NY Times · Mar 5, 2023
Verstappen Runs Away With Formula 1 Opener
The first race of the Formula 1 season wasn’t much of a race at all.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull opened the defense of his world championship with a dominant performance on Sunday at the Bahrain Grand Prix, sending a message to the rest of the series that he will not surrender his championship easily.
Starting on the pole, Verstappen pulled away from the starting line, beat his top rivals and his teammate Sergio Perez to the first turn and never looked back. His lead grew slowly at first, two seconds, then four, then five, but eventually grew to more than 25: an eternity in a sport where teams measure improvements and advantages in hundredths of seconds.