Red Bull’s Max Verstappen humiliates Formula 1 competition in Bahrain

The Ferris wheel at the Sakhir Railway fairground in Bahrain comes from Wutha-Farnroda. Shipping the ride from Thuringia to Arabia took six weeks. Anyone who climbs on will be presented with a magnificent panoramic view of the slopes at a height of 38 meters.

But there is someone in Formula 1 who once again had the most enviable view of all on the desert night that dawned on Saturday: Max Verstappen, the Red Bull world champion, was once again at the top of the podium after winning the first Tour of the year .

Teammate Sergio Pérez, who came second after 57 laps (308 kilometers), and third-placed Carlos Sainz in a Ferrari had no chance, but were now at least able to celebrate with him. Nico Hülkenberg from Emmerich was ranked 16th despite a strong qualification, one lap behind.

“Simply wonderful,” said Verstappen at the finish, “what a great race. Absolutely fantastic.” And further: “It’s always something very special to have days like this because it doesn’t happen often that everything goes perfectly and you’re just one with the car,” said Verstappen, who had already won 19 of 22 races last year.

Horner holds hands

On Friday, Verstappen raced to his first pole position of the year, escaping the deafening noise surrounding Christian Horner. Before the race, the team boss walked through the paddock with his wife Geri Halliwell, both smiling broadly and holding hands.

A production that will not help people forget the Horner affair. Most recently, chat messages became public that are said to provide evidence of the cross-border behavior in question towards an employee. The authenticity is not confirmed. Then, on the grid, Horner spoke to Chalerm Yoovidhya, the Thai majority owner of the Red Bull Group. Yoovidhya is considered Horner’s most important supporter. Now he demonstratively supported him.

Horner later held a roundtable with reporters. The past few days had been “unpleasant,” he said. However, he did not want to comment on any questions about the case, the allegations and the alleged data leak. Also didn’t want to say whether the punctured messages are real or not. “I have the support of an incredible family, an incredible wife and an incredible team,” he said instead. He now wants to look forward and concentrate on racing. That will not be easy.

Leclerc intervenes, Hülkenberg crashes

After a jet from the state airline flew low over the race course and the floodlights were turned up, the race director gave the start and concentrated everything on the sport for the moment. Verstappen, who had recently chatted with soccer star Neymar, forewent a tactical advantage. He preferred a used set of Pirellis to brand new soft tires that stick best to the asphalt.

His rival right behind him, Charles Leclerc, did the same. He had no new rubber left. “Normally our car is good in the race,” predicted Verstappen. “But it was tight in qualifying, and I expect the same today,” said the world champion. Typical Verstappen. It was tight, he was right: far, far behind him.