Practice 1
The first practice session of the season ended with Red Bull on top of the timesheets as Sergio Perez set the fastest lap over Fernando Alonso in Free Practice 1 for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Perez's lap of 1m 32.758s saw him shoot to the top on soft tyres with 30 minutes of the hour remaining, while Alonso's soft-tyred lap put him second overall by four-tenths. Fellow two-time champion Max Verstappen was therefore bumped down to third overall, 0.617s off the pace set by his Red Bull teammate.
Lando Norris finished fourth overall for McLaren, while Charles Leclerc was the fastest driver on medium compounds in P5, 1.5s off the pace.
In the other Aston Martin, Lance Stroll (P6) returned, which caused him to miss testing - though he spent much of the first half of FP1 in the garage with an ignition problem, only setting his first flying lap with 23 minutes left.
Kevin Magnussen finished seventh for Haas with Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas eighth and ninth, all three of them on soft tyres.
Rounding out the top 10 was Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, ahead of teammate George Russell in P11 - neither Silver Arrow opting for a soft-tyred run.
Rookie Oscar Piastri shrugged off an early snap of oversteer to finish 12th overall on softs, ahead of Alpha Tauri's soft-tyred lapper Yuki Tsunoda in P13.
Haas's returning driver Nico Hulkenberg took P14 on softs, leaving Esteban Ocon 15th on mediums and another rookie, Nyck de Vries, in P16 for Alpha Tauri on soft tyres.
Pierre Gasly capped off a quiet showing for Alpine in P17, with the bottom four on the timesheets all opting to forgo a soft-tyred run.
Logan Sargeant finished 18th for Williams, the rookie opting for runs on hard compounds while others began the session on mediums. Alex Albon, who began with some red flow-vis paint on the back of his FW45, finished 3.458s off the pace in P19.
Carlos Sainz recovered from a spectacular spin at Turn 10 midway through the session but finished 20th overall for Ferrari, with more to come from the Spanish driver.
Practice 2
Fernando Alonso set the pace in Friday evening's second practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix, slotting ahead of Red Bull pair Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez as Aston Martin continue to catch the eye ahead of the new F1 season.
After a baking hot mid-afternoon, the sun set and floodlights switched on over the Sakhir circuit for FP2 - bringing more representative conditions which will also be seen Saturday's qualifying session and Sunday's race.
Across two spells of qualifying-style runs, it was Alonso who charged to the top of the timesheets by clocking a 1m 30.907s on soft tyres, finishing 0.169s clear of reigning world champion Verstappen, with Perez 0.002s further back.
Some frustration also crept in at Red Bull following a faultless pre-season, with Verstappen taking to the radio early in the session to comment that his RB19 was "jumping around a lot more than testing".
It remains to be seen what fuel loads and engine modes are in play at this stage, while Alonso's benchmark remained some six-tenths slower than the 1m 30.305s Perez posted on the final day of last week's test session.
Behind Alonso's pace-setting Aston Martin and the Red Bull drivers, Charles Leclerc was the quickest of the Ferraris in fourth position, followed by high-flying F1 returnee Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) and the other AMR23 of Lance Stroll.
Stroll returned to the cockpit on Friday after missing pre-season testing due to, but the plastered up Canadian finished half a second off teammate Alonso.
Pierre Gasly put seventh, with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton eighth after a low-key first day of practice for Mercedes and the other W14 of George Russell back in 13th, behind a host of anticipated midfield runners.
Lando Norris was ninth for McLaren, who are looking to bounce back from another tricky pre-season, with the second Alpine of Esteban Ocon slotting between Alfa Romeo pair Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas.
Russell was the final driver within a second of Alonso's P1 time in 13th, followed by Carlos Sainz's Ferrari - unable to get the most out of his soft-tyre runs - F1 rookie Oscar Piastri and Kevin Magnussen's Haas.
Piastri had to take avoiding action in the opening stages of the session when he approached a slow-moving Stroll at the pit exit, with the significant lock-up he picked up leading to another off-track moment shortly afterwards.
Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda led the way for their respective Williams and Alpha Tauri outfits, as teammates Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant - the other two rookies on the 2023 grid - brought up the rear.
Practice 3
Fernando Alonso led the way in the final practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix, as Aston Martin continued to impress, with the Spanish driver leading the way ahead of the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
With FP3 held in unrepresentative conditions to what the drivers will face later in qualifying and in Sunday's race, the track was clear in the early stages of the session, but with 50 minutes to go the lap times began to pour in with Lewis Hamilton narrowly ahead of the Ferraris.
However, it was Alonso - who also led the way in FP2 - who shone brightest in the Bahrain heat, setting a time of 1m 32.340s on a qualifying style-run on the soft compound tyre - leading Verstappen by 0.005s, and his teammate Perez by 0.106s.
Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate George Russell - running different rear wings as the Silver Arrows continue to experiment with set-ups - finished fourth and sixth, respectively.
Lance Stroll, in the other Aston Martin, continued his return from wrist surgery, netting seventh, with Charles Leclerc fifth fastest, ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz in eighth.
Oscar Piastri was the lead McLaren in FP3, as the Australian driver finished in ninth, ahead of the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, in 10th and 11th respectively.
Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu was 12th, ahead of the other McLaren of Lando Norris down in 13th, with the Haas pair of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg in 14th and 15th respectively just behind.
Yuki Tsunoda was the lead Alpha Tauri in the session in 16th, ahead of Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas in 17th, and Williams duo Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon, in 18th and 19th respectively, with Alpha Tauri's Nyck de Vries down in last place.
Qualifying
Max Verstappen claimed pole position for the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix during an intense, hotly contested qualifying session under the Sakhir lights on Saturday night, beating Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez to top spot.
Verstappen pumped in a time of 1m 29.897s on his first Q3 run before improving to a 1m 29.708s the next time around, eclipsing Perez by 0.138s and netting a 21st career pole position in the process.
Ferrari locked out the second row of the grid, with Charles Leclerc ahead of Carlos Sainz despite the Monegasque not completing a second run in the pole position shootout - instead saving a set of tyres for race day.
Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin's charge continued with a strong run to fifth, slotting ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, as Mercedes found themselves unable to join in the fight for pole.
After missing pre-season testing due to wrist injuries sustained in a training accident, Lance Stroll battled his way eighth, in front of Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and impressive F1 returnee Nico Hulkenberg (Haas).
Lando Norris missed a Q3 spot by a couple of tenths as McLaren continued to recover from a tricky pre-season, putting his MCL60 11th on the grid, ahead of Alfa Romeo pair Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
Yuki Tsunoda was the lead AlphaTauri driver in 14th position, with Alex Albon getting his Williams into Q2 - albeit abandoning his sole flying lap and therefore ending the second phase without a time.
F1 rookie Logan Sargeant almost joined team mate Albon in Q2 at the first time of asking, setting an identical time to 15th-placed Norris towards the end of Q1, but the American dropped out due to his time being posted later.
Sargeant still did enough to put his Williams a respectable 16th on the grid, in front of Kevin Magnussen - who could not live with the pace of high-flying team mate Hulkenberg - and fellow 2023 newcomers Oscar Piastri and Nyck de Vries.
A big shock in Q1 saw Pierre Gasly eliminated in P20 during his first qualifying session with new team Alpine, meaning the Frenchman will line up at the very back of the grid on Sunday - Gasly having had a lap time deleted.
Q1
After a busy winter of developments, an intriguing pre-season test and an even more fascinating first day of practice, the time for pecking order predictions stopped as the sun set and the floodlights illuminated the Sakhir circuit on Saturday night.
Ferrari were quick to send their drivers out on medium tyres, only for Leclerc to suffer a huge lock-up into Turn 1 as parts of his car - later confirmed to be from the wheel front-right wheel brow - flew off, signalling an early red flag as debris sat on the circuit.
