Charles Lecrec won the Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz to secure a double podium for Ferrari in Sunday's season opener.

The victory was a first for a Ferrari driver since September 2019, when Lecrec again won in Monza, Italy.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton took the final podium position despite many predictions damning the Silver Arrow's chances in the race.

The race ended in very intriguing circumstances as both Red Bull cars of defending Champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez failed to finish the race despite gunning for podium finishes.

Verstappen was the first to quit the race after losing power as he was defending second place against a charging Sainz.

Perez spun in turn one with a lap more to go, thereafter also losing power.

The result puts Ferrari in an early commanding position as they begin their chase for the elusive Constructors championship.

George Russell finished fourth in the other Mercedes car ahead of Kevin Magnussen driving a Haas.

Alpha Romeo's Valtteri Bottas took sixth place while Alpine's Esteban Ocon finished seventh.

AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda crossed the line in ninth place ahead of Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu driving the second Haas.

"So happy. We knew this was a big opportunity for the team and the guys have done an incredible job building into amazing car. One, two today with Carlos, we couldn't hope for better. It's incredible to be back at the top," said race winner Lecrec after his victory.

Hamilton on his part said the result was the best his team could leave Bahrain with, considering their struggles ahead of the day.

"A big big congratulations to Ferrari, so good to see them doing well again," he said. "Such a difficult race, we've struggled throughout practice and this was the best result we could. We're grateful for these points, the guys are working really hard back at the factory, there's a long way to go."