Sepang returned to the Formula 1 calendar, but under an unexpected name: the Bahrain Grand Prix. Nine years after the last race in Malaysia, the fast, flowing circuit was set to host a round of the 2026 F1 World Championship on 2–4 October. It was a return that gave longtime fans a familiar favourite and newer fans a first chance to see the current grid take on one of the sport’s most admired modern tracks.

The race was originally scheduled to take place at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit in April, but conflict in the Middle East prevented it from going ahead. An agreement between Bahrain, Malaysia, Formula 1 and the FIA gave the Grand Prix a new home at Sepang, placing it between the Azerbaijan and Singapore rounds. The venue had changed; the Bahrain Grand Prix name remained.

Sepang’s appeal goes well beyond nostalgia. Its sweeping corners reward commitment, its long straights create chances to race, and its tropical weather can change the contest in minutes. Max Verstappen won here for Red Bull when Malaysia last hosted F1 in 2017. Now the circuit got another chance to show why so many drivers and fans wanted it back.

Race Guide

Season: 2026 F1 World Championship
Race date: Sunday, 4 October 2026
Race start time: 15:00 local time
Circuit: Sepang International Circuit
Laps: 56
Circuit length: 5.543 km (3.444 mi)

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
2 October 2026	Free Practice 1 (FP1)	12:30 pm – 1:30 pm local time
2 October 2026	Free Practice 2 (FP2)	4:00 pm – 5:00 pm local time
3 October 2026	Free Practice 3 (FP3)	12:30 pm – 1:30 pm local time
3 October 2026	Qualifying	4:00 pm – 5:00 pm local time
4 October 2026	Race	3:00 pm local time

Pole position
Driver	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Time	1:35.130
Fastest lap
Driver	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Time	1:38.220 on lap 55
Podium
First	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Second	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes
Third	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari

Sepang International Circuit

Sepang was a circuit built for Formula 1 cars to stretch their legs. Its 3.44 miles and 15 corners demand aerodynamic grip through long, fast bends, then give drivers room to attack under braking. When it opened in 1999, Hermann Tilke’s design helped set the template for a new generation of purpose-built Grand Prix venues. More than a quarter-century later, the lap remains a serious test.

Championship background

Sepang became the middle stop in the season’s first flyaway triple header, and the title fight arrived with fresh momentum. George Russell won in Baku by just 0.196 seconds from Max Verstappen, ending a run without a victory and cutting into Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli’s championship lead. Antonelli recovered to fifth after crashing in qualifying, but his advantage was down to 66 points with eight rounds remaining.

Lewis Hamilton sat 103 points behind Antonelli, with Lando Norris a further 13 back after retiring in Azerbaijan. McLaren would hope Sepang’s fast corners played to its strengths, but Russell had the more immediate opportunity: turn one emphatic weekend in Baku into sustained pressure on the championship leader.

Race entries

The lineup of drivers and teams remained the same as the 2026 season’s entry list, featuring no reserve drivers for the race.

Tyre choices

Pirelli chose the C2, C3 and C4 compounds for Sepang, labelled Hard, Medium and Soft. It was a slightly bolder selection than the circuit’s abrasive surface might suggest. The aim was to give teams a genuine choice between one pit stop and two, with tyre life and the pace gained on fresh rubber likely to shape Sunday’s race.

Keeping those tyres in the right temperature window would be a challenge at both ends of the car. Grip may be scarce when practice began on Friday, then improve as more rubber went down. Sections between Turns 6 and 12 were resurfaced in 2023, and recent levelling and cleaning work had prepared the track for F1’s return, but Pirelli’s assessment suggested its underlying character remained much as it was in 2017.

That left teams with a great deal to learn in practice. None had race data from the current generation of cars at Sepang, so Friday’s running would help establish both car setup and how quickly each compound wore. The weather could overturn those plans at any point: early October brings intense heat, heavy humidity and sudden afternoon storms, making the timing of a tyre change as important as the compound itself.

FIND OUT MORE

Free Practice

Verstappen led the first practice session at Sepang with a 1m 37.520s lap, beating Russell by 0.383s and Red Bull team-mate Hadjar by 0.783s. Leclerc and championship leader Antonelli completed the top five, while Ferrari’s Hamilton was sixth and both McLarens finished outside the top 10. With many drivers new to the circuit and teams working with limited data for the current cars, FP1 was as much about learning the track and tyres as setting a time.

