Max Verstappen won the rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang on Sunday 4 October, claiming his and Red Bull’s first victory of 2026, while Oscar Piastri finished sixth for McLaren after a chaotic afternoon.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli finished second, 2.307 seconds behind, and Lewis Hamilton recovered from near the back to take third for Ferrari, according to the official Formula1.com classification. It was F1’s first race at Sepang since 2017, with the round relocated from Bahrain because of the Iran war, the ABC reported.
How Verstappen won
A heavy downpour delayed the start by 40 minutes, and the first start procedure was then suspended after several cars, including Verstappen’s and Hamilton’s, had throttle problems on the formation lap, the FIA said.
Verstappen dropped behind Antonelli and George Russell at the start, but Red Bull switched him to soft tyres under a Safety Car for Valtteri Bottas’ lap-nine spin, and he swept around the outside of Antonelli at the restart. He then controlled the race through late Virtual and full Safety Car periods and set the fastest lap.
It was Verstappen’s first win since the final race of 2025, according to the ABC, and the first for Red Bull Ford Powertrains, the FIA said. Charles Leclerc followed Hamilton past Isack Hadjar late on for fourth, with Hadjar fifth.
“It’s a really nice one, after the year that we’ve had and the progression that we’ve made,” Verstappen said, per Formula1.com. “I’m incredibly proud of everyone, and it’s just super nice to win here.”
Piastri sixth, Doohan not racing
Piastri started sixth after a grid penalty to Hadjar and finished in the same spot, 9.454 seconds behind Verstappen, to collect eight points. McLaren sent both cars out on medium tyres, and Piastri switched to intermediates behind the Safety Car before the standing start, according to McLaren. He held off Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson in a late battle, the ABC reported.
“P6. It was a very mixed and chaotic race today,” Piastri said in team comments published by Formula1.com. “We improved a lot on the Hard tyres, especially in the second stint where we were catching Leclerc, which the final Safety Car cut short. However, we just didn’t have the pace we needed today to make a lasting impact.”
Teammate Lando Norris ran through the gravel when the pack slowed behind the final Safety Car and recovered to ninth.
Jack Doohan did not race. The Australian is a Haas reserve driver in 2026, according to Formula1.com. The team’s race drivers, Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon, finished 14th and 15th.
Championship standings impact
Russell’s title hopes took a major hit when his Mercedes stopped with five laps to go, with the ABC reporting a suspected power unit failure. Antonelli’s lead over his teammate grew from 66 points to 84, with seven rounds remaining.
According to the drivers standings, Antonelli has 320 points to Russell’s 236, ahead of Hamilton (214), Leclerc (191), and Norris and Verstappen (both 188). Piastri is seventh on 128.
In the constructors standings, Mercedes (556) lead Ferrari (405), while third-placed McLaren (316) are now 18 points clear of Red Bull (298).
The season continues with the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay, with the race on Sunday 11 October.
More News
