“Lights out, and away we go!” On Saturday, Mar. 2, the Formula One season truly kicked off in Bahrain with 15 turns, three DRS zones, and each turn averaging between 65-215 mph, or so they thought. Qualifying for the most part looked very promising for Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari with him securing the pole position. World champion Max Verstappen’s Red Bull was just behind the Ferrari on the grid with George Russell’s Mercedes following in a big way in P3. However, on race day, the grid lineup towards the end was a different, yet familiar, story that Formula One fans are all too familiar with. The race kicked off with Verstappen biting Leclerc to immediately gain P1 which he was successful in, contrary to popular belief.

Towards the first couple of turns, Leclerc had an unusual problem. He suffered from major lockups in his front tires. As the race continued, a fight between teammates Carlos Sainz Jr. and Leclerc resulted in a major overall overtake from Sainz Jr. to ultimately secure his spot on the podium for P3, or so he thought. This season’s first race showed a lot of pairing in the top ten with two drivers each from Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin all finishing in the points as a pair in a subtle way. There was also a major upset from Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon finishing at the back of the grid. Their placing was quite a shock especially with each of them having a very promising season last year. Overall, it’s great to be back for another exciting Formula One season with so many races left to go and so many countries still to see.