Max Verstappen wins chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia after rain delays and engine issues
Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang on 4 October 2026, claiming Red Bull’s and his first victory of the season as Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli finished second and Lewis Hamilton third for Ferrari. George Russell was forced to retire with five laps remaining, a retirement that the article says has badly damaged his title prospects and left Antonelli with an 84-point lead.
The race produced farcical scenes before racing began when heavy rain exposed problems with the new engine formula, which mixes electrical and combustion power roughly 50-50 and had not previously been run in wet conditions. Hamilton started on slick tyres and dropped to 17th before recovering; Charles Leclerc finished fourth and Isack Hadjar fifth. The result also represented Verstappen’s first victory since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year and came nine years after his previous win in Malaysia in 2017.
A deluge before the start forced a 45-minute delay and, after the rain eased, the field completed two formation laps that exposed software and power issues on several cars. Hamilton suffered a software problem and stopped on track, and other competitors—including Verstappen and the Ferrari-engined Haas and Cadillac of Esteban Ocon and Valtteri Bottas—also came to a halt, leaving cars out of order and on differing lap counts.
Officials suspended the start and returned the cars to the pit lane, triggering a further 53-minute delay while the field was re-sorted on the grid and the FIA uploaded revised software parameters to the cars. Team engineers and race control worked to reset systems before racing could resume.
The technical failure was attributed in the report to cars being off throttle for extended periods in the wet, which allowed the turbo to spool down and consumed electrical power; with the combined systems depleted, the engines could not reach the power levels required under FIA regulations and were unable to re-accelerate. That sequence of events had not been anticipated by teams, the article states.
When racing finally began, Verstappen made a poor getaway and was overtaken by Antonelli, while Russell moved from seventh to second into the first corner. Hamilton slid back on slick rubber but recovered through the pack; Verstappen closed on Russell by lap four and then charged after Antonelli. At a safety-car restart the two leaders ran wheel to wheel for the first three corners before Verstappen edged ahead and Russell passed his teammate for second.
Antonelli regained the upper hand over Russell on lap 21 as Mercedes ran behind Red Bull in pace, and Hamilton had climbed to fifth by lap 29 before a late pass on Hadjar secured him third. Russell’s race ended with a power unit failure five laps from the finish, while Verstappen controlled the final stages to take the chequered flag.
The victory delivered a turnaround for Verstappen and Red Bull after a difficult first half of the season, with the team’s upgrades cited in the piece as contributing to their improved form. Antonelli emerges from Sepang with an 84-point lead in the championship with seven meetings remaining.