hamilton, 37, arrived at the Bahrain International Circuit dressed all in brown.
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      Hamilton completed his stylish look with boots and a pair of reflective sunglasses.
      But Hamilton is facing a difficult afternoon when he changes into his racing gear and gets behind the wheel of his new Mercedes.
      Starting from a lowly seventh on the grid leaves the Brit with an uphill battle to finish on the podium.
      Especially after Merc chief Wolff confessed: “I don’t think this package is going to be competitive.
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      “We gave it our best over the winter and now we need to regroup, sit down with the engineers — there are no holy cows — and decide what development direction we want to pursue in order to win races.
      “The moment comes when the stopwatch showed we are not good enough.”
      Hamilton himself also admitted on Friday that his Merc car is lagging even further behind Verstappen’s Red Bull than it was last year.
      While he has faith in Mercedes being able to close the gap at some point, the season opener in Bahrain might come too soon.
      Hamilton conceded: “The gap wasn’t as big last season as it is now.
      “We found out we’re a long way off. We knew that a little bit in the test but it’s a big gap.
      “Do I believe we can close the gap at some stage? Yes. But it’s quite hard with the concept we have.
      “It’s going to be milliseconds, not ­closing the gap of a second.”
      Nevertheless, Hamilton posted an uplifting message to his Instagram story ahead of Sunday’s race.
      Read More on The Sun
      He wrote to his 31.7million followers: “You can do anything you put your mind to, remember that!
      “Start your day today telling yourself todays going to be an amazing day! Happy Sunday world.”
      Hamilton admitted that his Mercedes F1 car is lagging further behind Max Verstappen’s Red Bull than it was last yearCredit: Reuters
      The Brit is beginning his 17th successive season on the F1 gridCredit: Reuters More

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      F1 Bahrain Grand Prix LIVE RESULT: Verstappen LEADS with Leclerc trailing, Piastri OUT – updates

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      THE 2023 Formula One season gets underway TODAY with the Bahrain Grand Prix – Max Verstappen leads after 16 laps, with Charles Leclerc trailing. Verstappen’s lead is growing with a huge 11-second gap.
      Early contact has affected Fernando Alonso who has dropped down to seventh place but is putting pressure on George Russell.
      Lewis Hamilton has jumped up from seventh to fifth, while Sergio Perez drops to third.

      Start time: 3pm UK/10am ET
      TV channel: Sky Sports F1
      Live stream: Now
      Grid: Verstappen (Red Bull), Perez (Red Bull), Leclerc (Ferrari), Sainz (Ferrari), Alonso (Aston Martin), Russell (Mercedes), Hamilton (Mercedes).

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      Stay up to date with all the latest from today’s opening Grand Prix…

