Pole-sitter Sergio Perez had to settle for fourth after pitting just before a pivotal Safety Car.
Leclerc still leads
“I know it was really tough, but a good race, we were battling hard at the front, but we just tried to play the long game. They were really quick through corners; we were quick on the straights,” said Red Bull’s winner Max Verstappen.
“The tyres were wearing out quite quick. You could see in the end we had a little bit more pace so we tried to get by. It wasn’t easy, playing smart tricks in the last corner, but eventually, I managed to get ahead, but even after that he was constantly in the DRS and then with the yellow flags in the last lap, just knowing how much you should lift, what is allowed or not, it was tough.
“But just really happy to finally kick start the season.”
Formula 1 World Driver’s Championship standings
| POS | DRIVER | NATIONALITY | CAR | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | MON | FERRARI | 45 |
| 2 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | FERRARI | 33 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | NED | RED BULL RACING RBPT | 25 |
| 4 | George Russell | GBR | MERCEDES | 22 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | MERCEDES | 16 |
| 6 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | ALPINE RENAULT | 14 |
| 7 | Sergio Perez | MEX | RED BULL RACING RBPT | 12 |
| 8 | Kevin Magnussen | DEN | HAAS FERRARI | 12 |
| 9 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | ALFA ROMEO FERRARI | 8 |
| 10 | Lando Norris | GBR | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 6 |
| 11 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | ALPHATAURI RBPT | 4 |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | ALPHATAURI RBPT | 4 |
| 13 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | ALPINE RENAULT | 2 |
| 14 | Zhou Guanyu | CHN | ALFA ROMEO FERRARI | 1 |
| 15 | Mick Schumacher | GER | HAAS FERRARI | 0 |
| 16 | Lance Stroll | CAN | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 0 |
| 17 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 0 |
| 18 | Alexander Albon | THA | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 0 |
| 19 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 0 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi | CAN | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 0 |
Formula 1 World Constructor’s Championship standings
| POS | TEAM | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FERRARI | 78 |
| 2 | MERCEDES | 38 |
| 3 | RED BULL RACING RBPT | 37 |
| 4 | ALPINE RENAULT | 16 |
| 5 | HAAS FERRARI | 12 |
| 6 | ALFA ROMEO FERRARI | 9 |
| 7 | ALPHATAURI RBPT | 8 |
| 8 | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 6 |
| 9 | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 0 |
| 10 | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 0 |