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Verstappen kept his head down with admirable calm to deliver with clinical precision amid the clamour, the sound and the fury that has swirled around Red Bull all week.

Utterly dominant last year, a radical evolution of the car appears to have paid off with the intent to iron out its only weakness from in the slow corners. Imperious last year, including a run of 10 consecutive victories, Verstappen is in the form of his life, quick, almost flawless and consistent in a car that fits his driving style to perfection. The Dutchman shows no sign of weakness while he is not under pressure, a challenge to which it is hoped rivals will step up. Just managed to secure second place last year but made a meal of it in a car that was head and shoulders ahead of the field. The best ride of his career hangs in the balance.

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Christian Horner has insisted he intends to remain in charge as team principal at Red Bull. The year-old maintains he has retained the full backing of his team and his family despite the continuing furore after his exoneration from allegations of inappropriate behaviour made by a female employee and the leaking of messages purporting to be between Horner and the complainant. Horner is considered to be still fighting to save his career and after the race, facing the media for the first time formally this week he was bullish in maintaining he would not be pushed out of the role he has held for 20 years since the team was formed in When asked if he was confident he would be in place for the rest of the season he was unequivocal. The release of the email to senior figures and press across F1 is considered a move to destabilise Horner in what may be an internal power struggle within Red Bull Racing and the parent company Red Bull GmbH. Horner would not address the rationale behind the email but insisted that since it was leaked he has retained the backing of his team and family, with his wife, Geri, joining him at the track for the race. My focus is on this team, my family, my wife and going racing. I have the support of an incredible family, of an incredible wife, of an incredible team and everybody within that team and my focus is on going racing and winning races and doing the best that I can. Christian Horner insists he will stay at Red Bull after Verstappen win. Read more. Reuse this content. Most viewed.

Long runs suggest they are on the right track but incremental rather than revolutionary improvement is expected.

The Spice Girls singer was hand in hand with the Red Bull team principal, who faces allegations relating to the leak of hundreds of WhatsApp messages that appeared to be written by him to a female colleague. The year-old has always denied the claims. During the short walk they were mobbed by photographers and TV crews. Horner headed for the race grid about 45 minutes before the 3pm start, giving Geri a kiss as he left. The pair have been married since and have a son, Montague George Hector Horner. Verstappen led a Red Bull one-two, with teammate Sergio Perez finishing second. Geri Horner and husband Christian appear together at F1 grand prix amid alleged messages leak.

Max Verstappen Red Bull 2. Sergio Perez Red Bull 3. Carlos Sainz Ferrari 4. Charles Leclerc Ferrari 5. George Russell Mercedes 6. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 7.

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After a season of intense, turbulent, and controversial yet gripping racing, Formula One almost unfeasibly found aspects of every element for its denouement in the desert. His reaction and that of his Red Bull team was one of unbridled joy while Hamilton and Mercedes were left disconsolate and convinced the win that had been in their hands had been unfairly snatched from their grasp, leaving the greatest prize in motor racing potentially in the laps of the lawyers. In a season already marked by drama this finale simply could not have been scripted nor will there be consensus on how it played out. Inevitably it ended in protests to the stewards grinding on long after the trophies had been awarded and the fans departed. The stewards rejected the protests but more wrangling may lie ahead with Mercedes having lodged an intention to appeal against the decision, and with the right to take their case to the court of arbitration for sport. As the fireworks went off at Yas Marina, Verstappen celebrated with tears in his eyes while a similarly emotional Hamilton held his obvious disappointment in check but having been consoled by his father Anthony, offered sportsmanlike congratulations to his rival. For Verstappen should he maintain his grip on the trophy, this was the culmination of a lifelong dream, achieved in the white heat of competition against the best driver of this generation in what has been a superb season. He can be rightly proud in winning it although he is still only 24 and becomes the first Dutchman to have won the F1 world championship. He was the youngest driver in the history of the sport on his debut aged 17 in , and has the potential to go on and win many more.

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His close personal attention to the team principal issued a strong message to those plotting against him: that for the moment at least the people with the deciding vote are standing by their man. The five-year plan to return to winning ways looks unobtainable, especially after a disappointing testing, with an overweight car lacking pace and cornering ability. Thanks for reading today and emailing in, see you next time for race No 2 out of 24 for this marathon season. Formula One. Looks like a one-two for Red Bull with Perez in second, more than three seconds in front of Sainz of Ferrari in third. Last year it took many races before the consideration of a Red Bull clean sweep was being aired and they missed it by only one race, denied by Sainz in Singapore. Reacting to the incident Horner stridently reasserted his denial of the allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against him and restated that he was found to have no case to answer by the independent investigation conducted by an English barrister. Should be more at home this time round if the car is on course for improvement and is always feisty in a fight when he can compete. Their genuine exuberance was clearly undimmed by any of the drama of the week — for them the hard work over the winter was being rewarded but the sheer scale of it was daunting. This performance issued a forebodingly similar warning. The only driver to deny Red Bull a win in the Spaniard deserves to be taken on, as he showed pace and composure last season in the win at Singapore and is capable of more as he matures as a driver.

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Max Verstappen wins the Bahrain Grand Prix. Published: 13 Apr Published: 17 Sep Other contenders will doubtless keep the pot boiling. Formula One. Can Sainz, in his Ferrari, threaten this one-two for Red Bull? Published: 10 May Published: 23 Feb Most viewed. Read more. More accurate assessments must wait until Saturday evening but for the moment, for all the sound and fury of a striking close season and its continuing impact, the sporting form feels all too familiar. I expect the Red Bull and McLaren will be competitive there. He cited the desire for a new challenge and the boyhood dream of joining the Scuderia.