Amid various setbacks for various teams, there was one thing that sent all the F1 fans over cloud nine. Was it people feeling happy for Daniel Ricciardo, who avoided the McLaren disaster class? No. Was it the debut of three rookies? No. It was Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin’s masterclass as the Spaniard took the first podium on his new team debut alongside Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

This third-place finish has brought in a new wave of freshness as a new team has emerged as a challenger for a place in the front row of the grid. It also meant that Max Verstappen was delighted to see the driver, whom he regarded as one of his generation’s best, if not the best, driver, ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The Dutchman expressed his happiness for the veteran driver’s success and believes that they will be in contention to take away a few wins, but were not strong enough to challenge for the championship as many fans have predicted.

As quoted by the Race, the reigning champion said, “I hope so, for Fernando as well, because he has had a few years where there was not really a possibility to fight up the front. So I’m happy to see him sitting here already in race one.

“I mentioned it before, but at Aston I think they really have the spirit and drive, they want to win, and they’ve hired a lot of good people. I guess it can only get better for them. For this year, it’s difficult to say if they’re going to challenge for the championship, but race wins are definitely on the table.”

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Max has already fought and emerged victorious in battles against Leclerc and Hamilton. How good of a chance does he stand against Alonso if Aston Martin manages to keep up with Red Bull?

“Haven’t had the best history here”: Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen’s defense started poorly last year after Red Bull suffered two DNFs in Bahrain. This time, however, things are strong as the Dutchman took his first win on the circuit.

Speaking about the car and performance, he said, as quoted by GrandPrix, “I could see early on that we had the pace in the car, I was able to build a gap from the start and then just managed it for the rest of the race, it was a straightforward day for us. It also feels good to finally win in Bahrain, I haven’t had the best history here,” he said, expressing caution for the team ahead of the next round in Jeddah.

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To conclude, Max had one of the easiest drives of his career as he took an early lead after a perfect start. Even his teammate was nowhere near as impressive as he displayed his ultimate prowess.