F1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2025 Recap: Oscar Piastri finishes top of the podium as McLaren pick up first win at Sakhir

Oscar Piastri handed McLaren their first-ever win in Bahrain as he won his second race of the 2025 Formula One season, putting in a calm and composed drive to win the Bahrain Grand Prix.

George Russell gave Mercedes a second-place finish, holding off a late charge from the other McLaren driver, Lando Norris, as the Woking-based outfit secured a double podium.

With his win, Piastri has also taken a big stride in the Drivers’ Standings, with Norris just about managing to keep a hold of his lead at the top of the table. The young Australian, who became the first repeat pole-sitter of the season on Saturday, also became the first repeat winner of the season after his race win.

Russell tried to make up for his Qualifying penalty as he shot up to P2 as the lights went off, while Norris also made ground in the first lap, moving to P3, though he was handed a five-second time penalty for a false start.

As the race got going, the Ferrari cars went on the attack, with both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc making up places. Hamilton went past Carlos Sainz on Lap 9. A couple of laps later, Max Verstappen came in for his stop, switching to the hard tyres, while Piastri pitted on Lap 15. A Ferrari pit stop handed Piastri the lead of the race from Russell and Norris. The Red Bull drivers, meanwhile, weren’t able to push through, with Verstappen in particular complaining about a brake issue.

Towards the halfway stage, the Scuderia started showing pace as Leclerc swept past Norris on Lap 25 to move into the podium places and Hamilton overtook Andrea Kimi Antonelli on the same lap heading into Turn 1 to move up to P7.

Verstappen’s race went from bad to worse on Lap 27. His team had called him in to switch to the medium tyres after seeing that the hard ones weren’t working, but a sloppy pit stop saw the reigning World Champion rejoin in last place.

The Safety Car came out on Lap 32 after Yuki Tsunoda and Sainz came together, with the Williams car suffering body damage and leaving debris on the track at Turn 3. This saw the entire grid come in for a quick pit stop except Verstappen, Esteban Ocon, and Pierre Gasly.

After the debris was cleared up, the Safety Car came in on Lap 35 and racing resumed. Piastri got things going again, catching Russell off. Norris almost caught Leclerc, but the fight between them saw Hamilton take a position from Norris. The McLaren driver tried to make amends right away but made the move on Hamilton off the track, so he had to hand back the position to the veteran Brit. A couple of laps later, Norris breezed past Hamilton at Turn 4, going around him to move up to P4.

The race saw plenty of action after the restart as Tsunoda, Ollie Bearman, and Jack Doohan tried to stay in the points places. Liam Lawson and Sainz were handed time penalties, with Lawson penalised for his collision with Lance Stroll and Sainz given ten-second penalty for pushing Antonelli off the track.

Up ahead, Norris gained on Leclerc, threatening to move up into the podium places before locking up and going off on Lap 46, allowing Leclerc some room to breathe. Sainz, meanwhile, was asked to retire on the same lap, with his sidepod suffering from damage after his collision early on.

Norris once again came agonisingly close to getting past Leclerc on Lap 49, but the Monégasque’s defensive hold helped him hold on to P3. Four laps later, however, Norris used his DRS and finally made the move stick, going around the outside at Turn 4 to move into the podium places.

The final couple of laps saw little action as the drivers held on to their positions. Piastri sailed to his second win of the season, while Russell held on for a P2 finish ahead of Norris, with the Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Hamilton behind him. Verstappen overtook Gasly on the final lap to finish P6 followed by Ocon, Tsunoda, and Bearman, who rounded out the points places.

The action will continue next week as the grid heads to Saudi Arabia for the final race of the season’s first triple-header.