Keep up to date with all the highlights of the race in our post Live F1 Updates: Bahrain 2023 which outlines the race as it unfolds.

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Lap 57/57: CHEQUERED FLAG

Verstappen cruises to the finish line and takes the first win of the season. Perez finishes in P2, while Alonso steals the show with an emphatic P3 on his first race for Aston Martin. Sainz finishes in P4 in front of Hamilton in P5.

Lap 54/57: UPDATE

Verstappen is cruising around 11 seconds ahead of Perez. Both Red bulls are clear of the field, with Alonso over 20 seconds behind them. Sainz has weathered the Hamilton storm as the gap builds to around 2 seconds. Gasly looks like he could be challenging Bottas in P8, while Tsunoda looks to snatch the last point from Albon.

Lap 50/57: UPDATE

Hamilton is on the tail of Carlos Sainz and is well within DRS range. Norris has entered the pits for the 5th time to service the same engine issue. Alonso has built a decent gap of around 4 seconds to Sainz, making his podium ambitions incredibly clear.

Lap 45/57: UPDATE

Alonso is right on the tail of Sainz and is looking to challenge the Ferrari at every turn. Hamilton has fallen back a bit and sits around 2 seconds behind the action. Alonso had a great exit at turn 4 and briefly made contact with the rear right of Sainz. Alonso made another challenge to turn 11 and managed to take the podium place from the Ferrari. Alonso is now in P3, while Sainz is P4 and Hamilton in P5.

Lap 43/57: UPDATE

Ocon has retired from the race, while Gasly seems to be charging through the field. Gasly started in last place but is not in P9 after overtaking the Williams of Alex Albon.

Lap 43/57: UPDATE

Racing resumes, and there’s a podium place up for grabs. Hamilton and Alonso are closing on Sainz in P3, opening the door for a surprise three-way fight for P3. Alonso is just 1.5 seconds from Sainz, while Hamilton is just 1.6 seconds behind Alonso.

Lap 41/57: RETIREMENT – VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR

The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc grounded to a halt in the middle of the circuit. The engine seemed to give out, causing him to fall out of the podium position.

Lap 38/57: UPDATE

Alonso is going after Hamilton with everything he has. Alonso closed the gap and overtook Hamilton on the straight down to turn 4. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make the move stick as Hamilton quickly took back P5 on the exit of turn 4. Alonso had another shot into turn 10 and managed to keep the position this time. This leaves Alonso in P5 and Hamilton down in P6.

Lap 35/57: PIT STOP

Alonso came into the pits to try and overcut Hamilton. However, Hamilton cleared Alonso by around a second. Alonso does have fresher tyres, so it will be an entertaining fight to the end of the race. Max also came into the pits to make his change to hard tyres.

Lap 33/57: PIT STOP

Sainz has come into the pits to make his change to a new set of hard tyres. Russell followed him by also changing to another set of hards. Russell came out of the pits right in front of Stroll but could not hold the position for more than a few corners. This leaves Russell in P8.

Lap 32/57: UPDATE

Verstappen is in a league of his own as he leads Perez by 14 seconds. Hamilton has boxed again to change to another set of hard tyres. This cut his stint short but was needed to protect against the undercut by Alonso behind him.

Lap 27/57: UPDATE

Ocon received a penalty for missing his start position. He served this penalty during his pit stop, but the team made a mistake that caused another 10-second penalty for the team. To make matters worse, Ocon was caught speeding in the pit lane and received another 5-second penalty on top of that.

Lap 21/57: UPDATE

Both Max and Perez have made their pit stops. They are the only two that have moved from soft tyres to another set of softs. The team only has one fresh set of hards, so that’s most likely to be the tyre for their last stint.

Lap 18/57: UPDATE

Both Aston Martins have made their first change of the race to hard tyres. Max quickly followed, leaving Perez out front with softs for a few more laps. The Ferraris have reclaimed P2 and P4, while Hamilton slots in at P5.

Lap 14/57: RETIREMENT

Oscar Piastri’s debut ends in heartbreak as he’s forced to retire from the race with mechanical issues.

Lap 14/57: PIT STOP

Hamilton entered the pits to make his change to hards. Ferrari followed shortly by double-stacking their cars. This left both Alonso and Stroll out on track to take P3 and P4. However, the entire top 4 is still on soft tyres that won’t last much longer.

Lap 13/57: PIT STOP

Lando Norris enters the pits with more than just tyre trouble. It seems that the car is being serviced so that it can continue the race. Tsunoda, Albon, Bottas, De Vries, and Hulkenburg all pit for hards as well.

Lap 10/57: PIT STOP

Gasly enters the pits for the first pit stop of the 2023 F1 season.

Lap 10/57: UPDATE

Bottas had a great few laps as he made his way up to P9. He was briefly ahead of the Aston Martin of Stroll, who quickly took back the place. Everyone seems to be in tyre-saving mode, with the Mercedes team keeping a distance of around 2 seconds from the Ferraris. The Mercedes of Russell is certainly showing some pace as he snatched the fastest lap of the race so far.

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Lap 5/57: UPDATE

Verstappen leads Leclerc and has extended his lead to over 3 seconds. Perez has managed to keep Sainz behind, but Sainz is still within DRS range. Hamilton and Russell remain in P5 and P6, within 1.5 seconds of the Ferraris.

Lap 3/57: MAX SETTLES IN THE LEAD

Max got a much better start than Perez, who was instantly challenged by both Sainz and Leclerc. Leclerc made the overtake into turn 1 and now sits in P2. Hamilton had an amazing start and quickly overtook Russell and Alonso to take P5. Alonso clashed with Stroll later on in the first lap, causing Aston Martin to drop down to P7 and P9.