F1 2023 Driver Standings after Bahrain GP

The much-anticipated 2023 F1 season got off to an incredible start with reigning world champion Max Verstappen continuing his streak of domination at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Dutchman started from pole position and drove a comfortable race to take his first victory of the season, followed by his teammate Sergio Perez, giving Red Bull the perfect start to the year.

While the two Ferraris started in the second row and seemingly had a relatively straightforward podium finish on the line, things started to go downhill towards the second half of the race. Charles Leclerc's SF23 suffered engine issues, forcing him out of the race, while Carlos Sainz lost P3 to Fernando Alonso, who charged his way to the top to take his first podium of the 2023 F1 season.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz managed to defend against the threat of Lewis Hamilton despite struggling with his tires. He finished fourth in the race, ahead of the seven-time F1 world champion, who had an intense battle with his former team-mate Fernando Alonso early on in the race. Despite the injury to his wrist, Lance Stroll gave Aston Martin a dream result with a sixth-place finish, ahead of George Russell of Mercedes.

Valtteri Bottas came home in eighth, giving Alfa Romeo a decent set of points to kick off the season, while his teammate Zhou Guanyu finished 16th and lost out on a championship point despite setting the fastest lap time in the race. Further down, Pierre Gasly had a dismal qualifying on Saturday but managed to make it up to ninth as the only Alpine in the top 10 since his teammate Esteban Ocon was hit with penalty after penalty throughout the race before he retired. Alex Albon, on the other hand, drove a very impressive race and finished 10th, giving Williams their first championship point of the year.

All three rookies found themselves outside the top 10, although it was a particularly tough day for Oscar Piastri and McLaren. The young Aussie was forced to retire from the race, while Lando Norris finished 17th.

Haas, AlphaTauri, and McLaren all failed to have a single driver finish in the top ten. However, since it is just the start of the F1 season, with 22 more races to go, there is plenty that could potentially change with time.

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Here are the 2023 F1 Driver Standings after the Bahrain GP

Pos	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	25
2	Sergio Perez	MEX	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	18
3	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	15
4	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Ferrari	12
5	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	10
6	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	8
7	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes	6
8	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	4
9	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Alpine Renault	2
10	Alexander Albon	THA	Williams Mercedes	1
11	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	AlphaTauri Honda RBPT	0
12	Logan Sargeant	USA	Williams Mercedes	0
13	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas Ferrari	0
14	Nyck De Vries	NED	AlphaTauri Honda RBPT	0
15	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Haas Ferrari	0
16	Zhou Guanyu	CHN	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	0
17	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren Mercedes	0
18	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Alpine Renault	0
19	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	0
20	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren Mercedes	0