When the action resumed, it was Sainz who rose to the top of the timesheets by clocking a 1m 30.993s amid a frantic sequence of laps, with Russell a surprise second, Leclerc up in third and practice pace-setter Alonso fourth - the Red Bulls only P5 and P6.
Stroll was under pressure for the second runs - having lost an early time due to exceeding track limits - but the Canadian and his recovering wrists ultimately cruised through to Q2 in fifth, as the top four positions remained unchanged.
Hulkenberg popped up to sixth with a late improvement, displacing Verstappen's Red Bull, while Tsunoda and Albon impressively put their AlphaTauri and Williams machines ahead of the other RB19 piloted by Perez.
Alfa Romeo drivers Bottas and Zhou progressed to Q2 in 11th and 14th respectively, sandwiching Alpine's Ocon and Mercedes' Hamilton, with Norris the final man to jump over the first qualifying hurdle in P15.
All three of F1's rookies dropped out in Q1: Sargeant falling agonisingly short of a Q2 spot in 16th, Piastri placing 18th and De Vries winding up 19th. Magnussen and Gasly - the latter caught out by track limits - endured tricky sessions en route to P17 and P20 respectively.
Knocked out: Sargeant, Magnussen, Piastri, De Vries, Gasly
Q2
Red Bull appeared to turn up the wick when the action got back under way for Q2 -Verstappen storming to P1 with a 1m 30.503s on his first flyer, putting him 0.243s clear of team mate Perez and a further chunk clear of the chasing pack.
However, the second sequence of runs brought another extremely busy spell and ended with Leclerc leading the way on a 1m 30.282s, some two-tenths quicker than the initial benchmark posted by Verstappen.
Mercedes stayed in the mix as Russell and Hamilton slotted into respective P3 and P4 positions, followed by the other Ferrari of Sainz, the green Aston Martin machine of Alonso and Perez's Red Bull.
Hulkenberg continued to catch the eye on his F1 comeback with a lap good enough for eighth, as Ocon and Stroll secured the final Q3 spots - the latter earning cheers from the Aston Martin garage for his efforts.
Norris just missed the cut in 11th, as the Alfa Romeos of Bottas and Zhou, Tsunoda's AlphaTauri and Albon's Williams joined him in the drop zone - Albon going off track at the Turn 5/6/7 esses and backing out of his only Q2 lap.
Knocked out: Norris, Bottas, Zhou, Tsunoda, Albon
Q3
Building on his Q2 showing, Verstappen delivered a rapid 1m 29.897s in the early minutes of Q3 to slot ahead of Leclerc, Perez and Sainz - this group all having two sets of soft tyres at their disposal.
Alonso was one driver who only had one set of softs to play with and used his single lap to provisionally go fourth, as attentions then turned to the second runs from the aforementioned front-running group.
Before this unfolded, cameras cut to Leclerc hopping out of his Ferrari, sparking concerns of reliability issues, but last year's championship runner-up would confirm post-qualifying that he and the team opted to bank some fresh tyres for race day.
Back on track, Verstappen clocked a blistering 1m 29.708s to strengthen his grip on pole, with Perez also improving to finish 0.138s adrift, followed by Ferrari pair Leclerc and Sainz.
Alonso settled for fifth in what still represented a stellar result for himself and Aston Martin, in front of Russell and Hamilton's Mercedes cars, team mate Stroll, Ocon and Hulkenberg, who had his only Q3 time chalked off for exceeding track limits.
Race
Red Bull enjoyed a perfect start to the season in the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix as Max Verstappen cruised to victory over team mate Sergio Perez - while Fernando Alonso finished third as Charles Leclerc retired from the race.
Everyone bar hard-shod Kevin Magnussen (P15) began the race on soft tyres and Verstappen had a solid getaway, but team mate Perez fell back and lost second place to Leclerc - while Carlos Sainz couldn't quite pry P3 off the Red Bull. The reigning champion stretched his legs in the lead and eventually won by more than 10 seconds. Perez completed the one-two with both Red Bull drivers on similar soft-soft-hard strategies.
