Leclerc wins F1 Bahrain GP as Red Bulls retire, Zhou 10th on debut

Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu (center) scores points in his Formula 1 debut race in Sunday's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. [Photo/Xinhua]

Charles Leclerc began Formula 1's new era with victory as Ferrari took a 1-2 in Sunday's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, with both Red Bulls dramatically retiring in the closing stages.

Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu had already made history by becoming the first Chinese driver to take part in a Grand Prix, and now joins a select band of 66 drivers to have scored points in their debut race.

The Shanghai native took the final point in tenth place on his Grand Prix debut, in which he notably overtook Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton for position as the Briton struggled on cold tyres after his first pit stop.

Starting from pole position, Leclerc withstood immense pressure from Red Bull's Max Verstappen after their first pit stops, with the two swapping positions on consecutive laps, but Leclerc was just able to keep the Dutchman at bay.

A late Safety Car bunched the pack up, but Verstappen was unable to challenge after struggling with a steering issue, and pulled into the pits to retire two laps from the end, elevating Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz into second place.

On the last lap, Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez also retired after his engine appeared to have seized, promoting Hamilton into third.

Leclerc's win was his first since the 2019 Italian Grand Prix and Ferrari's first since that year's Singapore race, and showed that the F1-75's impressive pre-season pace was no flash in the pan.

"I'm so happy," said Leclerc, who also took the bonus point for fastest lap. "The last two years have been extremely difficult for the team."