Summary

  • Hamilton wins after tense battle with Verstappen

  • Verstappen forced to hand lead back to Hamilton after off-track pass

  • Mazepin crashes out on first lap, Alonso out

  • Get involved: #bbcf1

Live Reporting

Michael Emons

  1. How they start the Bahrain GP

    Sebastian Vettel had qualified down in 18th after being tripped up by a yellow flag following Nikita Mazepin's spin in Q1, but now Vettel's Aston Martin debut gets even worse as he has been hit with a five-place penalty for not slowing enough in that yellow flag period.

    So we start like this...

    • 1st Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
    • 2nd Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
    • 3rd Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
    • 4th Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
    • 5th Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri)
    • 6th Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
    • 7th Lando Norris (McLaren)
    • 8th Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
    • 9th Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
    • 10th Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
    • 11th Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
    • 12th Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
    • 13th Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri)
    • 14th Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo)
    • 15th George Russell (Williams)
    • 16th - Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
    • 17th - Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
    • 18th - Mick Schumacher (Haas)
    • 19th - Nikita Mazepin (Haas)
    • 20th - Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin, five-place grid penalty)

  2. 'We need a clean start'

    Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who qualified on pole position: "We had a good week of testing. There are no guarantees but it's been great so far, really enjoyable to drive.

    "With the wind conditions changing, it's not easy to change the set up of the car but I'm really happy with pole position.

    "My first lap in Q3 wasn't amazing but finally, the balance was there. You have to be careful not to overheat the rear tyres.

    "The car has been steady on the short and long runs, we have a good car. We need a good, clean start."

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  3. Verstappen beats Hamilton to Bahrain pole - read the report

    Andrew Benson
    BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

    Max VerstappenReuters

    Red Bull's Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes to take a stunning pole position at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

    The Dutchman was 0.388 seconds quicker than Hamilton, as Red Bull made good on the pace the world champion had always said they had before the season.

    Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas was third, ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly's Alpha Tauri.

    Red Bull's Sergio Perez was 11th and Sebastian Vettel 18th for Aston Martin.

  4. Hello!

    Ready for race one?

    Welcome along to BBC Sport's coverage of the Bahrain Grand Prix - the opening race of the 2021 F1 season.

    I'm Michael Emons and it is my pleasure to be talking you through the action today.

    We have live radio commentary from 15:45 BST and this year all the races start on the hour (instead of 10 minutes past) so the race gets going at 16:00 BST.

    Let's have a look at yesterday's action as Red Bull sent out a warning to Mercedes.

  5. What a way to start the season

    Mercedes have been dominant in Formula 1 for so long - with seven successive drivers' and constructors' championships.

    But in 2021 that dominance is under threat by the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

    The Dutchman was quickest in two of the three testing sessions earlier this month, then all three practice sessions and then grabbed pole by four tenths.

    World champion Lewis Hamilton is alongside Verstappen on the front row and it's all set to be a thrilling opening race of the season.

    We have a race on! Can't wait.

    Lewis Hamilton and Max VerstappenGetty Images