Verstappen took the checkered flag in 1:54:23.566 for this third win of the season. It was another one-two for Red Bull as this teammate, Sergio Perez, of Mexico took second in 12.535 second behind the reigning world champion.

Carlos Sainz of Ferrari, who won Australian Grand Prix a fortnight ago rounded off the podium in third. His teammate at the Italian manufacturer, Charles Leclerc finished in fourth.

The Mercedes-Benz duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished in 7th and 9th respectively.

There was early drama in the race as Daniel Ricciardo of Alpha Tauri and Alex Albon of Williams crashed on the first lap which brought out the red flags and forced the race to restart.

The win took Verstappen up to 77 points after four races in the season, while Perez maintains his second position with 64, while Leclerc is in third with 59.

The next stop on the calendar will be the Chinese Grand Prix from 19 to 21 April.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport