Verstappen wins rain-hit Bahrain GP in Malaysia over Antonelli as Russell retires late on

Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory during Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, which was impacted by heavy rain, featured an entertaining crossover from intermediate tyres to slicks, and saw overtaking from start to finish – as well as a dramatic late retirement for George Russell.

After a delayed start and then a suspended start procedure, as several drivers struggled to maintain speed on the initial formation lap, the race eventually got under way in slippery, mixed conditions – leading to split tyre strategies and plenty of early action.

Polesitter Verstappen fell behind Mercedes pair Kimi Antonelli and Russell on the run down to Turn 1, with all three drivers running intermediate tyres, but he soon settled into a rhythm and managed to pick off the Silver Arrows either side of a Safety Car that was deployed when Valtteri Bottas spun out.

That Safety Car period represented the ideal window for the intermediate starters to switch to slick tyres, with those who lined up on slick compounds getting caught out, and threats of further rain not materialising before the chequered flag.

Verstappen controlled proceedings after working his way back into P1, pulling away from Antonelli and Russell – who had their own battle over second – and navigating a late Virtual Safety Car/Safety Car combination to secure his and Red Bull’s breakthrough first win of the 2026 campaign.

Antonelli was already set to extend his championship lead over Russell by three points when his team mate dramatically ground to a halt on the start/finish straight behind that final Safety Car, dealing another blow to the Briton's already slim title chances.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were high-profile names to start the race on slick tyres, with both drivers dropping towards the back of the grid as a result. However, inspired comeback drives saw them recover to P3 and P4 respectively, and bag a healthy haul of points for Ferrari.

Isack Hadjar dropped from third to fifth in the closing laps as Hamilton and Leclerc completed their charges, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in P6, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson in P7 and Fernando Alonso in a morale-boosting P8 for Aston Martin.

Lando Norris sat on team mate Piastri’s tail before the final restart, only to lose control of his McLaren behind the Safety Car and run through the gravel, leaving him to settle for ninth, in front of Racing Bulls rookie and final points finisher Arvid Lindblad.

As has so often been the case this season, Audi driver Nico Hulkenberg just missed out on a reward in 11th, followed by the other Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and the Haas machines of Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon.

Pierre Gasly almost crashed out during the formation lap on slick tyres, but managed to rejoin the action and eventually finish 16th, ahead of Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto, who were involved in a mid-race collision (for which the latter was penalised).

Cadillac’s Sergio Perez was the day’s final finisher in 19th 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.

AS IT HAPPENED

At the end of an entertaining Qualifying session around the Sepang International Circuit, it was Verstappen who grabbed his and Red Bull’s first pole position of the 2026 season, just ahead of Ferrari rival Hamilton.

Hadjar had rounded out the top three positions in the sister Red Bull, but subsequently took a five-place grid penalty for using extra power unit elements, promoting Mercedes driver championship leader Antonelli to third, and Ferrari’s Leclerc to fourth.

Elsewhere, Alpine’s Colapinto and Racing Bulls’ Lindblad dropped to the very back of the grid. Colapinto served a five-place penalty for his Turn 1 collision in Azerbaijan last time out, coupled with a 10-place drop for taking on new power unit elements, while Lindblad also fitted new PU components, resulting in a combined 30-place demotion.

With that grid-deciding session out of the way, attention soon turned to Sunday’s 56-lap Grand Prix, and how many pit stops drivers might need to make given the high levels of tyre degradation witnessed in practice – Pirelli predicting either a two- or three-stop race.

But then, in the hour before lights out, a huge rain shower – and accompanying thunderstorm – soaked the circuit, adding a completely different dimension to the mix. Would the race get under way as planned? Or would there be a delay to proceedings?

That was answered a couple of minutes before the scheduled start of 1500 local time, when Race Control confirmed a delay – the rain still pouring down, and teams sheltering their multi-million dollar cars on the starting grid with gazebos.

An exploratory lap by the Medical Car highlighted just how tricky the conditions had become, as it slid its way around the track and subsequently reported a significant amount of standing water, which meant conditions were not currently suitable to start the race.

At around 1510 local time, the rain appeared to ease slightly, bringing cheers from the grandstands and grass banks lining the track, which only grew louder when the Medical Car appeared for another assessment.

By 1525, F1’s governing body, the FIA, reported that only a couple of corners were still an issue, thanks to a combination of lighter rainfall and the marshals sweeping the track to remove as much standing water as possible.

A few minutes later, it was announced that the formation lap would take place at 1540. This led to a flurry of activity as drivers who had been sheltering in the pit lane and paddock headed to the grid and got strapped back into their cars.

So, some 40 minutes later than planned, the 22-strong field moved away from their grid slots on intermediate tyres. According to Race Control, there would be a minimum of two laps behind the Safety Car before a standing start – subject to change based on driver feed.

There was drama almost immediately when Hadjar lost control of his Red Bull exiting Turn 2 and took a trip through the gravel, before Verstappen and then Hamilton appeared to encounter power issues. “I can’t accelerate! It’s not working, guys,” said Verstappen. Hamilton, meanwhile, reported: ”I’m pressing the throttle and nothing’s happening!”