Leclerc led FP2 at Sepang with a 1m 37.528s lap, just 0.099s ahead of Hadjar and 0.137s clear of Norris. Verstappen finished fourth after setting the early pace on mediums and choosing not to run the soft tyre, while Hamilton took fifth pending an investigation into an alleged impeding incident with Bortoleto. A 90 per cent rain forecast prompted an early rush onto the track, but the session stayed dry; it ended under a Virtual Safety Car after Bortoleto stopped with two minutes left.

Antonelli led final practice at Sepang with a 1m 36.302s lap, 0.278s ahead of Verstappen, as Mercedes recovered from a difficult Friday. Hadjar placed the second Red Bull third, followed by Russell, Leclerc and Hamilton. An early red flag for debris from Bearman’s Haas delayed several drivers’ first runs, and traffic complicated later attempts. Norris and Piastri finished seventh and eighth after their switch to soft tyres, while Colapinto and Lindblad completed the top 10 ahead of qualifying.

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Free Practice 1 Classification

2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia FP1, 2 October 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:37.520	23
2	63	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.383s	25
3	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	+0.783s	23
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.847s	25
5	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+1.060s	23
6	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+1.070s	21
7	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+1.195s	22
8	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+1.586s	22
9	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+1.677s	27
10	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1.691s	23
11	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+1.756s	23
12	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.773s	21
13	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+2.028s	25
14	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+2.163s	22
15	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+2.638s	23
16	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+2.791s	23
17	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+2.801s	22
18	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+2.893s	19
19	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+3.011s	22
20	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+3.085s	25
21	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+3.280s	23
22	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+3.300s	24

Free Practice 2 Classification

2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia FP2, 2 October 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:37.528	29
2	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	+0.099s	23
3	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.137s	25
4	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.257s	20
5	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.305s	28
6	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.371s	26
7	63	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.492s	28
8	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.532s	28
9	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+0.968s	30
10	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+1.060s	29
11	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+1.352s	33
12	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1.523s	25
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1.581s	30
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+1.833s	29
15	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+1.950s	28
16	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+2.178s	30
17	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+2.402s	31
18	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+2.622s	26
19	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+2.658s	27
20	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+2.693s	30
21	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+3.410s	28
22	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+5.863s	31

Free Practice 3 Classification

2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia FP3, 3 October 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:36.302	12
2	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.278s	12
3	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	+0.558s	15
4	63	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.610s	11
5	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.714s	19
6	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.739s	15
7	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.859s	15
8	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+1.064s	16
9	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+1.618s	20
10	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+1.782s	24
11	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1.902s	15
12	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+1.921s	13
13	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+1.939s	20
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+1.950s	12
15	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+1.964s	17
16	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+2.054s	14
17	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+2.390s	12
18	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+2.414s	21
19	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+2.509s	12
20	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+2.747s	18
21	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+3.629s	14
22	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+3.921s	20

Qualifying

Verstappen led all three qualifying segments at Sepang and claimed his first pole of 2026 with a 1m 35.130s lap, beating Hamilton by 0.298s. Hadjar qualified third but faced a five-place grid penalty, while championship leader Antonelli took fourth ahead of Leclerc. Norris led Piastri in sixth and seventh, Russell was eighth, and Gasly and Bortoleto completed Q3. Lindblad and Colapinto did not set Q2 times because of grid penalties; Hulkenberg, both Haas drivers, Albon and the two Cadillacs went out in Q1.

