Max Verstappen wins rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, Antonelli second, Hamilton third
Max Verstappen beat Kimi Antonelli to win the rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia on Sunday, taking his and Red Bull’s first victory of the season after the start was postponed for more than 90 minutes.
Heavy tropical rain swept across the circuit after practice and qualifying had been dry, producing the first wet race of 2026 and a suspended start procedure; the delay was followed by a series of formation-lap and technical problems that complicated the restart. Verstappen had taken pole and recovered from losing the lead at the initial lights to control the race once slick tyres were fitted, while championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished second and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton recovered to third after an early tyre gamble.
When the lights went out, Antonelli surged from third on the grid through the middle to lead into turn one and George Russell jumped from seventh to second on the outside; those moves left Verstappen behind until lap six when he dived down the inside of turn four to repass Russell. Valtteri Bottas spun his Cadillac into the gravel on lap 10, bringing out the safety car and prompting a double-stack pit sequence in which leaders switched to slick tyres; when racing resumed Verstappen overtook Antonelli at turn three and Russell passed Antonelli on the next corner.
Verstappen then set the pace, posting fastest laps and opening a gap over his rivals while Antonelli later repassed Russell on lap 21 at turn four to reclaim second. Antonelli briefly ran wide after missing his braking point at turn 15 and struck a pit-lane bollard, costing time as Verstappen extended his lead to about eight seconds. Antonelli said: "Today was the maximum we could have done... On our side, a lot of work to do," reflecting his satisfaction at P2.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton dropped deep early after choosing slick soft tyres on the damp track and fell to the back, but he stayed out through the safety car phase and climbed the order on ageing softs before taking fresh softs for the late dash; he passed Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar for third in the closing laps. Hamilton said: "Obviously, we had the wrong call at the beginning, which was so difficult and I could see everyone just pulling away," and added, "I thought that was kind of race over for us, but I just kept my head down. The guys did a great job with the pit stops."
A late safety car for Alex Albon’s stranded Williams set up a four-lap shootout to the flag, during which Charles Leclerc passed Hadjar with two laps remaining to take fourth; Hadjar finished fifth and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was sixth. Liam Lawson was seventh and Fernando Alonso finished eighth for Aston Martin, which India Today described as their best result of the season.
Russell, who had been running in third, suddenly pulled off and parked on the main straight with a suspected power unit issue with five laps to go and retired from the race; Antonelli now leads Russell by 84 points in the championship. Verstappen’s victory was also noted as the first for Red Bull using their own power unit, and the BBC reported that Verstappen has now won 72 F1 races and four world titles during his career.
The Formula 1 triple-header concludes next weekend in Singapore, with the night race scheduled for Sunday, 11 Oct.