A few moments later, Hamilton ground to a halt on the start/finish straight. “It’s a software issue [that] we’re trying to solve,” the seven-time World Champion was told by the Ferrari pit wall. He eventually got going again, but was now massively out of position.

With more cars encountering problems, having been lapping much more slowly than usual, Race Control felt there was no option but to suspend the starting procedure and throw a red flag – the drivers returning to the pit lane and waiting for a second attempt at a start.

That second attempt was eventually scheduled for 1633, with the original grid order in play. So, it would be Verstappen in P1 from Hamilton, Antonelli, Leclerc, the McLarens, Russell and Hadjar, who had managed to escape from the gravel on the first formation lap.

The next question was around tyres, and the choice between intermediates or slicks given how much the track had dried up. It was soon revealed that plenty of drivers were on intermediates. However, Hamilton, Leclerc, Gasly, Bortoleto, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Bottas, Perez and Colapinto all went for softs, and Norris, Piastri, Alonso and Stroll bolted on mediums.

“There’s still a bit of spray; I think we have to stay out,” reported Verstappen on the latest formation lap, while Gasly dropped his car through Turn 5, slid over the grass and just about collected it. “It’s so slippery, guys,” said fellow soft-starter Hamilton.

Perez was the only driver to pit at the end of the first lap behind the Safety Car, swapping to intermediates. One lap later, Piastri, Bortoleto, Stroll and Hulkenberg did the same. Race Control then confirmed a standing start, with the Safety Car duly peeling into the pits and setting up the prospect of a thrilling run down to Turn 1.

When the lights went out, with Perez pitting for a second time, Antonelli and Russell charged off the line to take P1 and P2 for Mercedes, while Lawson surged to third and engaged in a wheel-to-wheel battle with polesitter Verstappen.

Hadjar was up to fifth, ahead of Williams pair Sainz and Albon, the Haas of Ocon, the Racing Bulls machine of Lindblad, and the McLaren of Piastri, with Hamilton and Leclerc pushed out of the top 10 places on their slick tyres.

As that tumble down the order continued, Leclerc decided to ditch his soft tyres for intermediates, while team mate Hamilton ploughed on and tried to make it work. A bit of back-and-forth followed between Hamilton and the Ferrari pit wall, before they settled on sticking with their “gamble”.

Back at the front, Antonelli had built a lead of a couple of seconds over team mate Russell, who was then caught by Verstappen and overtaken into Turn 4. Hadjar also made a move in the other Red Bull by clearing Lawson for P4 into the final corner.

Ocon had made some more progress to run sixth, ahead of Sainz, back-row starter Lindblad and Albon, with Piastri completing the points-paying places, over Bortoleto, Hulkenberg, Stroll, Perez, Norris and Alonso – the latter two having stuck with their medium tyres.

“There’s smoke, like fire. I don’t know if it’s coming from my car or not,” said Bortoleto over the radio as he tried to keep in touch with Piastri. Replays then showed that Leclerc had damaged his front wing with the other Audi of Hulkenberg at the start, which lengthened the Monegasque’s pit stop as a change was made.

So, with the race settling down, how much longer would the track remain more favourable to intermediate tyres? “It does not seem to be drying rapidly. It’s weird,” reported Russell, who was gradually falling away from Verstappen and Antonelli.

At the end of Lap 8, and heading onto Lap 9, Antonelli drifted wide at the final corner to open the door for Verstappen. Just as the Dutchman was looking for a way past, slick-shod Bottas spun off the track in the final sector and triggered a Safety Car – bringing the intermediate runners into the pits for a switch to slick tyres.

Mercedes pulled off a perfect stop under pressure to keep Antonelli ahead of Verstappen, while Russell maintained position over Hadjar, Lawson, Ocon, Lindblad, Sainz, Bortoleto and Piastri. Stroll beat Albon out of the pit lane for P1, from Hulkenberg and Perez, with Hamilton, Norris and Leclerc back in 15th, 16th and 17th respectively. Alonso, Bearman, Gasly and Colapinto were the final runners at this stage.

After a few laps behind the Safety Car, the race resumed and the battle for the lead resumed. Verstappen tucked into Antonelli’s slipstream as they headed onto Lap 13 and launched a bold move around the outside of Turn 1, which he completed at the exit of Turn 2. Russell then brilliantly took advantage of the squabbling to snatch P2 from Antonelli through Turn 5.

Around that time, the stewards noted a Turn 2 incident involving Bortoleto and Sainz – the Williams driver tipped into a spin and dropping from the top 10 to 18th position, and the Audi man pitting shortly afterwards with damage. That aided Hamilton’s recovery towards the points, as he inherited 10th before clearing Hulkenberg for ninth.

“I have more pace,” claimed Antonelli over the radio after a few tours in Russell’s dirty air. “We’ll do something different,” was the reply from Mercedes, referring to strategy. Meanwhile, Verstappen was pumping in a series of fastest laps and leaving the pair behind – his gap over Russell above three seconds by Lap 19.