Full Qualifying Report

Qualifying Classification

2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia Qualifying, 3 October 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:36.477	1:35.696	1:35.130	12
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:36.595	1:36.032	1:35.428	15
3	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	1:36.898	1:36.192	1:35.558	12
4	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:37.041	1:35.959	1:35.631	12
5	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:36.730	1:35.970	1:35.666	12
6	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:37.092	1:36.173	1:35.757	12
7	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:36.852	1:36.020	1:35.762	12
8	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:37.264	1:36.245	1:35.871	12
9	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:37.174	1:36.410	1:37.210	18
10	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:37.106	1:36.814	1:37.673	18
11	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:37.332	1:37.023		12
12	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:37.721	1:37.220		9
13	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:37.651	1:37.527		12
14	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:37.729	1:37.566		12
15	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:37.179	DNF		8
16	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	1:37.883	DNF		9
17	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:37.970			6
18	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	1:37.980			9
19	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:38.233			9
20	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:38.600			6
21	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:38.611			6
22	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:38.933			6

Starting Grid

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time
1	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:35.130
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:35.428
3	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:35.631
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:35.666
5	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:35.757
6	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:35.762
7	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:35.871
8	6	Isack Hadjar*	Red Bull Racing	1:35.558
9	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:37.210
10	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:37.673
11	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:37.023
12	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:37.220
13	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:37.527
14	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:37.566
15	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:37.970
16	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	1:37.980
17	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:38.233
18	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:38.600
19	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:38.611
20	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:38.933
21	43	Franco Colapinto**	Alpine
22	41	Arvid Lindblad***	Racing Bulls

*Hadjar penalised five places for use of additional power unit element.
**Colapinto penalised five places for causing a collision at the previous round and a further 10 places for use of additional power unit element.
***Lindblad penalised 30 places for use of additional power unit elements.

What happened in the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia?

Max Verstappen turned pole position into his and Red Bull’s first victory of 2026 at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, but there was nothing routine about the result. Heavy rain delayed the start at Sepang, the field split over tyre choice as the track dried, and George Russell retired in the closing stages while running third. Kimi Antonelli finished second, with Lewis Hamilton completing the podium after recovering from an early tyre gamble that sent him towards the back.

The scheduled start was pushed back by more than 90 minutes because of the conditions. Even then, the start procedure was suspended after several drivers struggled to maintain speed on the initial formation lap. When racing finally began, the surface was slippery and changing quickly. Some drivers chose intermediate tyres, while others took the risk of starting on slicks.

Verstappen, Antonelli and Russell were all on intermediates. The two Mercedes drivers beat the polesitter on the run to Turn 1, putting Antonelli at the front and Russell between him and the Red Bull. Verstappen stayed close, found a rhythm in the mixed conditions and passed the Silver Arrows either side of a Safety Car period triggered when Valtteri Bottas spun out of the race.

Bottas’ stoppage arrived at the crucial point in the tyre crossover. It gave the intermediate runners a well-timed opportunity to pit for slicks, while those who had started on dry tyres had already paid for that choice in the wet opening laps. The threat of another shower lingered, but the rain did not return before the chequered flag.

Back in the lead, Verstappen began to pull clear. Antonelli and Russell fought over second as the Red Bull driver managed the gap ahead of them. A late Virtual Safety Car followed by a full Safety Car compressed the field again, but Verstappen handled the interruption and the final run to the flag to end his and Red Bull’s wait for a win in the 2026 F1 World Championship.

The final neutralisation produced the race’s biggest blow to the title fight. Antonelli had already been on course to increase his advantage over Russell by three points when the Mercedes of his closest rival ground to a halt on the start/finish straight behind the Safety Car. Russell’s late retirement turned a difficult afternoon into a damaging one for his championship hopes.

Ferrari’s race took the opposite path. Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were among the prominent drivers who started on slick tyres and dropped towards the rear as they struggled for grip. Once conditions suited dry tyres, both mounted sustained recovery drives. Hamilton reached third and Leclerc finished fourth, giving Ferrari a substantial points return from a start that had put both cars in trouble.

Isack Hadjar had been third late in the race but fell to fifth as the Ferraris came through. Oscar Piastri took sixth for McLaren, Liam Lawson seventh for Racing Bulls and Fernando Alonso a welcome eighth for Aston Martin. Lando Norris had been close behind team-mate Piastri before the final restart, only to lose control behind the Safety Car and run through the gravel. He recovered to finish ninth, with Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad taking the final point in the early reported order.

Nico Hulkenberg was listed just outside the points in 11th, followed by Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto and the Haas pair of Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon. Pierre Gasly nearly crashed on the formation lap while running slick tyres, but rejoined and made it to 16th. Carlos Sainz finished 17th ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto; the Williams and Audi drivers collided during the race, and Bortoleto was penalised for the incident.

