BAHRAIN LOWDOWN: All the key moments as Verstappen returns to the top and Russell’s race ends in heartbreak

The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia delivered an action-packed weekend, culminating in Max Verstappen reaching the top step of the podium for the first time in 2026.

There were also plenty of other talking points that emerged across the three days of action, from George Russell’s dramatic retirement to the Sepang International Circuit staging a thriller on its return to F1.

Here are all the key moments from the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia…

Verstappen and Red Bull get back to winning ways

Red Bull took on a huge challenge in the build-up to F1’s all-new 2026 regulations by investing in their own power unit facility and creating an engine from the ground up.

With that in mind, Verstappen and team mate Isack Hadjar’s combined tally of nine Grand Prix podium finishes across the first 15 rounds of the season was rather impressive – plenty of promise being shown, even if reliability caused a few headaches.

Verstappen and Red Bull are winners, though, and podiums were not going to satisfy them for much longer.

After coming within two tenths of victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Dutchman and his team continued their positive momentum into the Sepang weekend, where Verstappen triumphed on F1’s last visit to the Malaysian venue back in 2017.

Using plenty of lessons from the first half of the season, and boosted by recent updates, Verstappen charged to a breakthrough 2026 pole position on Saturday – lapping almost three tenths quicker than nearest challenger Lewis Hamilton.

While Sunday threw everything at the drivers, including heavy rain, suspended starts, delays, mixed conditions, Safety Car restarts and more, nothing could stop the four-time World Champion from converting that pole into the race win.

It might have come too late for a championship comeback this year, but underlines that Verstappen and Red Bull are a force to be reckoned with once more, and should head into 2027 as serious contenders.

Mixed fortunes for Mercedes as the title battle takes a big turn

There were contrasting fortunes for the two Mercedes drivers in Sepang. Kimi Antonelli grabbed a podium to extend his lead in the championship, and while it was not the win, second place on a day where treacherous conditions could have derailed his title charge was a very strong result, but one that the team would likely describe as bittersweet.

That is because George Russell failed to finish, his power unit giving up the ghost with only a handful of laps to go. Prior to this the Briton had struggled to match his team mate in Malaysia, despite getting past Antonelli early on.

He could not hold the Italian at bay once Antonelli got his tyres up to temperature, and was unable to stick with the youngster despite him at one point running wide and collecting a bollard.

But Russell was on for a solid P3 and thus would have only lost a further three points to Antonelli in the title fight. His DNF means the gap between the two now stands at 84 points, or over three Grand Prix victories.

Russell’s DNF was not the only disappointment for the team, with the first big upgrade package bolted onto the car since Canada not having the desired effect. Mercedes struggled for pace with respect to Red Bull across the weekend as a whole, and could not get that set-up into the sweet spot.

They have work to do to understand those updates before Singapore next weekend, but in Antonelli they do have a driver in fine form, who was able to put his mistakes from Baku firmly behind him and deliver the sort of performance that has taken him to such a commanding lead in the standings.

Superb recovery drives as Ferrari fail to nail strategy calls

Ferrari were not the only team caught out by the track conditions, but their decision to fit both cars with soft tyres when the race got underway nearly proved their undoing. On a wet track, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc plummeted down the order, the latter’s day made worse with contact that forced an early pit stop.

Hamilton deserves credit for holding his nerve, staying out on the softs as others realised their mistake and pitted for intermediates, and getting the C4 rubber to work for him as conditions began to dry.

He climbed back up the order with a drive reminiscent of some of his very best from days gone by, and would likely have challenged for third even without the late Safety Car bunching up the field.

The seven-time World Champion recorded his first rostrum since Silverstone with that P3 finish, leading many to wonder what might have been had he started on the intermediates like the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers.

As for Leclerc, his recovery took longer after he found himself last thanks to that contact and subsequent pit stop. But he deserves equal credit for working hard to climb back into the top 10, a late move on Isack Hadjar bagging him P4 – the position he believes he would have finished in no matter what.

A hectic afternoon for McLaren

For McLaren it was an eventful race too, with both cars being amongst a small number to start on the slick medium tyres in still-wet conditions.

After initially falling back, Oscar Piastri pitted for intermediates at the end of the first lap while Lando Norris stayed out – something the Briton said after the race was a “gamble”.

When the track dried out, both drivers moved through the field, with the Australian winding up ahead of his team mate despite making an extra stop and not running on the clearly favoured soft tyre at any point.

There was a hairy moment for the McLaren pit wall when Norris nearly crashed into the back of Piastri as the cars ahead bunched up following George Russell’s retirement under the late Safety Car, with Norris running off track and dropping down the order as a result.

The reigning World Champion ultimately recovered to finish P9 – and later received a reprimand for driving erratically under Safety Car conditions – with Piastri taking the chequered flag in sixth place.

Alonso secures points for Aston Martin

Despite Fernando Alonso’s record of winning three times with three different teams in Sepang, before this weekend it seemed a long shot that he could bring his Aston Martin home in the points after the squad’s beleaguered season so far.

But the Spaniard did just that, finishing in eighth place, while team mate Lance Stroll was not far behind either in P12.

The AMR26 suddenly showed signs of promise when it hit the track in Malaysia, with both drivers getting into Q2 on merit and gaining a few grid places thanks to penalties around them.

Alonso started on medium tyres for Sunday’s race and dropped back, before pitting for the hard compound and running a long stint.

He managed to stay out of trouble, benefitted from other incidents, and had fresh softs for the end to fight with - holding on to deny Lando Norris by half a second to finish P8, his best result of the season, and bringing back some much-needed points for the Silverstone-based outfit.

While Stroll couldn’t quite match Alonso’s result, the Canadian later said that he had enjoyed being able to battle in the race and fight towards the points – something the Aston Martin drivers have not been able to say for some time.

Sepang delivers a thriller on its F1 return

As touched on earlier, F1 had not raced at Sepang for almost a decade when Malaysia agreed to step in and stage the Bahrain Grand Prix.

For the drivers who had previously experienced the venue, it was a welcome return, and for those who had not, there were plenty of smiles during Friday practice as they got to grips with a fast and flowing layout.

The hot, humid conditions understandably posed a challenge, as did the tyre degradation seen throughout FP1, FP2 and FP3 – leading to the prospect of a fascinating, strategic Grand Prix on Sunday.

The situation was flipped on its head when the heavens opened around an hour before the race start, though, soaking the track and setting up a race that started in damp conditions and transitioned to the dry.

On a chaotic afternoon, there was action from start to finish to keep the many thousands of passionate fans watching trackside on the edge of their seats, as Sepang delivered another F1 classic that will be remembered for years to come.