F1 Live- Christian Horner and Geri snapped at Bahrain GP after texts leak

That's all from us

We'll be back tomorrowfor more reaction to the first race of the season in Bahrain.

Hamilton and Russell's battery frustrations

Both Mercedes W15's were hit with battery problems at the Bahrain Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell sharing their frustrations after the race.

"For a while my battery was dead, so down the straights I was just de-rating the whole way down the straights, so I lost a lot of ground to the McLarens," Hamilton said. "I was fixing that out and that took a good 10 laps and I lost 15 seconds through that.

"And then after that I was just trying to get back on it and catch up once we got that fixed and then there was a bit of overheating with the brakes and in general the performance was so-so. My seat started moving. It clicked and my left side dropped so then it was moving through the braking zones, not great."

Russell added: "We both faced a similar problem. For whatever reason we had massive engine overheating and the battery wasn’t working properly. I made a really good start, I got into second, sort of like, 'Here we go'.

"Then I soon had these big red alarms on my steering wheel and I had no battery left and went to turn the power down. We ended up losing about four-tenths a lap just in power and it was so difficult holding them [Ferrari and Sergio Perez] off.

"I was surprised we managed to do it for the first 10 laps or so. And then we just went backwards thereafter, so it’s a shame that we didn’t get to show any real potential of this car. A bit of a strange day."

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have been Mercedes team-mates for two years (HOCH ZWEI/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

Hamilton calls for improvements

Despite his disappointing finish in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton insisted today's race was about "discovery" and admitted there are "a lot of things about the car to improve"

"I mean the car is reliable, but I think it was a struggle in the car today," the Brit told Sky Sports F1. "The platform, where I was given everything, but there wasn't a lot of performance there compared to some of the others.

Mick Schumacher free to race for McLaren in 2023 after Mercedes deal reached

"I think if I would have qualified better, I would be a good couple of places ahead because the last stint was good. It was about discovery today, I found out a lot of things about the car to improve and I'm sure the team will."

Horner's pointed message

In the face of mounting pressure over his future, Christian Horner sent a pointed message after the first race of the season in Bahrain in which Max Verstappen secured victory for his outfit.

When asked if Red Bull remain united, he told Sky Sports F1: "Yes absolutely. We are a very strong team. We have got tremendous support, tremendous partners and great shareholders behind us as well. You don't achieve this kind of result by not being united."

Red Bull team principal and CEO Christian Horner (Sky Sports)

Hamilton speaks out

Lewis Hamilton has spoken of his "disappointment" after finishing seventh in Bahrain.

"I personally feel great, physically I feel great so winter training has worked," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. "We probably feel a bit of disappointment within the team, I'm not sure about everyone else.

"I was definitely hoping that we would be better this weekend then we were, but it was a tough race, it was very close with everybody and degradation is high with the car. There is plenty of areas we can improve. We were further back from the Red Bulls then we thought as well."

Lewis Hamilton in conversation with future team-mate Charles Leclerc ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix (PA)

Horner meets key ally

Christian Horner met with Red Bull's majority shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya at the Bahrain Grand Prix as he continues to face questions about allegations of "inappropriate behaviour".

And Horner was spotted meeting Yoovidhya ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Yoovidhya holds a majority 51 per cent stake in Red Bull Racing's parent company, which was founded by his father Chaleo and Dietrich Mateshitz in 1984.

Red Bull co-owner Chalerm Yoovidhya met with Christian Horner ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix (PA Wire/PA Images)

Sainz looking for a race seat

He's being let go by Ferrari and he knows he needs to find a new drive with the Spaniard admitting he needs to constantly underline his quality.

"I've been in F1 for nine years and every race I'm trying to prove to everyone what I'm capable of doing," he said.

"At the same time, I've done so many years here that everyone knows what I'm able to do with the right working environment and right tools to fight.

"My future is something I'm not thinking about at the moment and only think about it in my off time."

Horner clear on the fact he'll still be in charge next week

He said: "Yes, absolutely. I wouldn't be here otherwise."

Horner has given his take on Red Bull's 1-2

"The perfect start and a very dominant race. I have to say a big thank you to all the men and women back at Milton Keynes who have worked so hard over the winter. It's testimony to all that hard work that goes on behind the scenes.

"A great team performance to get that one-two finish and maximum points today. You can see it's an aggressive revolution. The whole team have done a wonderful job.

"They haven't rested on their laurels. They have pushed hard and pushed the boundaries. You can see there's a lot of innovative ideas on the car. It's a strong evolution."

Perez on his second spot

"I think it was the maximum we could have achieved.

"It was quite a tricky race with the management of the tyres, there's plenty we will learn from tonight's race which will be important for the championship.

"But overall it's a great wat to start the season.

"It was really [tyre] compound to compound the amount of sliding we were having. We were having some issues with the engine braking, the driveability, which is not easy around here."

Max on his win

"Unbelievable. I think today went even better than expected. I think the car was really nice to drive on every compound.

"I think we had a lot of pace and it was just super enjoyable to drive today. We stayed out of trouble and it's a great start of the year, it couldn't have been better.

"It was a lot of fun and I felt really good in the car. It's always very special to have these kind of days because they don't happen that often where it all goes perfect and you are at one with the car."

Verstappen WINS in Bahrain

Max Verstappen claimed a dominant victory in the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix, leading every lap before he took the chequered flag.

Several competitive practice sessions had given hope to a more competitive field but the Red Bull star was the class of the field with team-mate Sergio Perez completing a 1-2 for the Austrian outfit. Verstappen fended off an early Charles Leclerc attack on the first half before establishing a notable gap, which he retained throughout the race.