Aston Martin's hopes of crashing the podium fight seemed to have come crashing down on Lap 1 when Lance Stroll made a lunge on team mate Alonso into Turn 4 and hit the rear-right of his car, allowing both Mercedes ahead.
Ferrari's hopes of the podium did however come crashing down on Lap 41, when Leclerc retired with an engine issue. That was just after Alonso produced an absolutely brilliant move to take P5 off Lewis Hamilton, down the inside of Turn 10. Alonso went on the warpath and on Lap 45 he passed Sainz after a stunning battle through Sector 2, to seal his first podium since Qatar 2021.
Sainz therefore settled for fourth, fending off a brief attack from Hamilton, who ended up fifth on the board. As for Stroll, he was perhaps relieved not to get a penalty for hitting his team mate on Lap 1, and perhaps more relieved to see Alonso finish on the podium. The Canadian made an admirable recovery from his wrist injury, however, and finished sixth between the Mercedes - as George Russell was undercut by the Aston Martin in the second pit stops and finished seventh.
Valtteri Bottas capitalised on poor starts for his rivals and finished a solid eighth for Alfa Romeo, while Pierre Gasly recovered from P20 for Alpine, pitting three times, to finish ninth. Alex Albon finished 10th for Williams after a great start, while Yuki Tsunoda narrowly missed out on the final point in his AlphaTauri.
Rookie Logan Sargeant battled with Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu to take 12th on debut, while Zhou pitted on the penultimate lap of the race to promote Kevin Magnussen - whose hard-hard-soft gambit didn't yield points - to P13.
Nyck de Vries took P14 on his AlphaTauri debut, leaving Nico Hulkenberg 15th with a five-second penalty. Zhou was classified 16th for Alfa Romeo, and Lando Norris endured a tough race, a slow pit stop seeing him barrel down the order. A last-lap pit stop for softs saw the McLaren driver round out the standings.
Esteban Ocon had a calamitous start to the season for Alpine, copping a five-second penalty for lining up on his grid slot incorrectly, a further 10-second penalty for serving that penalty incorrectly, and another five seconds for speeding in the pit lane. Alpine decided to retire him late on.
Leclerc was incredulous when he retired on Lap 41, and Oscar Piastri's debut ended after just 13 laps when he pulled into the McLaren pits with an electrical issue.
Alonso, meanwhile, was jubilant to take his first podium in over a year.
And it was a perfect start to 2023 for Red Bull - but things can change. Just last year, both Red Bulls retired from the opening race of the season...
Bahrain has become a mainstay on the F1 calendar and this year's duel in the desert came laden with plenty of intrigue: Red Bull locked out the front row, but Aston Martin turned up threatening to spoil the party, leaving Ferrari and Mercedes with another thorn in their sides.
Two-time champion Max Verstappen stormed to a brilliant pole on Saturday, backed up by team mate Sergio Perez, while Charles Leclerc was pleasantly surprised to take third on the grid. The Ferrari driver however needed a new energy store and control electronics before this race. Teams are allocated just two of each of those parts per season - any more and grid penalties apply. Carlos Sainz backed up his team mate with P4 in qualifying.
Aston Martin turned heads throughout testing and this weekend as Fernando Alonso topped two practice sessions before qualifying fifth - his team mate Lance Stroll qualifying eighth despite nursing a wrist injury. As for Mercedes, they were downbeat after George Russell qualified sixth and Lewis Hamilton seventh. Everyone bar 17th-placed starter Kevin Magnussen (on hards) would begin on softs.
Formation laps were smooth for everyone but Stroll, who locked up and ran wide at Turn 10.
The noise - anticipation and anxiety - seemed to cease as soon as the grid lined up, those five lights went out, and the reassuring roar of 20 cars filled the air. Verstappen led away but Perez had a slow getaway, losing out to Leclerc while Sainz was right on his tail.