At the start of Lap 21, Antonelli had arrived on the back of team mate Russell’s car. After a look through Turns 1 and 2, the young Italian reclaimed P2 with a smart move into Turn 4. Verstappen, though, was now some five seconds up the road.

Hamilton continued his comeback with a series of moves on Lindblad, Ocon and Lawson, which put him fifth. Piastri was ninth, unable to make the same kind of progress, with Leclerc now 10th and Norris 11th – Hulkenberg nudged out of the points in the process.

Antonelli’s attempts to leave Russell behind and reel in Verstappen were hampered when he ran wide at the final corner and clipped the pit entry bollard. “Check the front wing,” he asked over the radio, with Russell now just one second behind, and Verstappen moving eight seconds clear.

At the back of the field, Bortoleto was now under investigation for his collision with Sainz, while Albon had also been noted for driving erratically – an incident that will be properly assessed by the stewarding panel post-race.

TV coverage then cut to Hadjar, and a heated radio exchange with his engineer. Informed about Hamilton closing rapidly and being quicker throughout the lap, he shared his frustration and shouted that he was “done”. Behind, Piastri was up to sixth over Lawson, while Norris held eighth, as more midfield pit stops took place.

Russell was the first of the top three runners to make his planned final stop on Lap 33, with Verstappen and Antonelli following a lap later – all three taking softs. “Why have we pulled the trigger so early?” Russell commented over the radio, after being told he would not be stopping again.

“This tyre feels terrible,” came another tyre-related message from the medium-shod Hamilton, who had nonetheless closed up to the rear of Hadjar’s car and was pushing to take P4. Leclerc was up to sixth in the other Ferrari, from Lawson, Piastri, Norris and Lindblad.

Fresh from a pit stop, and running soft tyres, Hulkenberg caught the eye with a double pass on Stroll and Ocon into Turn 4. The German was also noted for a potentially unsafe release in the pit lane, though, while team mate Bortoleto took a 10-second penalty for his clash with Sainz.

On Lap 43, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed due to Albon stopping out on track in his Williams, prompting extra pit stops from Verstappen and Hamilton. As he rejoined the action, Verstappen dropped to second, behind Antonelli – his 12-second margin not enough to retain the lead.

A lap later, however, Antonelli also pitted for fresh tyres, along with team mate Russell, returning P1 to Verstappen. As marshals worked to move Albon’s car, a full Safety Car was deployed, prompting stops from Norris, Lawson, Alonso and Hulkenberg.

Disaster struck for Russell as the field circulated behind the Safety Car – the Briton grinding to a halt just before Turn 1 and dropping out of the race. “Ahhh!” Russell shouted over the radio, with his outside chance of fighting for the title taking a huge hit.

Meanwhile, with the cars ahead bunching up, Norris came close to slamming into the back of team mate Piastri’s car under braking for the first corner. He took to the run-off at speed, slid through the gravel and rejoined the queue down in 11th.

When the race resumed, Verstappen nailed his restart to maintain P1 over Antonelli and Hadjar, with Hamilton and Leclerc hovering in fourth and fifth, and Piastri surviving an attack from Lawson to keep hold of sixth. Alonso and Hulkenberg were eighth and ninth, with Norris passing Lindblad to get back into the points.

A lap later, Hamilton sent the crowd wild by passing Hadjar into Turn 1 for third, capping off an impressive rise from the back of the grid. Leclerc followed suit at the start of the next tour, turning an initially dire race for Ferrari into something much more positive.

Verstappen controlled the final few kilometres to take the chequered flag a couple of seconds up on Antonelli, with Hamilton, Leclerc and Hadjar also maintaining formation, Piastri taking sixth, Lawson seventh and Alonso eighth.

Hulkenberg dropped out of the points late on and wound up 11th, behind Norris and Lindblad, while Stroll took 12th in his Aston Martin, Colapinto placed 13th and the Haas cars of Bearman and Ocon took 14th and 15th – the latter starting the race so well but losing out as various strategies and Safety Cars played out.

Gasly was 16th in the second of the Alpine cars, from Sainz, the penalised Bortoleto and Perez as the final finisher. Russell, Albon and Bottas were the three drivers who failed to finish – the former’s being particularly tough to take.

Russell had trimmed Antonelli’s lead to 66 points after victory in Azerbaijan, but his DNF and Antonelli’s second-place finish means that is back up to 84 points heading into the final seven rounds of the season.

Key quote

“It’s a really nice one, after the year that we’ve had and the progression that we’ve made,” said Verstappen. “I’m incredibly proud of everyone, and it’s just super nice to win here. It was very hectic with a lot of different things in the start. No power, so you have to wait for the power to kick in. But then we made the right call with the intermediates, and after that, step by step, we moved our way forward. From there onwards we could do our own race until the end again, of course, with the Safety Car, but we kept it all under control.”

What’s next

The Singapore Grand Prix hosts the final stop of this triple header sequence on October 9-11. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can follow the action from the Marina Bay Street Circuit.