Verstappen wins Bahrain GP in Malaysia as Hamilton climbs to podium; Antonelli stretches lead

Max Verstappen secured his first victory of the 2026 season at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, a race played out at Sepang and reported on 4 October 2026 after long delays. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton finished third and Kimi Antonelli took second, with Antonelli extending his championship advantage.

Verstappen is sixth in the drivers' championship while Lewis Hamilton sits third, and this report offers driver ratings for the full weekend in Malaysia. The race was chaotic, featured lengthy interruptions and produced mixed outcomes across the field, prompting individual assessments of qualifying, strategy and race-day recovery.

Verstappen was largely untroubled through the weekend, dominating qualifying to claim his first pole of the season and recovering from a poor start to regain control of a difficult race after briefly losing out to both Mercedes drivers. The performance was described as a strong response after Baku, where he had previously faltered.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton endured an eventful race after a team call to start on slick tyres dropped him from the front row to 18th, but he staged a recovery to finish third. Hamilton passed Isack Hadjar after the final safety car and the weekend was judged one of his strongest drives of the season.

Kimi Antonelli secured second place at Sepang and, with that result, extended his championship lead to 84 points over Mercedes team-mate George Russell. Russell had been running third before he retired from the grand prix with a power unit failure.

Several midfield storylines emerged: a McLaren driver abandoned slicks, started from the pit lane on intermediate tyres and recovered to sixth, comfortably ahead of team-mate Norris; Aston Martin reached Q2 and converted 12th on the grid into an eighth-place finish; and a driver who began at the back because of a power-unit penalty climbed to score the final point after assisting a team-mate on Saturday.

Antonelli's second place and Russell's retirement produced a notable championship swing, with Antonelli now 84 points clear of Russell, while Verstappen and Hamilton sit sixth and third respectively in the standings as the season progresses.