The first race of the 2023 season is in the history books, and two-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen picked up right where he left of last year. Verstappen put up a dominant display in the opening round, comfortably winning the Bahrain GP and beginning his quest for his third title in the best possible way.
After the Dutchman’s victory and Sergio Perez’s P2 finish, we saw the entire Red Bull crew celebrate with the duo, right below the podium. However, there was someone missing from the celebrations, and that was Verstappen’s girlfriend Kelly Piquet.
Yes!!! Exactly the start we hoped for A very lovely result finishing one-two
A big thank you goes out to the entire team, this is down to all their hard work over the winter!
Let’s keep pushing @SChecoPerez @redbullracing @HondaRacingGLB#BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/AAiImT001n
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) March 5, 2023
Piquet is someone who travels to most of Verstappen’s races, and is one of his most vocal supporters, both on the track and on social media. Since, she is in Paris this week for a event, Piquet wasn’t able to attend the season opener in Bahrain and cheer for her partner.
However, she made sure that she saw the entire race from her hotel room in Paris and as soon as Verstappen crossed the finish line, she posted on her Instagram story, with the message, “Starting the year right.”
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Max Verstappen begins Title defense in best possible way
Last year, both Verstappen and Perez suffered DNF’s in the opening round in Bahrain. It was the worst possible start for them, and on top of that, Ferrari’s one-two finish that evening, made them the early favorites to win the championship.
This year, Red Bull got off to the perfect start, and were undeniably the best team out on track. Verstappen started the race on pole, retained his position heading into turn one, and never looked back since. Even his teammate Perez, who was untroubled in second place for the majority of the race, could challenge Verstappen for P1.
Everyone at the track and on Campus in Milton Keynes… what a start to 2023 pic.twitter.com/6jmo7Zh1Nk
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 5, 2023
This was the best possible start for Verstappen, as he looks to win his third consecutive world championship.
Will Verstappen be affected by Bahrain’s curse?
For the last six years, the driver who won the opening race of the season, went on to finish P2 in the drivers’ championship. Bahrain has been hosting the season opener since 2021, but even before that, this ‘curse’ was real.
In 2017 and 2018, then Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel won the opening race which gave the Tifosi a lot of hope, but he ended up finishing runner-up to Lewis Hamilton on both occasions. 2019 and 2020 saw Hamilton’s former Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas win the first round, and we all know who won those two titles.
The curse of the first race win
Will the winner of the 2023 Bahrain GP finally break F1’s wicked spell? pic.twitter.com/Ei3fFZp2vO
— Autosport (@autosport) March 2, 2023
In 2021, Hamilton won the opening round, and ended up losing out on his eighth world championship in heartbreaking fashion. Most recently, it was Charles Leclerc who won the season opener in Bahrain last year. In the end, the Monegasque finished second to Verstappen in the standings.
Will Verstappen also be a victim of this curse or will the 25-year-old dominate the year once again to become a three-time world champion?
