Oscar Piastri’s debut F1 disaster as Max Verstappen romps to victory in Bahrain

All eyes were on McLaren’s boom recruit but the Formula 1 debut of Oscar Piastri was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Full race wrap

Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL60 Mercedes on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit. Picture: Getty Images

Oscar Piastri’s Formula 1 debut lasted just 14 laps as reigning champion Max Verstappen dominated the opening race of the 2023 season in Bahrain.

With all eyes on the boom McLaren recruit in his first race for the papaya, Piastri had made up seven places on his starting grid position before disaster struck.

Only three laps after teammate Lando Norris reported a pneumatic problem, Piastri rolled into the pits and cut the engine – his day done due to an electrical issue.

It went from bad to worse for McLaren when Norris was forced to pit for a second time and the Briton found himself battling for position at the foot of the field as a result.

McLaren had entered the Bahrain Grand Prix under the microscope after struggling during testing the previous weekend, with both Piastri and Norris recording the fewest laps of any driver.

The Aussie ace qualified in P18 for his maiden F1 grand prix but showed his F2 and F3 championship-winning race craft by shooting up to 11th prior to his electrical issue.

“A short debut but it was still nice to get back out there, do a first lap and be in a racing environment again,” Piastri told reporters.

Oscar Piastri had an F1 debut to forget. Picture: AFP

“I think we were having a pretty reasonable race up until that point so yeah, a shame, but it was nice to do the laps that I did anyway.

“Before I came into the pits I did basically half a lap crawling around so I knew it was going to be a pretty lonely race after that anyway but yeah, a shame we couldn’t get back out.”

Battling the unreliable MCL60, Norris finished well out of the points in 17th after having to pit five times over the course of the race.

There were no such problems at Red Bull, with reigning champion Verstappen blitzing the field to pick up where he left off last season.

The Dutchman led from pole and rarely sighted his rivals over the 57 laps in Sakhir, quickly opening up an unassailable lead and coasting home to a first win of the season and 36th in his career.

“A very good first stint (is) where I made my gap and from there it was all about looking after the tires,” Verstappen said.

“I was very happy to finally also win here in Bahrain.

“I think we have a good race package. Of course it will depend race to race, but we can definitely fight (for the championship) with this (car).

“A big thank you to the team … to give us such a quick race car once again.”

Oscar Piastri had made up seven places on his starting grid position before disaster struck.. Picture: Getty Images

Teammate Sergio Perez cruised to second, more than 20 seconds clear of Fernando Alonso who clinched the first of what could be many podiums for surprise challenger Aston Martin this season.

Red Bull’s dominant one-two finish will do little to waylay fears of another dual championship procession, with its presumptive rivals Ferrari and Mercedes both struggling in the season opener.

Ferrari failure

Ferrari’s championship challenger Charles Leclerc was tracking comfortably for a podium finish before rolling to a stop on lap 42.

Twelve months earlier, Leclerc left Bahrain with a hat-trick of pole, race victory and fastest lap but it was not to be in 2023.

Fighting to make ground on Perez, Leclerc completely lost power and was forced to withdraw from the race.

Ferrari had earlier taken a gamble in replacing the energy store in Leclerc’s car but it was the engine that ultimately ended his evening in Sakhir.

The Monegasque driver bemoaned his bad luck as the virtual safety car was called out and the Scuderia left itself with some early ground to make up in the fight with Red Bull.

Max Verstappen celebrates on the podium after winning the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain. Picture: Getty Images

Aston Martin magic

It was a nervy start for the boys in green when Lance Stroll turned into the right rear wheel of teammate Alonso on the opening lap.

But it was only up from there for Aston Martin, who laid down an early marker as a genuine top-three contender by outracing Mercedes and Ferrari under the lights in Sakhir.

In scenes reminiscent of years gone by, fans were treated to a delightful mid-race battle between Alonso and Lewis Hamilton with the Spaniard ultimately getting the better of his former teammate.

Finally in machinery worthy of his driving ability, El Matador was at his brilliant best in passing both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz to clinch a podium finish in his Aston Martin debut.

“This is a lovely car to drive” mused Alonso over the team radio as he raced to the checkered flag well clear of Sainz in fourth.

Meanwhile, Stroll produced a stellar drive to split the Mercedes and ensure Aston Martin ended the weekend second in the constructors’ championship standings.

The Canadian entered the race under an injury cloud after hurting his wrists in a training accident and despite not being at 100 per cent punched in a P6 finish.

Williams wows

For the first time in a long time, Williams may not be the backmarker team on the grid.

Alex Albon banked a point for the boys in blue but it was the performance of rookie Logan Sargeant in 12th that will have the Grove team feeling hopeful.

The Williams looked a genuine midfield contender in Bahrain and, crucially, performed better than the likes of Haas, AlphaTauri and, of course, McLaren.

Tipped by many as the rookie likely to perform the worst over the course of 2023, Sargeant outplaced both Piastri and Nyck de Vries in his F1 debut.