Aston Martin had a calamitous start as, while battling Russell, Stroll hit the right-rear of Alonso going into Turn 4. That allowed Hamilton and Russell ahead of the two-time champion and yellow flags briefly flew in Sector 2 for debris.
Williams drivers Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant enjoyed great starts, each picking up three places apiece; Zhou Guanyu and Nico Hulkenberg meanwhile lost four places each, the Haas driver having made contact with Esteban Ocon on the opening lap. That allowed 12th-place starter Valtteri Bottas into P9.
Verstappen's lead grew rapidly - he was 3.5 seconds ahead of Leclerc by the start of Lap 5 - while Perez was still hounding Leclerc for P2.
As for Mercedes, Russell - who lost out to Hamilton on Lap 1 - found himself asking whether the seven-time champion was managing his tyres, or just struggling for pace. On Lap 10, Alonso was in DRS range of the Silver Arrows; Verstappen was seven seconds in the lead.
Pierre Gasly, who started 20th having had a qualifying lap time deleted, pitted for hard tyres on Lap 10, opening the pit window a bit earlier than expected. Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda responded with the same switch on the following lap - the McLaren driver losing out to the Alpine.
Alonso was right on Russell's Mercedes on Lap 11, super close to the black car through the winding final sector. "Tyres are gone," said the Briton as he clamoured for a pit stop. The battle would continue and come to a head on Lap 13 when Alonso made a lunge on Russell into Turn 1, taking the place down the inside of Turn 4 with DRS soon after - but Russell fought hard going side-by-side down the hill through Turn 5 before conceding to the Aston Martin.
Hamilton pitted earliest out of the top five, with a swap for hard tyres on Lap 13. Ferrari responded by double-stacking a lap later, joined by Russell. Russell's stop was a fraction too slow, and after Alonso pitted on Lap 15, he emerged ahead of Russell. Bottas meanwhile had made it as high as sixth, having taken new tyres earliest out of that group - but Alonso made light work of him on Lap 17 at Turn 4, and Russell mirrored that move on Lap 18.
Verstappen and Perez stopped on Laps 15 and 18 respectively, but they chose soft tyres while the Ferraris, Astons and Mercedes opted for hards on their second stints. Williams and McLaren's Lando Norris chose the same strategy as Red Bull. However, there was trouble for McLaren with Oscar Piastri retiring from his debut after just 13 laps.
There was trouble for McLaren's rivals Alpine, too, as Ocon was given a five-second penalty for lining up in his grid slot incorrectly. Ocon was given a further 10-second penalty for serving that penalty incorrectly.
At the very back, Norris caught up to the beleaguered Ocon and with a tyre advantage he made light work for P18.
Things were unravelling a bit more gradually up at the front, with soft-shod Perez reeling in the hard-shod Ferrari of Leclerc. With DRS on Lap 25, he stalked the Monegasque patiently - and actually made the move for P2 into Turn 1 on Lap 26. Sainz was in no man's land; he was 13 seconds away from that battle in a lonely P4, while Hamilton was another four seconds back in fifth.
As for Verstappen, his lead had grown to almost 14 seconds by Lap 30.
The misfortune compounded for Ocon and Norris, as Ocon was penalised five more seconds for speeding in the pit lane and Norris's Lap 29 stop for a set of medium tyres was glacial.
Valtteri Bottas went for another set of hards on Lap 30, with Mercedes' Hamilton reluctantly following suit one lap later, as did Aston Martin's Stroll. Russell pitted for hards on Lap 31 and emerged behind Hamilton. Stroll, whose tyres were warmer, cruised past Russell for P7.
Sainz also pitted in that previous sequence but Leclerc stayed out until Lap 34, promoting a yet-to-stop Alonso into P3. Perez and Alonso responded on Lap 35, emerging second and sixth respectively, while Verstappen continued out in front. Enjoying a 37-second lead, the Dutchman finally pitted from softs to hards on Lap 37. Just 2.3 seconds later, he duly emerged from his box before carrying on in the lead.
