Bahrain Grand Prix all about Red Bull on and off track, Leclerc misses out on podium.

The three-time world champion won this season’s first Grand Prix, well ahead of Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz.

Red Bull dominated the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, in more ways than the Austrian stable would have wanted, with Team Principal Christian Horner still the subject of much media attention, for extra-trackside activities. This certainly didn’t seem to affect Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who started the new season as he finished the last, way ahead of the field. 22 seconds ahead, in fact, over his teammate Sergio Perez.

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Starting in pole position, the Dutchman was never troubled. In fact, the only cars he saw in front were the ones he lapped in the final stages of the race. Hopes were raised prior to the event about improved competitiveness from Ferrari and Mercedes. But given that the 3 stables finished in group formation (Red Bull 1&2, Ferrari 3&4, Mercedes 5&6) you could be forgiven for thinking this is how the manufacturers’ podium will look at the end of the season.

Charles Leclerc disappointed

Second on the grid, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) had a tough first outing in his new car, as he was plagued with brake problems that slowed him down throughout the race.

“I felt I was at a standstill throughout the race, because of brake problems,” he told Canal+ afterwards. “We had an opportunity today to score points in the world championship, but we didn’t. I am very disappointed.”

It was his teammate, Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), who made up the podium, finishing third behind the two Red Bull drivers.

Drive to survive for Horner? Given the lack of suspense in the race, it took Geri Halliwell-Horner’s arrival in support of her husband, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, to ‘Spice up’ the event. Horner had recently been accused of inappropriate behaviour by a female Red Bull employee. An 8-week ‘independent’ yet in-house enquiry exonerated him earlier this week. However just before the race an email was circulated to top F1 figures and the media, with a link to a Google Drive with pages of screenshots of WhatsApp messages appearing to indicate Horner had indeed actively pursued the employee, despite being married to former Spice Girl Halliwell-Horner. The couple put on a united front in Abu Dhabi, but Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff and McLaren CEO Zak Brown calling for more transparency on the matter. Wolff said “As a sport, we cannot afford to leave things in the vague and in the opaque on critical topics like this », with Brown added: “It’s the responsibility ultimately of […] the owners of Formula One, to make sure that all the racing teams and the personnel and the drivers and everyone else involved in the sport are operating in a manner in which we all live by. I don’t think it’s the teams’ roles and responsibilities.” After 20 years as Red Bull TP, is Horner’s situation tenable? In a sport that is anything but averse to rumours, this certainly feels different. The next race, in Saudi Arabia, is on Saturday March 9 at 6 pm. With or without Horner remains to be seen.