Perez made up several places to finish on the podium with Leclerc struggling with his tyres throughout the race before he finished fourth ahead of George Russell. Carlos Sainz took the final podium spot as Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren Mercedes and Aston Martin occupied the top ten spots.

Sainz begun his last Ferrari season with plenty of punch, twice passing Leclerc on track as he underlined his credentials, but he couldn't chase down Perez for second in the final stint. Lewis Hamilton struggled to be competitive throughout the race as he finished seventh, sandwiched between the two McLarens.

Battle on for second

Lap 39/57

Verstappen has gone but we have a race on our hands for second.

Perez is 1.8 seconds clear of Sainz. The Red Bull driver is on soft tyres with Sainz on hard so it is a case of whose rubber lasts longest and whether Perez can create a big enough gap.

Top 10: Verstappen, Perez, Sainz, Russell, Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton, Alonso, Piastri, Stroll

Max clear, battle between the top eight

Lap 24/57

Max looks to have cleared off, not for the first time.

Plenty still to play out here regarding which car and driver will manage their tyres the best.

Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren occupy the top eight spots with Hamilton struggling to make an impact.

First round of pit stops

Lap 13/57

All the leaders have begun to pit as they switch from soft to hard tyres to fight off the obvious wear.

Currently the order is Verstappen, Sainz, Norris, Alonso, Tsunoda, Albon, Ricciardo, Russell, Perez, Leclerc.

Max clearing off

Lap 6/57

Verstappen is already over 4 seconds clear as four cars scrap for second.

Russell got the jump on Leclerc, who is ahead of Perez and Sainz.

Both Ferraris seem to be struggling somewhat whilst the two McLarens look racey.

LIGHTS OUT IN BAHRAIN

Verstappen retains the lead as we finish the opening lap.

Leclerc had a look at the first corner but remains second, ahead of Russell, Perez and Sainz.

What to expect from the track and the tyres

To summarise #BahrainGP rough track leads to high tyre degradation. Which is why a 2 stop is preferred even though there is quite a high pit loss. High degradation also promotes overtaking. Therefore sticking closely to optimum pit stop laps will be important. #F12024

— Bernie Collins (@bernie_collins1) March 2, 2024

A reminder of the top 10

1) Verstappen

2) Leclerc

3) Russell

4) Sainz

5) Perez

6) Alonso

7) Norris

8) Piastri

9) Hamilton

10) Hulkenberg

McLaren hopeful of a podium

CEO Zak Brown said on the grid: "Pretty good. I think we left a little bit of time on the table in qualifying. The grid is unbelievably close.

"I think we can move forward from here, I don’t think a podiums out of reach but let’s see what happens. We need a clean first lap."

Hamilton and Norris have track issues

Both Brits went off the track on the way to the grid - something to keep an eye on.

The track appears slightly slippery with Ricciardo also having issues.

Pit lane open

Cars will begin makie their way to the grid with the season truely getting underway in 30 minutes time.

Max to keep dominating? Ferrari fighting back or is someone else going to enter the fray?

Two future team-mates having a chinwag

Future team mates chatting before the driver parade #F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/Qm1KWM2trS

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 2, 2024

Max on the challenge ahead

He said: "I think in general everyone is looking forward to do the race now. I am excited, normally our car is good in the race but as you can see in qualifying the gap was very small and I expect it to be the same in the race.

"It feels like the top eight, nine cars are a lot closer and I just think that’s great to see... I do think it’s going to be quite an interesting race."

They are the talk of the paddock - but publicly they look united

Geri and Christian arrive hand in hand

Aston chief eyeing more podiums

Last season in this race Aston Martin announced themselves as contenders as Fernando Alonso bagged a podium

Lawrence Stroll and his wealth is crucial to that success and he'll be hoping for more of the same.

McLaren boss wants more answers

Zak Brown has said: "I think the sanctioning body has a responsibility and authority to our sport, to our officials. I think all of us in Formula 1 are ambassadors for the sport on and off the track, like you see in other sports, and so I think they need to make sure that things have been fully transparent with them.

"And I don't know what those conversations are and that needs to be thorough, fully transparent, and that they come to the same conclusion that has been given by Red Bull, and that they've agreed with the outcome. But I think until then, there'll continue to be speculation because there are a lot of unanswered questions about the whole process.

"So I think that's what's needed by those that run the sport to really be able to draw a line under it. Until then, I think there'll continue to be some level of speculation by people and I don't think that's healthy for the sport."

FIA boss admits Horner saga "damaging" but no investigation imminent

FIA boss Mohammed Ben Sulayem has admitted that the ongoing Christian Horner and Red Bull saga is "damaging the sport".

Horner has faced allegations of "inappropriate behaviour" from a female staff member but was cleared of any wrongdoing in an internal investigation on the eve of this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. Since then messages and photos have been leaked, alleged to have been between Horner and the staff member.

Ben Sulayem told the Financial Times : “It’s damaging the sport . . . This is damaging on a human level." The FIA boss did confirm though that the governing body had no plans to conduct its own investigation at this point as they had not received a formal complaint themselves.

Frustrated Norris believes he could've been P2

When asked if he’d got everything out of qualifying the McLaren driver said: “Absolutely not… I messed up Sector 1. I just had a little oversteer on the exit of [Turn] 1 just as I came on the throttle. It cost me easily one and a half tenths, and one and a half tenths today was easily P2.

“It’s frustrating and because of this I felt like I wanted to push a bit more – the wrong thing to do and then I paid the price again in Turn 4, another couple of mistakes. The rest of the lap was there or thereabouts, but honestly the car was easily good enough for a front row, so disappointed I didn’t deliver it."