      Lap 17/57 – Piastri out of race
      Oscar Piastri looks devastated as his race is over.
      The electrical issues could not be resolved and his car is being rolled back into the garages.
      Meanwhile, Perez having not pitted yet leads with a 9.9 second lead on Verstappen in second place.
      It seems Perez is looking to build a lead on Leclerc before heading to the pits himself.
      Lap 15/57 – Ferrari perfects double pit
      The distance Sainz was behind Leclerc worked perfectly there.
      As Leclerc came into the pits with a quick change, as soon as he leaves the lane, Ferrari call Sainz in.
      That was smooth as both drivers pitted and got straight out.
      Ocon has damage to his front wing and has been given a five second penalty for being on the wrong place on the grid.
      Lap 13/57 – Verstappen leads, Mercedes readies pit
      George Russell may need to come in for an early tyre change.
      It is being checked whether Ocon started in the wrong place on the grid which would carry a penalty.
      Defending champion Verstappen is now 8.6 seconds ahead of second place.
      Russell now has to stay on the track as Hamilton takes his chance to pit.
      This is a great battle as Russell has to concede and see Alonso go ahead of him.
      Lap 11/57 – Alonso putting pressure on Russell
      George Russell feels Lewis Hamilton is holding him up.
      With Fernando Alonso right on his tail, a mere 0.3 seconds, Russell is feeling the pressure.
      Verstappen is enjoying a comfortable race so far, opening up a 7.1 second gap to Leclerc.
      Credit: Splash
      Lap 9/57 – Verstappen thriving, Russell locks up
      As he comes into the bend, George Russell misjudges causing a lock up which sees him veer off the circuit slightly.
      He asks his team whether Hamilton is having issues as he felt he was going slowly.
      Only one second between the two drivers right now.
      Verstappen is going from strength to strength with a 6.1 second lead.
      Lap 7/57 – Verstappen ahead, Perez gaining
      Max Verstappen has made a strong start to the race.
      He is not having to worry about second place pressuring him.
      Perez is putting real pressure Leclerc in second place, only 0.7 seconds behind.
      Meanwhile, Verstappen has built a 5.3 second gap now.
      Lap 5/57 – Verstappen opening up, Alonso drops
      The early contact has really affected Fernando Alonso.
      He has dropped to seventh place with George Russell in sixth and Lewis Hamilton in fifth.
      Meanwhile, Verstappen has opened up a 4.1 second lead from Leclerc.
      Lap 3/57 – Verstappen leads, building gap
      Verstappen has opened up his lead to almost 2 seconds.
      Perez sits in third ahead of Sainz.
      None of the drivers are opening gaps like race leader Verstappen.
      Alonso is complaining to his team about being hit, unaware it was his own team.
      Credit: Getty
      Lap 1/57 – Verstappen leads from Leclerc
      There was some contact in the early stages.
      Alonso had some contact and there were concerns whether it had caused a puncture but all seems fine.
      Replays show it was Lance Stroll who made contact with his teammate.
      It’s not the first lap of a race without some bodywork on the circuit.
      Verstappen has a 1.1 second lead in the early stages.
      Lights out, F1 season is underway
      With 57 laps over the 3.6 mile circuit today, we are close to getting underway, the wait is over.
      There is no greater anticipation than the first race of the season.
      As the drivers being their formation lap under the Bahrain lights.
      Red Bull head the grid, closely followed by Ferrari, then Mercedes and Aston Martin.
      Ferrari with pre-race concerns
      After Charles Leclerc’s car saw part of it break off in qualifying, the team have been checking all is as it should be before the opening race of the season.
      There were also issues with Carlos Sainz’s battery which had to be replaced overnight and some work with the electrical components took place also.
      As we head to lights out, Ferrari will be hoping their car does not hinder the drivers at all today.
      Starting grid for Bahrain Grand Prix
      Like the first day of school, the new F1 campaign opens in the Persian Gulf this afternoon.
      In case you have missed any of the qualifying action, here is today’s starting grid.
      Credit: @F1
      Big things expected from front two
      Christian Horner looks relaxed as we head closer to the start of the race.
      With Verstappen and Perez holding the front two positions on the grid and seeing the performance of the car in practice and qualifying, they believe that the drivers can hold their grid positions to the finish line.
      There will be a few other drivers looking to address that.
      Credit: Getty
      Bahrain circuit offers interesting start
      The first corner always offers excitement for race fans.
      In particular, at Bahrain the approach of drivers can be slightly different with the first corner actually offering the chance to overtake on the outside.
      This could be something that Hamilton looks to utilise to improve his position as they come out of the second turn into the straight.
      Stats don’t look good for today’s winner
      For the last six years, the winner of the first race, wherever it has been, has gone on to finish second in the Drivers’ Championship. This has also happened two other times since 2000.
      36% of drivers in the last 22 years have won the first race and then finished runner up in the Drivers’ Championship.
      It started in 2017, Sebastian Vettel won the first race in Australia, then finished P2 in the Drivers Championship behind Lewis Hamilton.
      It continued in 2018, when the exact thing happened, Vettel finishing P1 in Melbourne, then P2 in the Championship with Hamilton taking the trophy.
