What they said after the Bahrain Grand Prix

What they said after the Bahrain Grand Prix

Key quotes after Max Verstappen led home a Red Bull 1-2 in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday.

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“Unbelievable, I think today went better than expected. We had a lot of pace, it was super enjoyable to drive. We stayed out of trouble. It’s a good start to the year, it couldn’t be better.”

– Max Verstappen after towering over the rest of the grid to get his quest for a fourth straight drivers world title up and running.

“It was a lot of fun, I felt good in the car. It’s very special to have days like today. It doesn’t happen often, when everything is ok with the car.”

– Verstappen

“Look, it’s been the best possible start to the season, very clinical race by the team and well executed. The perfect start.”

– Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal all smiles after a trying week.

“A one-two finish like this is the optimum and you don’t get that without being absolutely united, having a strong team and great support from partners and shareholders,”

– Horner dismissing any doubts about his future as Red Bull team principal.

“The team definitely had good momentum, we’ve got to keep it up for the coming weekends.”

– Verstappen’s team-mate and a distant runner-up Sergio Perez.

“Keeping up with the Red Bull at the end was a pleasant surprise, still not enough from where we want to be but a good step forward compared to last year.”

– Carlos Sainz, who finished third ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, taking positives out of defeat.

“It’s a shame that we didn’t get to show any real potential of this car, so a bit of a strange day.”

– A disappointed George Russell who finished fifth after both his and Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes cars suffered engine overheating.

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse