Re-live Mail Sport's live blog for the latest timings and lap-by-lap updates from the opening race of the 2024 Formula 1 season.

By LUKE POWER, SPORTS REPORTER
Updated: 12:24 EDT, 2 March 2024
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Christian Horner inisisted that he will be in charge of Red Bull next week when questioned by Sky Sports.
Are you a united team off the track?
Yes, absolutely. We're a very strong team. We've got tremendous support. We've got tremendous partners, great shareholders behind us as well. You don't achieve this kind of result by not being united.
Are you confident that you've got the full backing of everybody and that you'll be leading this team in Jeddah next weekend?
Yeah, absolutely, I wouldn't be here otherwise.
In the end, it was a predictable start to the season, with Max Verstappen storming ahead to win by 22 seconds.
Ferrari and Mercedes both struggled at times, but the Prancing Horse will take a second-row lock-out after the first race of the season.
Thanks for sticking with us today and do join us next week for all the live actiion from Jeddah.
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Red Bull chief Christian Horner insisted that you can't read too much into their dominance today.
'The perfect start. A very dominant race and I have to say a big thank you to all the men and women in Milton Keynes. It's testament to the hard work that gets done behind the scenes,' he told Sky Sports.
'You can see it's an aggressive evolution. The design team, the whole team, have done a wonderful job. They haven't rested on their laurels, they've pushed hard, and they've pushed boundaries. There's a lot of innovative ideas in the car. It's got the basis of 2019 in its DNA but it's a strong evolution.
'It's a great start. It's a one-off, one circuit, one surface, it's a very cool temperature. Next week, street track, much higher temperature.
'We're going to have to see three, four, five, races before you see a true pattern. What we saw in testing is the field has converged, so you can't base too much on this one race.'
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That's his 55th race win, and Bahrain have put on some show to mark it.
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We are witnessing history.
He's now standing atop the podium and we'll bring you all the images when we can.
Ouch, ouch, ouch. Bottas was in the pit for 52.4 seconds with a nut seemingly stuck in the rim of one of his wheels.
His race is ruined as he's now 19th. Day over for the mulleted former Mercedes man.
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It was the maximum we could have achieved. It was quite a ricky race. It's a great way to start the season.
Compound the compound, the amount of silding we wre having, we were having issues with the engine braking.
We'll analyse all of that tonight and make sure we learn for Jeddah.
It's good for team momentum and we've got to keep it up.
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Unbelievable. Today went even better than expected. The car was really nice to drive on every compounds. It was super enjoyable to drive today.
It was a lot of fun. I felt really good in the car. It's special to have these kind of days.
It's a long season and it's a great place in the world to be [Jeddah, up next]. Couple of days' rest and then we go again.
Key Updates
Christian Horner: I'll be leading Red Bull next week
WATCH: Max Verstappen's full post-race interview
Max Verstappen celebrates
Yuki Tsunoda: 'Are you KIDDING ME? No!'
Hamilton - 'these guys are fast!'
WATCH: Hamilton overtakes stumbling Piastri!
WATCH: Bottas' pit stop fail
WATCH: Russell struggles with power unit issue - explained
McLaren expect to challenge Russell and Leclerc
Ted Kravitz - issues for Mercedes
Huge worries for Leclerc and Hamilton
WATCH: Sainz blasts past ailing Leclerc
Lap 10 - some joy for Hamilton!
Opening titles set the mood
Spain's former king makes surprise entry
Neymar enjoys a Red Bull with drivers
Horner and Halliwell share a kiss
Martin Brundle: Fred Vasseur might actually prefer the calm Ferrari set-up he has... without Lewis Hamilton!
Christian Horner and Geri Halliwell hold hands in exclusive video
Horner and Halliwell present united front
Geri Halliwell holds hands with Christian Horner in F1 paddock
The ULTIMATE guide to an F1 car
Damon Hill comments on the Christian Horner scandal
George's duo of doting fans arrive
FIA boss: Horner controversy is DAMAGING the sport
CONFIRMED: Geri Halliwell will attend today's Grand Prix
Geri Halliwell WILL attend today's race
IAN HERBERT: Christian Horner couldn't do what Geri told him to. He struts around like the cock of the walk. Now this grubby text scandal has left a stain on F1
Lewis Hamilton experiments with a new vehicle
Lewis Hamilton oozes class
Martin Brundle laments 'very sad' situation
Geri Halliwell's 'crisis talks'
The leaked texts that sent F1 into overdrive
What's all this Horner stuff about?
Welcome to a season opening like no other