      In 2019 Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate won the first race in Melbourne, then finished behind the Brit in the Drivers Championship, the exact same thing also happened in 2020, except Covid-19 restrictions meant that the first race was in Austria and there was no Australian Grand Prix. 
      In 2021, the year any Hamilton fan refuses to speak about, Hamilton won the Sakhir Grand Prix, the first race of the season, then Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won his first Drivers’ Championship.
      And last season, before Ferrari started having a ton of strategy issues, Charles Leclerc won the first race then finished P2 in Drivers Championship behind Verstappen.
      Research conducted by BonusCodeBets.
      Drivers’ changing allegiances in career
      As we head towards the first race of the season, there have been changes throughout the close season.
      If you were wondering how many teams your favourite drivers have actually raced for, we have all the answers for you.
      Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg lead the way.
      Credit: @F1
      Lewis rocks up with doctor’s note
      One of the most bizarre stories coming into the new season was that the FIA’s clampdown on jewellery.
      Hamilton claims he suffered an infection last year after having to remove it and it promptly returned for the Singapore Grand Prix.
      The British driver provided a doctor’s note warning of disfigurement, with the FIA accepting this and allowing Hamilton to continue wearing the jewellery.
      Champ surprised by end results
      Max Verstappen spoke about the practice sessions and qualifying and how he finally finished on the grid:
      It’s been a bit of a tough start to the weekend yesterday and today, not really finding my rhythm. But luckily in qualifying we managed to put the pieces together. I was positively surprised to be on pole after the struggles we had in practice.Max VerstappenRed Bull
      Team photo before first parade
      Here is the F1 drivers line-up before the first parade of the 2023 season.
      The atmosphere before the first race of the season is electric with fans and drivers alike.
      Although Fernando Alonso was the person really turning heads in qualifying.
      Credit: Reuters
      Ferrari looking for early edge
      The interesting moment in the final sessions of qualifying was Charles Leclerc’s decision to bow out early.
      It has been said that the Monegasque driver wanted to have a fresh set of soft tyres to start the race on.
      The majority of the front of the grid will not have this option and any of them opting for soft tyres will be using a used set.
      That is if any of them have a usable set as they went hard on them in qualifying.
      Focussed on the magic number eight
      Good news for F1 fans coming from some of the pre-race talk as Lewis Hamilton talked about his potential retirement from the sport.
      Hamilton has reiterated how he is focussed on that eighth world title and will not be considering bowing out of F1 until he has accomplished that and will be signing a new deal with Mercedes.
      With the issues they seem to have in getting this car just right to enable him to challenge, that may take a little longer than the British driver would ideally plan for.
      Hamilton uninspired by Mercedes’ performance
      When it came to the practice sessions on Saturday, Hamilton was flying around the track, finishing fourth fastest.
      He said he had expected the W1 to be a lot worse and was pleased that they had made it through to Q3 but felt it dip by qualifying the following day.
      “We made a step forward today and the car was feeling much more alive this morning, and all of a sudden, we were in a different place to where we were the day before. But then we got to qualifying and for me the car just didn’t feel alive, it felt kind of average.”
      The seven-time world champion will be hoping for better things today from his Mercedes.
      New season, completely new car
      Despite the expected dominance of Max Verstappen, all the talk after qualifying had to be on the performance of the Aston Martin.
      With both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finishing in the top eight on the grid, we have ourselves a genuine four-car race in the season opener.
      Red Bull, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Mercedes will do battle today and is perfectly poised for a classic race to get the 2023 FI season going.
      Welcome to the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix
      The 2023 F1 calendar gets underway today in  the Persian Gulf.
      Qualifying was a highly competitive event with Ferrari dominating Q1 and Q2, with Max Verstappen battling it out against the drivers but their early finishes allowed the Red Bull driver to book another pole position.
      Charles Leclerc sat in pole position until Verstappen put in a Q3 performance that saw him pip the Ferrari driver by a mere tenth ahead before improving on that with a 1:29.708.
      Ferrari deciding to save tyres for race day, Leclerc’s early exit allowed Sergio Perez book a one-two pole for Red Bull.
      Carlos Sainz could only manage to seal fourth place on the grid for Ferrari as he was left as their only hope going into the final qualifying session.
      Leclerc wasn’t the only one to burn through his tyres in the early qualifying sessions as Alonso, Russell and Hamilton were all missing from the latter stages.
      Fernando Alonso will be most pleased with his performance in the new Aston Martin, something he described as ‘too good to be true’ finishing above both Mercedes and only 0.628 seconds behind Max Verstappen.
      The Spaniard only has the Red Bull’s and Ferrari’s in front of him, while George Russell pipped Lewis Hamilton to fifth place on the grid.
      Load more entries… More

