Bahrain GP: Lewis Hamilton Season-Opening Bahrain Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton made his bid for the eighth world title for a thrilling start with a win at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday. Mercedes star Hamilton instigated pole-sitter Max Verstappen in his Red Bull, scoring the podium with Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes. Verstappen won his sights, but ran widely in the closing stages, as he passed Hamilton, handing back the advantage in the process. Hamilton said after his 96th career victory, “Which was a tough race, which we knew was difficult to stop early, but we had to cover Max.

“Max was fine with me at the very end, but just managed to catch him, one of the hardest races I’ve had for a while.”

Verstappen admitted: “It’s definitely a shame, but you have to look positive too. We’re putting the fight on them (Mercedes), so it’s great to start the year in this way.”