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Formula 1
Bahrain GP
F1 Bahrain GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix
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After the three-day pre-season test at the same track last week, the 2023 F1 season begins this weekend.
Max Verstappen starts on pole as Red Bull locked out the front row in qualifying with Sergio Perez slotting into second.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc lines up in third ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz with Fernando Alonso, who topped practice, in fifth for his new team Aston Martin ahead of both Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
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Wow! Alonso tracks Hamilton through the opening sector, goes very wide into Turn 10, and cuts through on the tight left-hander to grab fifth! Lovely battle.
Alonso's all over Hamilton like a rash, and gets past at Turn 4 - but Alonso gets a wiggle on the exit and Hamilton nips back past! The Aston Martin driver looks like he'll get another go soonish...
Pit stop
Verstappen's done his final stop, and returns to a comfortable 12s lead over Perez.
Pit stop
Alonso does stop number two, hard tyres, and comes out behind Hamilton to rejoin sixth.
Behind the top eight - or can we call them the big four teams for 2023 yet - Bottas leads the midfield in ninth and Albon is 10th, being chased down by Gasly and Tsunoda, so that's a tasty battle for the final points places.
Pit stop
Perez comes in to stop, collecting his first set of hard tyres to presumably finish off the race. Bit of a slow getaway there, but he'll be well ahead of Leclerc.
Pit stop
Leclerc completes lap 33 in the pits for his final set of hard tyres. Alonso, yet to do a second stop, goes ahead of the Ferrari for the time being.
Pit stop
Ocon pits to serve his 700 penalties (might be a small exaggeration) and comes out, you guessed it, in last place.
Pit stop
Zhou is aiming to push his middle stint as long as possible which has elevated him to ninth directly ahead of team-mate Bottas. The Chinese driver duly pits at the end of lap 32 and returns to the action in 15th.
Sainz and Russell come in to do their second stops too, grabbing hard tyres for the final stint. The Ferrari driver rejoins behind Alonso, as Russell falls behind Stroll as the Canadian goes around him ahead of Turn 4!
Pit stop
Hamilton comes in to pit at the end of lap 30, for another set of hards. "My tyres are okay," he says, but the team cites an undercut threat. Stroll follows suit, who also collects new hard tyres.
Pit stop
Hulkenberg pits for a front wing change having picked up damage earlier in the race. It does the trick as he sets the fastest lap of the race while running in 18th on the hard tyres. Which is unusual.
Pit stop
Norris pits again for the latest engine top up, which puts him back to 19th place. If he keeps going at this rate it'll be a five-stop race for the McLaren driver! Painful.
"My left front is giving up a little bit," Verstappen says. He's got a 14s lead over Perez, with Leclerc a further 4.6s behind.
Hamilton's now been encouraged to pick up the pace, and has reopened the gap to Alonso slightly to two seconds. Alonso, in response, has elected to push Hamilton a bit more.
Penalty
Oh Esteban, it is not your night. Ocon has been given ANOTHER penalty, this time for speeding in the pitlane. So that's another five seconds he needs to stay stationary, putting his tally for the race up to 20s.
Albon and Tsunoda take their fight for the final points place into the pitlane, as they come in at the same time, but return to the action split by Gasly.
"Let me know what you need me to do, do I need to pick up the pace," Hamilton asks. "Let's stick with the tyre management" he's told, perhaps in response to Alonso's earlier speculation. Gap's 1.6s between them.
Pit stop
Gasly pits for the second time, swapping his current hards for another set of hards, and comes out in 17th.
Here's Sergio! Perez grabs DRS into Turn 1 at the start of lap 26, and clears Leclerc for second. The Monegasque considers a move into Turn 4, but Perez was already well ahead of the Ferrari.
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In the meantime, Alonso is catching Hamilton as the Mercedes tyre wear looks higher than those around him. "They have more deg, so let's think how to us it", Alonso says, reading the race in true Alonsonian fashion.
It appeared the Alpine mechanics got to work a little too early on Ocon's car to swap his front wing when he was serving his first penalty.
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Leclerc is told degradation on the hard is lower than expected, although that won't be particularly helpful as Perez is on the softer boots and all over him as of lap 25.
Penalty
The news is in from the stewards and it is bad news for Ocon as he's been given a 10-second penalty for not serving his original penalty correctly. Oh dear.
Norris gets his playtime with Ocon by overtaking him under braking at Turn 4 to move up to 18th.
The midfield shake up has seen Albon move up to 10th and the final points place, which would be a terrific result for Williams if he can hold on to it. Tsunoda is chasing him down currently, 1.5s back.
Leclerc has another Turn 1 lock-up, as Perez is cutting the gap down - it's 2s as of the start of lap 23. Perez has a bit of a tyre advantage as the softs look solid at this stage.
Norris is told to "have some fun" with Ocon over McLaren team radio, as they are both at the back of the pack due to their respective woes in this race.
Stopwatch
Perez does a 1m37.448s to set the fastest lap, as he tries to home in on Leclerc. The gap is 3.5s between them.
Stroll clears Bottas on the run to Turn 4 to return to eighth place and will aim to go after Russell next.
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Nope, we were right the first time - Verstappen IS on the soft tyre. He's 10.7s ahead of Leclerc, and says the rear locking is "manageable".
Ocon could be facing even more trouble... he's been noted for serving his penalty incorrectly. Double trouble incoming?
Norris returns to the action but is down in last place. If the issue doesn't miraculously solve itself, he'll need to pit again in about 10 laps or so.
Pit stop
Perez now comes in for his stop, returning to the track on another set of softs in third place. The timing graphics show Verstappen on the hards, so we've potentially got that wrong.
Pit stop
It is double disaster for McLaren, as Norris pits for the second time due to an pneumatic issue with his engine.
Pit stop
Ocon pits to serve his penalty and also take on a new front wing. That puts him 19th and last.
Pit stop
Stroll's in from third now, and collects the hard tyre. He rejoins behind Russell, albeit four seconds behind the Mercedes.
The McLaren mechanics wheel Piastri into the garage after spending a couple of minutes trying to resuscitate his car. But it is an early bath for the young Aussie.
Alonso returns to the circuit ahead of Russell again, but Bottas has managed to overcut the pair of them amid the stops. Nice work from the Alfa squad there.
Penalty
Meanwhile, the stewards have investigated Ocon and given him a five-second penalty for not being in the correct grid position at the start. He's also carrying front wing damage to add more woes to his night.
By: Autosport Staff
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