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      F1 Bahrain Grand Prix RESULT: Verstappen WINS, Leclerc, Ocon and Piastri all RETIRE, Hamilton finishes 5th – REACTION

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      MAX VERSTAPPEN kicked off the 2023 Formula 1 season in style, with a HUGE win at the Bahrain Grand Prix.Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez finished second, and Fernando Alonso, who started fifth, claimed a podium finish.
      Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, while Charles Leclerc, Esteban Ocon and Oscar Piastri all retired during the race.

      Start time: 3pm UK/10am ET
      TV channel: Sky Sports F1
      Live stream: Now
      Grid: Verstappen (Red Bull), Perez (Red Bull), Leclerc (Ferrari), Sainz (Ferrari), Alonso (Aston Martin), Russell (Mercedes), Hamilton (Mercedes).

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      Stay up to date with all the latest from today’s opening Grand Prix…
      Max stamps authority on defence
      Max Verstappen has laid a marker today in his defence of his F1 world title in the 2023 campaign.
      He will take some stopping in the Red Bull car this year as Ferrari showed issues in the opening race.
      The gap between him and Lewis Hamilton in this race will ask real questions of whether he can even push Verstappen this year.
      Credit: AFP
      The stars were bright, Fernando
      Fernando Alonso’s third place finish was a win itself.
      Nobody before qualifying would have been placing money with bookies on an Aston Martin podium
      The way the Spaniard dealt with his on track battles with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were nothing short of brilliant.
      And boy did he enjoy it.
      Credit: AFP
      Credit: Reuters
      Worry for the rest of the field
      As the dust settles on the Bahrain Grand Prix the reality is setting in with the drivers.
      Max Verstappen is going to take some stopping this season.
      He won this race at a canter, never troubled by anyone.
      Bahrain applauds its three amigos
      The 2023 F1 season has begun in spectacular style today.
      With it being a great day for Red Bull, taking two of the three podium places.
      Meanwhile, Aston Martin celebrate only their second podium finish.
      Credit: Getty
      Quiet day in the office for Verstappen
      Max Verstappen pulls his car into its space as the race winner.
      From the grid he led the race and nothing changed for the duration.
      With his team taking first and second, it confirms one thing.
      Red Bull…….it gives you wins.
      Credit: AP
      Spark gone out of Leclerc challenge
      Charles Leclerc will be bitterly disappointed having to bow out of the race today in Bahrain.
      After starting third on the grid, he will have had high hopes of what he could achieve today.
      The electrical problems his Ferrari was having before the race came back to haunt the Monegasque driver.
      Credit: Splash
      F1 season starts in style
      This race did not fail to disappoint today.
      So many questions needing answering going into the first race of the 2023 campaign.
      Here are the all important results from Bahrain:

      1st – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
      2nd – Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
      3rd – Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
      4th – Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
      5th – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

      Credit: Getty
      Max Verstappen wins Bahrain Grand Prix
      Lap 57/57 – Verstappen wins Bahrain Grand Prix
      Defending world champion Max Verstappen gets the 2023 F1 campaign off to the perfect start.
      Teammate Sergio Perez finishes exactly where he started on the grid.
      The big story is Fernando Alonso, who started in fifth, taking a podium finish.
      Spanish eyes on Alonso as he takes Aston Martin’s second ever podium finish.
      Lap 55/57 – Verstappen leads, Alonso in third
      This race is now all about the battle for third.
      What a great drive this has been by Verstappen also.
      He has not been troubled by anyone at all today and has led from start to finish.
      Machine.
      Credit: Getty
      Lap 53/57 – Verstappen heading for victory
      Max Verstappen is looking set for the first win of the season.
      He leads Perez by 10.8 seconds now.
      Perez has a gap over over 24 seconds on Alonso.
      More importantly for the Spaniard, he has a 7.3 second gap on Sainz in fourth.
      Lap 51/57 – Verstappen leads, Hamilton in fifth
      It is debatable whether Lewis Hamilton has seen Max Verstappen’s car since the grid earlier today.
      No doubt he will have his reasons, usually problems with Mercedes’ ability to give him a decent car.
      Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso is showing everyone what driving ability can do as he thrives in this new Aston Martin.
      Lap 49/57 – Verstappen leads Perez
      The real race now is for that final podium place.
      Failing anything drastic happening to their cars, Verstappen and Perez look nailed on for the first and second spots.
      Alonso meanwhile has a 3.7 second lead on Sainz.
      Lando Norris comes in for his fifth stop to get that air supply topped up.
      Lap 47/57 – Alonso into third place
      Form is temporary, class is permanent.
      The oldest driver in the F1 season, Fernando Alonso gets into the slipstream of Sainz and then uses DRS to get better pace to go passed the Ferrari.
      Amazing driving, Alonso now has the chance to finish on the podium today.
      Meanwhile, Verstappen is having a leisurely Sunday drive leading the race from Perez in second.
      Credit: AFP
      Lap 45/57 – Perez closes gap on Verstappen
      Sergio Perez reduces the gap to under ten seconds on his teammate.
      Fernando Alonso can taste blood now as he is only 0.3 seconds behinds Sainz.
      For Sainz to keep the pace to hold him off, his tyres will not be able to see this race out.
      Aston Martin has only ever had one podium finish before.
      What a chance for the experienced Alonso.
      Lap 43/57 – Leclerc out of race
      Not the opening race of the season Charles Leclerc wanted.
      Another unreliable Ferrari car costs him.
      It has opened up the race for a place on the podium for somebody else now.
      Red Bull will be glad that it was only a virtual safety car in place.
      Leclerc off the track, virtual safety car out
      Charles Leclerc experiences complete power failure.
      The virtual safety car is in place.
      He was having battery issues before the race and it seems the problems have back to haunt him.
      Lap 41/57 – Red Bull dominate, Alonso into fifth
      This is some drive by Fernando Alonso this evening.
      If he can finish above the two Mercedes, it will be some achievement.
      There is no love lost between the two drivers from their time together before.
      Meanwhile, Verstappen is having a comfortable drive.
      Lap 39/57 – Ferrari seem content with podium
      It seems with hard tyres being fitted to both cars now that Ferrari have given up on catching Perez.
      The most interesting battle is between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.
      Coming into turn ten the Spaniard takes Hamilton.
      This is a great watch.
      Credit: Getty
      Lap 37/57 – Verstappen leads, Alonso drops
      Max Verstappen has a huge lead from his teammate now, some 12.2 seconds.
      Leclerc and Sainz hold third and fourth.
      Alonso’s pitting cost him as he drops into sixth behind Hamilton.
      The Spaniard does have fresher tyres than the Englishman though.
      This is turning into a great battle between the pair.
      Lap 35/57 – Alonso moves into third
      Fernando Alonso is one of the only drivers to have not pitted twice so far.
      He is managing his tyres to try and build his lead.
      Verstappen meanwhile is 14 seconds ahead of Perez as he comes into the pits and it is the hard tyre that is fitted.
      Alonso finally takes his second pit of the race which sees Leclerc move back into third place.
      Lap 33/57 – Verstappen leads, Alonso into fourth
      Aston Martin have performed the undercut which sees Stroll get ahead of Russell coming out of the pits.
      Alonso is putting in some real fast lap times but is 22 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
      The Spaniard still needs to pit but is looking to build more of a lead to come out of them ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
      Lap 31/57 – Red Bull dominate pace, tyres key
      The last thing Red Bull would want to see in this race is the safety car.
      While they hold the front two places, tyre management is key for them now.
      They need to go onto a harder tyre.
      With Alonso putting pressure on Hamilton, threatening an undercut, his team tell him to pit.
      Credit: Reuters
      Lap 29/57 – Verstappen leads from Perez
      Perez is some 13.7 seconds behind his Red Bull teammate.
      Leclerc needs to focus on trying to break this Red Bull dominance but sits 5.1 seconds behind.
      Sainz then is a further 12.5 seconds behind.
      Ocon nightmare continues
      Esteban Ocon is having a race from hell today.
      Starting in the wrong position on the grid, he was awarded a five second penalty.
      Then, he was given a further ten second penalty for not carrying out the previous one correctly.
      Now he is being investigated for speeding in the pit lane.
      All of this and he sits in last position.
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      in Motorsport

