Max Verstappen secured back-to-back wins at Sepang after a chaotic, drama-filled Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia; the Red Bull driver converted his pole into a two-second victory, ahead of championship leader Kimi Antonelli. The Dutchman has looked on fire all weekend, but victory was not simple, with weather, safety cars, delayed starts and restarts.
Verstappen’s victory is the first for Red Bull as a power unit supplier, and the first for their partner Ford in twenty-three years, proving that their gamble to build their own power unit. Antonelli had a huge boost after his main rival for the championship, teammate George Russell, retired with a power unit failure in the closing stages/
Russell’s retirement remains significant and could prove decisive in the championship battle, much as Lewis Hamilton’s engine failure in Malaysia in 2016 gave teammate Nico Rosberg a crucial advantage in the title race.
The seven-time champion drove a brilliant race and looked to have lost out at the delayed start and started fifteenth when the race finally got going after a storm and a FIA software failure.
Hamilton fought through the field from eighteenth after dropping down at the restart, then moved to third after that gamble on the start forced Ferrari into an early stop to go to inters, as the track wasn’t ready for soft tyres. When it was Hamilton’s turn, he showed blistering pace and passed Isack Hadjar late on to claim third.
The seven-time champion had his own software failure during the formation laps, but during the red flag and a fifty-three-minute delay, Ferrari managed to fix it, only to start the restart on the dry tyres. This all after the struggle to figure out a starting order for the shortened race.
Verstappen, who won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia: “It is a really nice one after the year that we had and the progression that we have made. I am incredibly proud of everyone and it is super nice to win here. It was very hectic, I mean, there was a lot of different things in the start, no power so you have to wait for the power to kick in.”
Antonelli, who finished second: “I think that was the maximum we could have done. Of course, a massive congrats to Max and Red Bull for the incredible weekend. On our side, a lot of work to do. Of course, you know, we’ve been struggling a bit more than usual but still really happy to come away with P2.”
Hamilton, who finished third, “Yeah, well thank you guys. Big congratulations to Max. What a tough, tough race that was, we had the wrong call at the beginning which was so difficult and I could just see everyone pulling away and I could see on the screen it was a minute down. And I thought that was the race over for us.”
Weather always throws in a curveball at Sepang, and in Singapore, the rain arrived under an hour before the start, the lightning and heavy rain leading to a forty-minute delay and exploratory formation laps behind the Safety Car with a view to starting the race. Yet the actual start proved only to be the beginning of the chaos.
During the lap to the grid, the track proved too slippery for slicks, with Oscar Piastri and both Audis among the first to dive back into the pits for intermediates. Then came the dramatic start. Verstappen, despite making the right tyre call, was immediately jumped by both Mercedes, with Antonelli leading Russell into Turn One.
Hadjar then came under pressure from Hamilton and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, both drivers finding their way past the Frenchman on consecutive laps before Verstappen pulled away in a chaotic afternoon at Sepang. Oscar Piastri finished nine tenths behind Hadjar, having fought his own fight through the field.
The first round of racing pit stops came on lap thirteen, triggered by the Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas stopping on track, bringing out the first safety car. Antonelli, who was at that stage leading, led the top ten into the pits for a cheap stop when they all switched to various dry tyres.
At the first restart that proved decisive in Antonelli’s race, he passed Russell for third and then went after Hamilton and Verstappen. But the second restart would be even more dramatic for Mercedes, Russell pulling off with five laps to go just as the race resumed.
Even at this late stage, another twist: Lando Norris got distracted by Russell and nearly crashed into the back of teammate Piastri, dropping to eleventh. But the world champion recovered to ninth.
Russell told Sky Sports, “You’ve almost got to laugh. I’m beyond disappointed. It’s just so many times this season it’s happened. It’s a real shame. Of course, but just keep on fighting. Just keep on trying to go podium to podium. Solid race. Not amazing race but solid race. Not the first time so I’m probably used to these feelings and these questions, let’s say.”
Antonelli finds himself eighty-four points ahead of Russell with seven races and sprint remaining, with Hamilton twenty-two further behind. Mercedes are ahead of second-placed Ferrari by one hundred and fifty-one points thanks to Antonelli podium finish, minimising the damage of George Russell’s DNF.
Liam Lawson finished best of the rest ahead in seventh as he finished six tenths ahead of Fernando Alonso, who used his experience to gain places and score Aston Martin valuable points. The two-time champion was ahead of Norris by six tenths in the team’s strongest performance of the season.
Arvid Lindblad completed the top ten, finishing a second and a half ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, securing the final point on what was the most chaotic race of the season so far. The Audi driver has often missed out this season and failed to take advantage of the unfolding chaos to score points.
Hulkenberg finished the race a second and a half ahead of Lance Stroll, with Franco Colapinto three seconds further behind. The Argentine was ahead of the two Haas’s by three and a second, while Ollie Bearman was two-tenths ahead of teammate Esteban Ocon.
Colapinto’s teammate Pierre Gasly went off on the opening lap after nearly crashing on the formation lap, the Frenchman finished sixteenth. Carlos Sainz ended the race almost three seconds ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto after the Brazilian was penalised following their collision on lap fourteen.
Sergio Perez was the day’s final finisher in nineteenth position, given the aforementioned Russell’s heartache, Bottas’ race-ending spin, and another stoppage involving the Williams of Alex Albon, which brought out the late Safety Car.
Related
- Bahrain GP in Malaysia – Qualifying Result
- BAHRAIN GP IN MALAYSIA – Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to pole by three tenths as Mercedes falters
- BAHRAIN GP IN MALAYSIA – Charles Leclerc a tenth faster than Isack Hadjar in second practice
- BAHRAIN GP IN MALAYSIA – Max Verstappen fastest by a tenth from George Russell in first practice
- Welcome to the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia – 01/10/2026
- PRIXVIEW – Bahrain (Malaysian) Grand Prix
