Verstappen Out To Silence McLaren In The Battle Of Bahrain

McLaren's Lando Norris holds a wafer-thin advantage over four-time world champion Max Verstappen going into this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.

Here AFP Sport looks at five storylines ahead of the fourth race of 24 in the 2025 Formula One season:

Max Verstappen arrives in Bahrain fresh from one of the best weekends of his life, on the track at least, in Japan. After a sublime pole last Saturday in Suzuka he held the McLarens at bay with a controlled drive to haul a Red Bull car that has yet to reach its full potential over the line to move one point behind Lando Norris in the world championship. He has won on the last two trips to Sakhir, with Red Bull posting a 1-2 in both races.

While that may be a tall order with Yuki Tsunoda facing a steep learning curve in this only his second run out for Red Bull since dramatically replacing Liam Lawson, Verstappen is in the mood to kick up a sandstorm in the Bahrain desert.

He conceded he would still need to "push the car to the limit" but is approaching the weekend with a spring in his step. "Bahrain is typically somewhere where we have gone well," he said this week.

"I do always enjoy going there so looking forward to seeing what this week brings and hopefully we can maximise the performance of the car as best we can."

Far from being a stepping stone to greater things, Ferrari have endured a tricky time since Lewis Hamilton's inaugural win for the Scuderia in the Shanghai sprint last month.

A double disqualification for the seven-time champion and Charles Leclerc in the race in China was followed by a fourth place for Leclerc with Hamilton three spots further back last Sunday.

Ferrari's aim now is to eke out every ounce of performance from the SF-25 in qualifying and Sunday's race.

"We are not where we want to be in terms of car performance, and we are working hard with the aim of making solid progress. This will be our main focus in Sakhir," said team boss Fred Vasseur.

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has every right to feel smug. His gamble in replacing one of the all-time legends of the sport, Hamilton, with an Italian teenager who only passed his driving test in January fully vindicated. Kimi Antonelli has excelled in his three races so far for the Silver Arrows to sit a remarkable fifth in the drivers' table. Last weekend he became the youngest driver in F1 history to lead a race, breaking a record held by Verstappen from back in 2016. He also became the youngest driver to claim a fastest lap. Yet to finish outside the top 10 he is leading the way for the six full-time rookies on the 2025 grid. Not bad for the 18-year-old who is still revising for his school exams.

Friday's opening practice will feature a host of teams giving potential stars of the future a spin. Among them is Dino Beganovic, who holds dual Swedish and Bosnian nationality. The Ferrari academy Formula Two driver takes Leclerc's seat in 'FP1'. "I really can't wait for the weekend. I'm just going to enjoy the moment, as well as helping the team as much as I can," the 21-year-old said. Others on show will be Dane Frederik Vesti for Mercedes and Japan's Ryo Hirakawa for Haas.

Built on a former camel farm, Red Bulls now strut around the venue which hosted its first grand prix - won by Michael Schumacher - in 2004. It may be surrounded by desert, but unlike Zandvoort, carved into dunes on the Dutch coast, there's barely a grain of sand blown onto the track in the often blustery conditions. That's thanks to a special sticky adhesive substance sprayed around the 5.412km circuit to reduce the risk.