      Mercedes could be forced to SCRAP car for Lewis Hamilton to have a chance of winning F1 world title, Toto Wolff admits

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      TOTO WOLFF admits Mercedes may be forced to SCRAP their new Formula One car if they want to win titles again.Lewis Hamilton’s boss delivered the damning verdict after world champion Max Verstappen stormed to pole for Sunday’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix — then declared his Red Bull can go much faster.
      Mercedes are continuing to struggle at the start of the 2023 seasonCredit: Getty
      Lewis Hamilton will start the Bahrain Grand Prix from seventh placeCredit: EPA
      And Wolff concedes he may have to “fire myself” if Mercedes cannot solve their problems.
      Hamilton could only qualify seventh, with Merc team-mate George Russell sixth. And chief Wolff confessed: “I don’t think this package is going to be competitive.
      “We gave it our best over the winter and now we need to regroup, sit down with the engineers — there are no holy cows — and decide what development direction we want to pursue in order to win races.
      “The moment comes when the stopwatch showed we are not good enough.”
      READ MORE F1 NEWS
      Hamilton had earlier expressed his doubts about Merc’s 2023 car.
      And when fellow Brit Russell was asked by SunSport if he was confident in the design, he replied: “The honest answer is I don’t know.
      “We’ve probably got to a point where we do need to try something different.”
      In previous years, the Brackley-based team would have been able to spend their way out of trouble and design a completely new car.
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      But now they are hamstrung by F1’s strict cost-cap rules.
      The budget has dropped this season — set at £111million — leaving Wolff facing a massive headache.
      Last year’s car was also beset with “bouncing” problems, as Hamilton failed to win a single GP for the first time.
      But Wolff added: “It is not like last year when you score many podiums and eventually you get there. We now need to look at which decisions we need to make.
      “In this team we blame the problem, not the person, at the end I have responsibilities — and I’d need to fire myself if I want to do something.
      “We got it wrong last year, we thought we could fix it by sticking to this concept of car and it didn’t work out.
      “We need to switch our focus on what we believe can be the right direction.
      “We need to sort it out and whether that is sticking bigger sidepods on the car, is a different question.
      “We started last year with six-tenths deficit and we started this year also with six-tenths and that is the reality.
      “Motor racing is crazy. I don’t know what is going to happen this year, we may find a silver bullet next week and unlock five tenths in the car — but I haven’t seen any silver bullets before.
      “We just need to have a car that is able to make us fight for an eighth championship.”
      Verstappen and Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez will line up ominously on the front row of the grid, with both Ferraris behind them.
      Even Aston Martin — one of Mercedes’ customer teams — proved to have a quicker car, as Spaniard Fernando Alonso qualified in fifth.
      Russell claimed Mercedes’ sole GP victory last season, yet the team decided to evolve their concept rather than start from scratch — despite seeing rivals Red Bull adopt a different sidepod design to win 17 of last year’s 22 rounds.
      Verstappen’s 21st career pole yesterday is further proof that his Red Bull is the true class of the F1 field.
      Wolff added: “Look at the pecking order, catching Red Bull is not realistic.”
      The Austrian’s comments will come as a major blow to Hamilton, 38, and his quest for a record eighth world title.
      Read More on The Sun
      Hamilton is entering the final season of his £40million-a-year deal but earlier this week he said he has no plans to retire, even if Mercedes fail to deliver him a winning machine.
      Wolff said: “If I need to push him around the track to get the eighth, I will.” More