Alonso, meanwhile, was clocking up purple sectors and catching up to Hamilton. He made the move for P5 with ease, or so it seemed, into Turn 4 on Lap 37. But the Spaniard suffered a snap of oversteer on the exit and lost the place. One lap later, Hamilton closed Alonso off at Turn 5 and they battled downhill into the hairpin, where Alonso enjoyed a better exit.
The two-time champion attacked and pulled off a pass for the ages down the inside of Turn 10 - the trickiest corner on the circuit.
Leclerc's luck ran out on Lap 41. He came to a stop at the penultimate corner to bring out a Virtual Safety Car, which ended too briefly to allow anyone to capitalise.
With 15 laps remaining, Sainz found himself up in the podium places but with Alonso bearing down on him.
Meanwhile, there was also a battle for P9, with Gasly going around the outside of Turn 1 to leave Albon 10th - both on soft tyres. On new softs, Tsunoda also made a stunning double-pass on Zhou and De Vries for P11, while De Vries found himself 13th as Zhou passed him soon afterwards. Sargeant joined the party, passing De Vries for P13 on Lap 44.
Lap 44 saw Alonso get within DRS range of Sainz. On Lap 45, the two-time champion almost ran into the back of the Ferrari exiting Turn 4 - making very slight contact as he was thrown off by how much Sainz was struggling for traction - and was right next to him going down the hill into the hairpin.
A superior exit out of Turn 10, plus DRS, saw Alonso sweep by the Ferrari for the final podium place - another stunning effort from the veteran, and this time one that would surely deliver him a first podium since Qatar 2021.
Sainz seemed to be struggling for pace even more now. Perhaps he'd picked up damage from that tap from Alonso, or perhaps his tyres were too hot after that battle.
Alonso was heard saying say over the radio: "This is a lovely car to drive." And he would take the car to the final podium place - and be voted Driver of the Day in the process.
As for Verstappen, he started his season in perfect fashion by winning the race with a lead of 11.987 seconds. Perez made sure Red Bull also had a perfect start as he took second place, almost 26 seconds ahead of Alonso.
Sainz ended up finishing fourth, ultimately unthreatened by Hamilton, who at least held off Stroll for P5. Stroll meanwhile split the Mercedes for P6, leaving Russell seventh. For Bottas. it was also a great start to the season as he made it to P8 for Alfa Romeo.
Alpine's Gasly was the biggest riser, making up 11 places from last to ninth thanks to a three-stop strategy, something that Albon pulled off to finish 10th over Tsunoda - just a second ahead of the 11th-placed AlphaTauri.
Rookie Sargeant made it to 11th on his Williams debut, gaining four places with a three-stop strategy, while Magnussen's two-stopper didn't quite pay off as he was a lonely 13th. De Vries ended up 14th on his AlphaTauri debut with Nico Hulkenberg 15th thanks to a five-second penalty for track limits.
Zhou took the fastest lap for Alfa Romeo, pitting on the penultimate lap for soft tyres on which he rounded the track in 1m 33.996s.
A late gamble for soft tyres and the fastest lap didn't pay off for Norris, who ended the race 17th - pitting six times - in a miserable day for McLaren, who of course suffered a retirement for debutant Piastri.
Ocon's day was downright calamitous. After accruing 20 seconds of penalties, Alpine decided to retire him 16 laps from the end - just two laps after Leclerc pulled to the side with a suspected engine issue.
Red Bull have started the season with a one-two, but Alonso made the headlines with a stunning race to the podium.
We have two weeks to catch our breath after this stunning start to the campaign, as the field returns for the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Key Quotes
"It was a very good first stint where I basically made by gap, and from there onwards, it was all about just looking after my tyres, because you never know what is going to happen later in the race. So, we just wanted to make sure that we had the right tyres and in good condition as well. Of course, very happy to get my first win here also in Bahrain.
"A big thank you to the team over the winter and what they have done again to give us such a quick race car again" - Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Standings
1 Max Verstappen
2 Sergio Perez
3 Fernando Alon
4 Carlos Sainz
5 Lewis Hamilton