Verstappen cruises to easy win at Bahrain Grand Prix for Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen got his title defence underway in style with a flawless victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.

The 25-year-old Red Bull Racing man dominated with ease, starting from pole position and leading home team-mate Sergio Perez for a 1-2 finish after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc retired with engine issues.

The new RB19 appears to be the class of the field once more, with Perez more than 30 seconds ahead of third placed Fernando Alonso in the surprise package Aston Martin.

“This is exactly the start we wanted, a one-two finish,” said Verstappen afterwards. “I’m incredibly proud that we have achieved this as a team.

“I could see early on that we had the pace in the car, I was able to build a gap from the start and then just managed it for the rest of the race, it was a straightforward day for us.

“It also feels good to finally win in Bahrain, I haven’t had the best history here. This was a very good start for us.”

Perez, who made a slow start and got engulfed by Leclerc, felt he lost ground to Verstappen in the early stages as he trailed the Ferrari, and could have been closer.

He said: “My start wasn’t ideal, Charles was a little too aggressive, pushed me to the right and I did my best to avoid him. That meant my first stint wasn’t ideal, Charles was very strong on that new tyre and it was difficult to get through him quickly enough.

“I think that’s where I lost out to Max, I was behind him by about 10 or 12 seconds and after that it was game over on catching Max, it was all about getting Charles.

“It was important to get by him, minimise the damage and get that P2 for the team. There are a lot of improvements we can still make to try and make our car better, there is still plenty of work going on behind the scenes.”