Max Verstappen has made the perfect start to his Formula 1 title defence, storming to a commanding victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Dutchman was more than 20 seconds ahead of Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez who finished second, with outgoing Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz rounding off the podium.

After producing one of the most dominant seasons in history in 2023, winning 19 of 22 races, Verstappen's commanding win was a warning to those hoping to close the gap to the all-conquering Red Bull.

While there were great battles up and down the grid, Verstappen never looked troubled as he converted his 33rd F1 pole position into career win number 55.

"Unbelievable, I think today went even better than expected, Verstappen said.

"The car was really nice on every compound, it was really lovely to drive.

"It was a lot of fun, I felt really good in the car. "It's special to have these kind of days, where it all feels perfect and you feel at one with the car."

Australians Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo finished eighth and 13th respectively.

Piastri was locked in a tight midfield battle with the Mercedes and his teammate Lando Norris, who finished sixth.

McLaren came into the new season after making gains on the top cars in the second half of last year.

Piastri said both McLaren cars made a promising start to their new campaign.

"Whilst P6 and P8 is not what we want, it's not a bad way to start the year," he said.

"It will be interesting to see where we are in the next few races.

"Saudi [Arabia] is a very different circuit, high speed, Melbourne's a similar story, Suzuka's a similar story.

"They were happier hunting grounds for us last year, so we'll see what we've got."

Round two of the 24-race championship will be held in Saudi Arabia next Sunday morning AEDT.