Sergio Perez Pulls Off Miracle Drive to Win Maiden F1 Race as Russell Endures Heartbreak in Sakhir GP

The Bahrain International Circuit’s outer loop enjoyed a great debut, as did Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, claiming his first-ever F1 race win. In what was an epic 87-lap race, there were a lot of dramatic moments that thoroughly entertained the viewers.

The opening lap of the race saw absolute frenzy as drivers tried to cut across each other’s lines to pass them. And the outcome saw 3 cars suffer damage, eventually forcing Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc to crash out of the race.

Guiding under the safety car, the restart saw Sainz momentarily take P2. But a hard push by Bottas down the straights saw the Finn take his place right back.

Mercedes drivers George Russell and Valtteri Bottas competed for the race win in the beginning

Following the retirements of Verstappen and Leclerc, young George Russell took the initiative to lead the race. A previous GP2 winner in junior racing levels, he obviously had a lot of experience in leading the pack.

Elsewhere Racing Point enjoyed a good race in their fight for P3. Despite suffering damage on the first lap, Perez showed his mettle and drove brilliantly to win the race while teammate Lance Stroll took home P3.

Ferrari faced disappointment yet again, with Vettel often outpaced by the likes of Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, and Lando Norris. The 33-year-old was just unable to build his laps and on the night, struggled to make it count on a shorter track layout.

Sergio Perez’s fantastic outing enough to draw the light away from Mercedes’ failure?

In spite of spending just a few days with his new environment at Mercedes, the performance will do the world of good for George Russell.

From taking the lead off of Bottas, he made minimal mistakes on the track. And he would have won the race if it weren’t for a delayed pit stop, courtesy of his team.

Red Bull’s Alex Albon finished in P6 after the team’s star driver crashed out of the race. One can only wonder then if that performance was enough for the Thai driver to retain his seat for next season.

But the race belonged to one driver, and that was Sergio Perez. With a superb drive that started off from the bottom in P18, he kept pushing hard and fair. And eventually, he bore the sweet fruits in the form of his first-ever race victory in Sakhir.