Max Verstappen wins rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang on October 4, 2026
Max Verstappen won the rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia on October 4, 2026, claiming his first victory of 2026 and the 72nd win of his Formula 1 career. The Red Bull driver waited out a 1-hour, 33-minute delay at the start and fended off drivers’ standings leader Kimi Antonelli to take the chequered flag.
Verstappen, a four-time Formula 1 drivers’ champion from the Netherlands, had endured a season of difficulty adapting to changes to F1 cars before Sunday’s race. The new cars struggled in wet conditions, prompting an initial 40-minute delay and a further 53-minute halt when software issues affected several cars, including Verstappen’s. A red flag was issued as drivers adopted a more cautious approach in the opening phase, and engine problems were reported by both Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton during the stoppages.
When the race eventually started, Verstappen fell from pole to third but moved past Antonelli on Lap 13 and held the lead thereafter, finishing 2.3 seconds ahead of the standings leader. Verstappen said: "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." He maintained his advantage on the restart and went on to victory.
Lewis Hamilton recovered from 18th on the grid to finish third, while Charles Leclerc crossed the line in fourth and Isack Hadjar was fifth. Hadjar had been one of the first drivers affected by the early conditions when he lost control at Turn 2 of the formation lap and ended up in the gravel.
Incidents and reliability issues continued to shape the outcome: Alexander Albon saw his car stall earlier in the race, and with the safety car deployed on Lap 43 George Russell stopped just before Turn 1. Russell suffered an engine failure with five laps remaining, which took away his outside chance of catching Mercedes AMG Motorsport teammate Antonelli for the drivers' title.
Reflecting on the win, Verstappen added: "It’s a really nice one, after the year that we’ve had and the progression that we’ve made. I’m incredibly proud of everyone, and it’s just super nice to win here." The result left Antonelli as the race runner-up and Russell’s late retirement as a significant blow to his bid to reduce the gap to his Mercedes teammate for the drivers' standings.