CHARLES LECLERC converted his pole position to win the first Grand Prix of the F1 season as Lewis Hamilton claimed an unlikely podium.
Current world champion Max Verstappen dramatically retired with three laps left of the race, while team-mate Sergio Perez spun late on in a nightmare collapse for Red Bull.
Leclerc won the F1 season opener for Ferrari
Hamilton (L) somehow took the chequered flag in third
It had looked like Red Bull were on for second and fourth, until Verstappen’s retirement allowed Carlos Sainz into second.
With Perez then in third his error at the death allowed Lewis Hamilton to take the chequered flag in the final podium position, one place ahead of his Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
A late safety car after Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri saw the field bunched together for the final 10 laps in Bahrain.
Full racing resumed with seven of the 57 laps left to go, teasing the prospect of a grandstand finish.
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And boy did it deliver.
Leclerc pulled away immediately to coast home, but all hell broke loose behind him.
Verstappen retired in the closing stages after suddenly loosing power, while Red Bull team-mate Perez threw away his spot on the podium to Hamilton on the FINAL lap.
With Hamilton breathing down Perez’s neck, the Mexican suddenly spun out without any contact between the pair.
The seven-time world champ duly passed through to nip into third, behind Leclerc and his Ferrari team-mate Sainz.
For Hamilton it was some form of redemption for the circumstances that unfolded in Abu Dhabi in December, although he will only feel vindicated if he lifts world title No8 later this year.
Kevin Magnussen impressed on his return to F1 to take sixth position for Haas, while Valteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo) rounded off the top 10.
Brit Lando Norris struggled to eventually finish way down in 15th, a place behind team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, in what was a miserable day for McLaren.
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