The thrilling season opener Bahrain Grand Prix concluded with Lewis Hamilton taking over a stunning victory over the Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Hamilton reported in the post-race interview, the season-opening weekend race was the hardest race to win.
The 36-year-old Briton had a poor start in the season, failing to make his mark in the pre-testing and practice sessions. Hamilton had issues with the new W12 but didn’t lose faith in his team. However, things changed from the Qualifiers to finally acing the main race at the Bahrain circuit.
The Dutch Red Bull racer put on an arduous fight for the defending champion throughout the race, and Hamilton is delighted after winning the tough fight from Verstappen.
Hamilton reported, “Max was all over me right at the end, it was one of the hardest races I’ve had for a while, so I’m really grateful for it!“
LEWIS: "Max was all over me right at the end, it was one of the hardest races I've had for a while, so I'm really grateful for it!"#BahrainGP 🇧🇭 #F1 pic.twitter.com/DSY4vTH6MO
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 28, 2021
Lewis Hamilton had a hard time against Verstappen
The seven-time world champion wasn’t able to beat Max in any events of the 2021 season prior to the Bahrain Grand Prix. Verstappen even enjoyed the pole position for the Grand Prix and was leading the race in the beginning but soon Lewis took the lead and changed the flow of the race.
Lewis Hamilton was not letting Max Verstappen take the lead.
It was a neck-to-neck battle between both the drivers for the last five laps to take the lead, the Silver Pilot ace was not letting Verstappen go ahead. However, Red Bull’s number 33 had an advantage because Hamilton changed the tires before him and started losing a bit of control in the final few laps.
The Briton was keeping the Dutch behind but was anxious about the DRS advantage Max had over him, so Hamilton was trying his best to increase the gap between him and Max. But Verstappen took advantage of the Turn 11, by taking a lead from the Englishman.
Max Verstappen took the lead from Lewis Hamilton.
The happiness didn’t last long for the Austrian team, as the steward instructed Max to let Hamilton take the lead again, as the Dutch over-steered and went off the track. The Milton Keynes-based team had to lose the race for this error at the last moments of the race.
More from the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
The entire race had been a heart-stopper, like Sergio Perez finishing fifth, who started the race from the pit lane because of issues after the formation lap. He was the driver of the day for his comeback.
From a pit lane start to a P5 finish
It was an eventful Red Bull debut for @SChecoPerez
And you voted him Driver of the Day in Bahrain! 🏆#BahrainGP 🇧🇭 #F1 pic.twitter.com/cu1PVZ7Jhq
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 28, 2021
Then a safety car was sent to help the Hass driver Nikita Mazepin, who faces a crash in the early minutes of the race. After which we also witnessed a heated fight between the old rivals- Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.
Further, into the race, Alonso had to abandon the race because of brake failures. Vettel got ten points penalty for ramming Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
The other Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas finished third ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and also got a bonus point for the fastest lap.
We will again witness the heated battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen on Sunday, April 18, at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari for the second race of the season.
We can expect the seven-time world champion to take one more step closer to his eighth title but need to cross the hurdle called Verstappen.
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