Sergio Perez was the final finisher in 19th for Cadillac. Bottas’ spin, Russell’s late stoppage and a retirement for Alex Albon accounted for the three cars that did not reach the flag. Albon’s stricken Williams brought out the late Safety Car, setting up the final moments of a race in which the weather, the tyre call and the timing of each interruption mattered all the way to the finish.

2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia race results

The 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia Race was held on 4 October 2026 at 3:00 pm local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	55	01:47:15	25
2	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	55	+2.307s	18
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	55	+4.919s	15
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	55	+7.258s	12
5	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	55	+8.571s	10
6	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	55	+9.454s	8
7	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	55	+12.753s	6
8	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	55	+13.372s	4
9	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	55	+13.993s	2
10	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	55	+15.928s	1
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	55	+17.404s	0
12	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	55	+18.052s	0
13	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	55	+18.997s	0
14	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	55	+22.305s	0
15	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	55	+22.532s	0
16	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	55	+23.315s	0
17	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	55	+25.431s	0
18	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	55	+28.233s	0
19	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	55	+29.310s	0
20	63	George Russell	Mercedes	49	DNF	0
NC	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	41	DNF	0
NC	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	7	DNF	0

As it happened: Verstappen masters the rain

Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on a day when getting to the start proved almost as difficult as reaching the finish. A thunderstorm delayed the race at Sepang, a troubled first formation lap forced officials to suspend the start procedure, and changing grip split the field between intermediate and slick tyres. Verstappen lost the lead to both Mercedes drivers at lights out, fought back to the front and survived a late Safety Car to claim his and Red Bull’s first victory of the championship.

From a dry tyre forecast to a soaked grid

On Saturday, Verstappen had taken his first pole of the year ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. Isack Hadjar qualified third in the other Red Bull, but a five-place penalty for additional power unit elements moved championship leader Kimi Antonelli into third on the grid and Charles Leclerc into fourth.

The penalties reshaped the back of the field too. Franco Colapinto carried a five-place drop for his Turn 1 collision in Azerbaijan and another ten places for new power unit elements. Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad also took new components, accumulating a 30-place demotion. Both were sent to the rear.

Before the weather changed, Sunday looked likely to be a tyre management test. Practice had shown substantial degradation, and Pirelli expected teams to need two or three pit stops across the scheduled 56 laps. Then, in the hour before the 15:00 local time start, heavy rain and thunder swept over Sepang. Teams put gazebos over their cars on the grid as the question shifted from pit strategy to whether the circuit was ready for racing at all.

Race Control confirmed a delay a couple of minutes before the scheduled start. An exploratory run by the Medical Car showed why: it slid around the circuit and reported significant standing water. At about 15:10, the rain began to ease, drawing cheers from spectators in the grandstands and on the grass banks as the Medical Car went out for another inspection. By 15:25, the FIA reported that only a couple of corners remained troublesome after lighter rainfall and marshals’ efforts to clear water. Officials then set 15:40 for the formation lap.

That sent the drivers back to their cars. All 22 initially moved away on intermediate tyres, roughly 40 minutes later than planned, behind the Safety Car. Race Control said there would be at least two laps before a standing start, depending on conditions and driver feedback.

The first attempt quickly unravelled. Hadjar slid through the gravel on the exit of Turn 2. Verstappen struggled to accelerate, and Hamilton reported a similar loss of power before stopping on the start/finish straight. Ferrari told Hamilton it was working on a software problem; he eventually got moving again, but far from his grid position. With several cars travelling unusually slowly, Race Control suspended the start and displayed the red flag. The field returned to the pit lane to wait.

A second start and a split decision

The next attempt was scheduled for 16:33, with the original grid order restored. Verstappen would lead Hamilton, Antonelli, Leclerc, the two McLarens, George Russell and Hadjar, who had freed his Red Bull from the gravel.

By then, enough of the track had dried to create a real tyre choice. Verstappen and the Mercedes drivers stayed with intermediates. Hamilton, Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg, Ollie Bearman, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez and Colapinto selected soft slicks. Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll chose mediums.

The formation laps exposed how much moisture remained. Verstappen reported spray and felt the field needed more time behind the Safety Car. Gasly lost control through Turn 5, slid across the grass and managed to gather up his Alpine. Hamilton also found the surface extremely slippery on his soft tyres.

