Bahrain Grand Prix: Christian Horner ‘reserving judgment’ on Red Bull’s dominance until three races in

Christian Horner “reserved judgment” on how dominant his team had been for three races; Max Verstappen cruised to a dominant victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix; Teammate Sergio Perez finished second for Red Bull one-two

Christian Horner “saved judgment” on Red Bull’s dominance of the rest of the F1 pack despite a perfect start to the 2023 season at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Defending world champion Max Verstappen won by almost 12 seconds over team-mate Sergio Perez, with Fernando Alonso almost half a minute back in third for Aston Martin.

Ferrari were briefly in contention after Charles Leclerc overtook Perez at the start, but the Monegasque was overtaken by the second Red Bull midway through the race before retiring with engine failure on the third lap.

Fernando Alonso came home third for Aston Martin, nearly half a minute behind Perez.

Despite the perfect start to the 2023 season, Horner believes that his team will have to wait for a few more races to confirm that they are ahead of the other teams on the grid as he feels, “giving consideration” to the season. will open.

“You can change very quickly – look at the end of the year how it turned around, Mercedes came from a long way back and they had a winning car at the end of the year with their concept,” said Horner.

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Max Verstappen sent an ominous warning to his rivals as he cruised to victory in the season opener in Bahrain, while Fernando Alonso finished third for his first podium with new team Aston Martin.

“Ferrari was unlucky with Charles today, but the circuit is different in Jeddah – I think we have to wait to see a sample of two or three races, not one track.

“So, let’s give the decision until a few races in the championship.”

Despite trying to dampen expectations, Horner admitted it was an “outstanding” weekend for his team as they “came out of the blocks” in “the best possible way”.

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Sergio Perez passed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to make it a Red Bull one-two after 26 laps in Bahrain

“It was an incredible weekend,” he added.

“We biased the car into the race, the drivers were amazing today, the pit crew did their job, we managed to make the tires soft – the degradation of our car seemed less than the others and then it gave us a choice.

“Checo lost at the start – he had a job to do with Charles – but again, the strategy played well there and he got the pass, then it was about managing the race until the end.

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Highlights of the 2023 F1 season opener at the Bahrain Grand Prix

“This is just one example (race), all circuits are different but this is a good start for us to get out of the blocks unlike last year when we sat here with zero points.

“We came here determined to try and overcome this year and we’ve done it in the best possible way.”

Verstappen: We lived up to the hype

Verstappen was “proud” of the performance the Red Bull team put in to secure their first victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix as they lived up to the “hype” around the car.

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Red Bull pair Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez enjoyed an impressive start to the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

“Everybody likes it, but you still have to show it,” Verstappen said.

“I know we have a good race car, but everything has to come together. Fortunately, it’s a really good one.

“The first task was really important for me just to pull the gap and after that I could only manage the tires if something happened.

“For the whole team today, this is the start we wanted and I’m proud to have achieved this.

“It’s never been our strength, the first race of the year, but luckily that’s the way it is now.”

What’s next?

The 2023 Formula 1 season continues with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from the fastest road track in Jeddah.

The action is all live on Sky Sports F1 from March 17-19, with Sunday’s race at 5pm.