Why Max Verstappen & Charles Leclerc May Not Want to Win the Bahrain Season Opener?

What are coincidences if not impeccably timed cosmic interventions? The highly technical sport of Formula 1 stands at the dawn of witnessing a coincidence that hasn’t missed the target in the last 6 years, The First Race Curse. Even the skeptics believe and even the most nonbelieving section of the F1 world. If you begin your season campaign with a loud bang, you will most likely finish second in the drivers’ championship.

The last season saw Charles Leclerc winning 2 out of the first three Grand Prix. The Tifosi were overjoyed and the racing world believed that Ferrari will claim their lost glory, which it has been chasing ever since 2007. The Ferrari comeback news was such a respite that people forgot to connect the dots, and soon the curse unfolded. Like previous winners of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the Monegasque finished as the first of the losers.

Perhaps that is why the Pole-Man of most races last year didn’t even attempt more than a lap to claim the pole. Probably they don’t want to start the season on a high like they did last year and fall prey to the jinx. But the humorous assumptions aside, the choice to save the tires for the main race. The call taken by Frederic Vasseur is why the Ferrari man settled to start in the second row tomorrow. But if he doesn’t win the race, can he go ahead to win the championship?

Read More: Max Verstappen Shows Ominous Signs for Charles Leclerc & Co. With Red Bull Juggernaut Set to Carry On in 2023

The string of coincidences suggests that he may have a higher chance of winning the championship than he did last year. But if that holds true, the future doesn’t seem bright for Max Verstappen, who is on a hunt for his third world title.

Origin of the curse

The said curse has been claimed to have taken root when the quadruple champion, Sebastian Vettel, and the then triple champion Lewis Hamilton were chasing their championship in 2017. The season opener held in Australia was won by the German, but as the history books hold, the title was won by the Mercedes man equaling the number of WDC with Vettel.

Now both quadruple champions entered the arena and unfortunately for him, Vettel won the season opener again and the world saw a repeat telecast of the previous year. Lewis Hamilton was now a five-time world champion. And the similar fate repeated with Ferrari taking a back seat and Lewis Hamilton beating his own ex-teammate, Valtteri Bottas. The Finn won the season opener in 2019 and 2020 and Lewis became the most successful man in history equaling the number of WDCs with the mighty Michael Schumacher.

The man who benefitted from the curse fell prey to it

Not discounting his massive talent, Lewis Hamilton won four titles ‘owing’ to the said jinx. But do the curses or hexes have favorites?

It was answered in 2021 when arguably the most successful man in the History of sport lost out a chance to claim his eighth title in an unprecedentedly controversial set of events. The Britton had won the season opener but lost the title to Max Verstappen, who went on to claim his first.

History of the first GP Curse

Andrew Frankel valiantly took up the mammoth task of tracing the 73-year history of the sport. He writes, “the numbers show that in the last 73 seasons, only 46.6% of the drivers who won the opening round went on to become that year’s world champion..”

He further adds, “So while you may not be likely to win the title this year, at the same time you’re far more likely to do so than anyone else.”

The greats also, in their own ways, fell victim to the said hex. A comparison was drawn by the journalist between the three most successful men the sport has ever seen. As quoted by motorsport magazine, “Fangio came into every championship year at full throttle. Lewis Hamilton, by contrast, appears to need a warm-up phase: he has won seven titles (to date) compared to Fangio’s five, but in those seven years has won the first round only twice – in 2008 and 2015.

“So if Hamilton lucks out this weekend, do not write him off for the season. Michael Schumacher, the only other driver with five or more titles, is much more from the Fangio mold: he won seven titles and in all those years only failed to win the first round once – in 2003 if you’re interested.”

Watch This Story: Max Verstappen and Christian Horner slam Mercedes for trying to ‘take shine off’ F1 title win after Lewis Hamilton drama

Do you think if the pole man for the Bahrain GP, Max Verstappen, wins this year’s season opener, can defy the six-year-long curse?