Perez abandoned his slick choice first, pitting for intermediates at the end of the opening lap behind the Safety Car. One lap later, Piastri, Bortoleto, Stroll and Hulkenberg made the same switch. Race Control then confirmed a standing start. The Safety Car pulled away, the field lined up and Perez came in for a second pit stop as the lights went out.

Mercedes made the decisive launches. Antonelli swept into first and Russell into second ahead of polesitter Verstappen. Liam Lawson surged to third and fought wheel to wheel with the Red Bull. Hadjar climbed to fifth, followed by Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon, Lindblad and Piastri. Hamilton and Leclerc, committed to slicks on a still-damp surface, fell outside the top 10.

Leclerc soon gave up on the softs and pitted for intermediates. Hamilton stayed out after discussing the gamble with Ferrari, hoping the track would come to him. Up front, Antonelli opened a lead of a couple of seconds. Verstappen caught Russell and passed him into Turn 4, while Hadjar cleared Lawson at the final corner to take fourth.

Ocon continued his strong opening stint in sixth, ahead of Sainz, Lindblad and Albon. Piastri held the final points position at that stage, with Bortoleto, Hulkenberg, Stroll, Perez, Norris and Alonso among those following. Norris and Alonso had stuck with their medium tyres. Bortoleto reported what looked like smoke or fire while trying to keep pace with Piastri; replays also showed that Leclerc had damaged his front wing in contact with Hulkenberg at the start, requiring a replacement during his stop.

The track was still favouring intermediates longer than some expected. Russell noted that it did not seem to be drying quickly, even as Verstappen drew closer to Antonelli. At the end of Lap 8, heading onto Lap 9, Antonelli ran wide at the last corner and gave Verstappen a chance to attack. Before the move could play out, Bottas spun off in the final sector and brought out the Safety Car.

The crossover that changed the race

The neutralisation arrived at the ideal moment for drivers on intermediates to switch to slicks. Mercedes serviced Antonelli cleanly under pressure and kept him ahead of Verstappen. Russell remained ahead of Hadjar, Lawson, Ocon, Lindblad, Sainz, Bortoleto and Piastri. Stroll gained a place on Albon through the pit sequence, while Hamilton, Norris and Leclerc were running 15th, 16th and 17th. Alonso, Bearman, Gasly and Colapinto were the remaining runners.

After several laps behind the Safety Car, racing resumed. Verstappen tucked into Antonelli’s slipstream approaching Lap 13, went around the outside at Turn 1 and completed the pass on the exit of Turn 2. Russell capitalised on their fight, overtaking Antonelli through Turn 5 to make it Verstappen, Russell, Antonelli at the front.

Further back, the stewards noted contact between Bortoleto and Sainz at Turn 2. Sainz was spun from the top 10 to 18th, while Bortoleto soon pitted with damage. Hamilton inherited tenth and then passed Hulkenberg for ninth as his early slick gamble finally gave way to a recovery drive.

Antonelli told Mercedes he had more pace than Russell. The team suggested a different strategic approach, but Verstappen was already stringing together fastest laps. By Lap 19, he was more than three seconds ahead of Russell. At the start of Lap 21, Antonelli caught his team-mate, looked for a way through the opening turns and reclaimed second with a move into Turn 4. Verstappen was about five seconds clear by then.

Hamilton’s progress continued through passes on Lindblad, Ocon and Lawson, lifting him to fifth. Piastri was ninth, Leclerc had reached tenth and Norris was 11th, pushing Hulkenberg out of the points. Antonelli then ran wide at the last corner and clipped the pit entry bollard. He asked Mercedes to inspect his front wing as Russell closed to within a second; Verstappen’s advantage had stretched towards eight seconds.

Bortoleto remained under investigation for the Sainz collision. Albon had also been noted for erratic driving, with that incident left for a post-race stewards’ assessment. Hadjar, meanwhile, grew frustrated when his engineer warned that Hamilton was closing quickly. Piastri moved up to sixth ahead of Lawson, and Norris reached eighth as pit stops continued through the midfield.

Late stops, a stranded Mercedes and one last restart

Russell was the first of the leading three to make his planned final stop, coming in on Lap 33. Verstappen and Antonelli followed one lap later, all three taking soft tyres. Russell questioned why Mercedes had stopped so early after being told he was expected to run to the finish on that set.

Hamilton was still fighting Hadjar for fourth on worn medium tyres and complained about their feel. Leclerc had climbed to sixth, followed by Lawson, Piastri, Norris and Lindblad. Elsewhere, Hulkenberg used fresh softs to pass Stroll and Ocon in one move into Turn 4. The stewards noted a possible unsafe release involving the Audi driver, while Bortoleto received a 10-second penalty for hitting Sainz.

On Lap 43, Albon stopped his Williams on track and triggered a Virtual Safety Car. Verstappen and Hamilton were among those who pitted. Verstappen rejoined second: even a lead of about 12 seconds had not been enough to keep him ahead of Antonelli through the stop.

Antonelli came in a lap later for fresh tyres, as did Russell, handing the lead back to Verstappen. With marshals still clearing Albon’s car, the Virtual Safety Car became a full Safety Car. Norris, Lawson, Alonso and Hulkenberg were among those who used the interruption to pit.

Then Russell’s Mercedes stopped on the start/finish straight just before Turn 1. He had been running third, but his race ended behind the Safety Car after 49 laps, turning a likely podium into a retirement. Antonelli’s second place would now deliver a much larger gain over his closest title rival.

There was more trouble in the Safety Car queue. Norris nearly ran into the back of team-mate Piastri under braking for Turn 1, steered into the run-off and slid through the gravel. He rejoined in 11th.

Verstappen judged the final restart well and kept Antonelli behind. Hadjar was third, with Hamilton and Leclerc fourth and fifth. Piastri defended sixth from Lawson; Alonso and Hulkenberg ran eighth and ninth. Norris passed Lindblad to regain a points position.

Ferrari still had two moves to make. Hamilton passed Hadjar into Turn 1 on the next lap to take third, completing his climb back from the rear. Leclerc repeated the move at the start of the following tour, turning the team’s difficult opening tyre choice into third and fourth places.

Verstappen kept Antonelli at arm’s length over the final kilometres and won the 55-lap race by 2.307 seconds. Hamilton finished third, Leclerc fourth and Hadjar fifth. Piastri took sixth, Lawson seventh and Alonso eighth; Norris recovered to ninth and Lindblad claimed the last point in tenth.

Hulkenberg fell out of the points late and finished 11th, followed by Stroll, Colapinto, Bearman and Ocon. Ocon’s promising start had been undone as the strategies and Safety Cars reshuffled the field. Gasly took 16th ahead of Sainz, the penalised Bortoleto and Perez, the last finisher. Russell, Albon and Bottas were the three drivers who failed to reach the flag.

Russell had cut Antonelli’s lead to 66 points with his win in Azerbaijan. His retirement at Sepang, combined with Antonelli’s second place, increased the gap to 84 points with seven rounds remaining. Verstappen left Malaysia with the win he had chased all season; Antonelli left with an even firmer hold on the championship.

2026 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for Drivers’ and Teams after the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

2026 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Kimi Antonelli	ITA	Mercedes	320
2	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes	236
3	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Ferrari	214
4	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	191
5	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren	188
6	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	188
7	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren	128
8	Isack Hadjar	FRA	Red Bull Racing	96
9	Liam Lawson	NZL	Racing Bulls	65
10	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Alpine	41
11	Arvid Lindblad	GBR	Racing Bulls	38
12	Franco Colapinto	ARG	Alpine	27
13	Oliver Bearman	GBR	Haas F1 Team	20
14	Gabriel Bortoleto	BRA	Audi	10
15	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Audi	7
16	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Haas F1 Team	7
17	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Aston Martin	7
18	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Williams	7
19	Alexander Albon	THA	Williams	5
20	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	Racing Bulls	1
21	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin	0
22	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Cadillac	0
23	Sergio Perez	MEX	Cadillac	0

2026 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	556
2	Ferrari	405
3	McLaren	316
4	Red Bull Racing	298
5	Racing Bulls	90
6	Alpine	68
7	Haas F1 Team	27
8	Audi	17
9	Williams	12
10	Aston Martin	7
11	Cadillac	0

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2020s Races

Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.