F1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2026 recap
Max Verstappen picks up first win of 2026 as Sepang delivers another classic
Max Verstappen has picked up his first win of the Formula One 2026 season as the Red Bull star won the Bahrain Grand Prix 2026 which took place in Malaysia’s Sepang track. Verstappen converted his pole to a win and after a wet start, Verstappen lost the lead at the start of the race but fought back to pick up his win. It was also the first win for the Red Bull Ford Powertrains in Formula One. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished second while Lewis Hamilton was third, putting in a stunning comeback drive after being more than a minute behind the race leader in the opening couple of laps.
This is Verstappen’s second win at the Sepang track, having won the race last time Formula One raced in Malaysia, back in 2017. For Mercedes, George Russell suffered a late PU issue that saw him retire at the very end and it played perfectly into the hands of Antonelli, who increased his championship lead considerably. Antonelli now leads by 84 points in the championship while Verstappen makes up ground on the drivers in front of him and is only 26 points behind Lewis Hamilton in third place.
Heavy rain and a wet track meant the Bahrain Grand Prix 2026 faced a delayed start with a delay of 40 minutes. Isack Hadjar went onto the gravel at Turn 3 during the formation lap itself, but the Red Bull driver managed to keep it out of the wall and got back into the grid. Supposed to start P2, Lewis Hamilton suffered a power issue on the formation lap that saw him drop right to the back. As the cars got back to the starting grid, a couple of cars stopped on the main straight, which saw the starting procedure get suspended and the drivers returned to the pits with the race start delayed again. Racing finally resumed, more than an hour and half after the original start time with the race being shortened by one lap. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was the second driver to go off during the formation lap on the second restart but the Frenchman was also able to rejoin the grid.
Racing resumed on lap 3 with a standing start getting things going. Verstappen got a shocking start which saw Kimi Antonelli from behind Verstappen take the lead off the line and along with him George Russell also made up places, moving into P2. Behind the top three, Liam Lawson also made an incredible seven places and was right behind Verstappen at P4 while Hamilton dropped to P10 although he was one of the only ones in the top 10 to start on the Soft tyre compound. Ferrari called in Leclerc on lap 4 to switch him to the Inters after both Ferraris had started on the Softs and were losing places on the track, left right and centre. Verstappen at the front had left Lawson behind with the Racing Bulls driver being pressed by Isack Hadjar, who was up to P5. Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon and Arvid Lindblad were the other big gainers at the start, sitting in seventh, eighth and ninth position respectively by lap 5, with each having made up 10 places or more in the opening couple of laps.
Ferrari asked Hamilton to come in for a change of tyres on lap 5, but Hamilton informed his team that the track was drying up and decided to stay out on the Soft compound although he was 55s behind the race leader in 17th place. Verstappen picked off Russell for second place on lap 6 and his teammate later in the lap got Lawson for fourth place at the Hairpin. Coming into the main straight at the end of lap 8, Antonelli went wide which gave Verstappen an opportunity on the main straight and heading into Turn 1 but Antonelli managed to hold on to the lead with Verstappen all over the back of him as the four-time world champion was breathing down the neck of the current championship leader.
On lap 9, Valtteri Bottas went off into the gravel at Turn 14 which saw the Safety Car come out and everyone dove into the pits barring Lewis Hamilton, who was the only one who stayed out on his Soft compound tyre. Racing resumed on lap 13, after four laps behind the Safety Car and it was Verstappen taking the lead at the restart as he went around Antonelli at Turn 1 and he made the move stick going out of Turn 2 and Antonelli lost two places on the restart as George Russell got past his teammate as well to move into P2. Further down the grid, it was Hamilton and Lando Norris making moves with the duo up to P11 and P12 by lap 15. Hamilton continued to make up places, moving into the points in the next couple of laps while by lap 18 Verstappen had pulled out a lead of almost three seconds to Russell behind him. Antonelli eased past P2 from his teammate on lap 21 at Turn 4, going inside Russell to storm past him and leave him behind as he set off behind Verstappen who was more than five seconds clear at the front.
Hamilton meanwhile by lap 24 was up to P5 as the Ferrari driver continued to showcase his experience and skill, making a bold strategy work. His teammate, Leclerc had also made up some ground after a poor start and was up to P9 by lap 25. At the front, Kimi Antonelli had a moment at the final corner, hitting the bollard but rejoined without much damage although he lost a lot of time to Verstappen. Ferrari called in Leclerc for another stop on lap 29 as he pitted from P9 and rejoined in 13th place. A host of other lower midfield runners just outside the points also pitted as some of the pitwalls informed their drivers that there could be potential rain coming. Red Bull called in Isack Hadjar on lap 32 for a stop and along with him Lewis Hamilton also dove into the pits with the Red Bull driver moving to a Soft compound set while Hamilton switched to a Medium compound. Hadjar and Hamilton rejoined in the race in sixth and seventh place respectively behind the top three and the McLaren duo led by Oscar Piastri in fourth place. The same lap, Mercedes called in Russell for another stop from third place and the British driver came out in third place itself, five seconds ahead of Piastri.
Race leader Verstappen also pitted on lap 34 with Antonelli following him into the pits and the duo rejoined the race in first and second place respectively with Russell now a little over 3 seconds behind his teammate while Verstappen held nearly an 11 second lead at the front with 20 laps left in the race. Despite not being happy about his Medium tyres, Hamilton was storming on the track, and was up to P5 by lap 37 and inside a second of Hadjar in fourth place. On the fringes of the points, it was Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso showing his experienced race craft as he moved into the points place after putting in a sublime move on Arvid Lindblad on lap 40. The Virtual Safety Car came out on lap 43 after Alex Albon’s gearbox issue saw him retire his car, having to park it on the side of the track. Verstappen was called in for a quick stop but it was Antonelli taking the lead on the track. Hamilton also came in for a change of tyres under the Virtual Safety Car, as did his teammate Charles Leclec. Hamilton switched to a used set of Soft tyres and rejoined in sixth place, giving up a place on track to Oscar Piastri. Antonelli and Russell were called in for a double stop under the Virtual Safety Car on lap 45 which saw Verstappen retake the lead and with Isack Hadjar also coming into the pits, and just came out ahead of Piastri and Hamilton.
The full Safety Car came out on lap 46 as Albon’s car was still being cleared from the race track and the McLarens were the first to call in their drivers for a stop. On lap 50, George Russell stopped on track while Lando Norris went off track and into the gravel at Turn 1. Russell’s race was over as a PU issue ended his race. With Russell’s car pushed off track, the Safety Car ended on lap 51 with four laps remaining. Verstappen got the grid going as he saw off Antonelli while it was Lando Norris making a massive double move at the restart to move up to P10 while Piastri and Lawson were also involved in a tight scrap that saw Piastri exchange places with Lawson and finally take sixth place. Hamilton finally made the move stick on Hadjar stick at the end of lap 52 to move into the podium places. Like his teammate, Leclerc also was moving up as he got past Hadjar on lap 54 to move into fourth place. With two laps to go, Verstappen was 1.5s clear of Antonelli with Hamilton inside two seconds but was unable to make up ground on Antonelli. Verstappen held on for a comfortable win, finishing over two seconds clear of Antonelli while Hamilton finished on the podium with Leclerc in fourth place.
Isack Hadjar’s horror restart at the end saw him finish fifth with Oscar Piastri, Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris and Arvid Lindblad rounding out the points places. Fernando Alonso’s P8 also is Aston Martin’s best finish of the season with the two-time veteran world champion making the most of the upgrades brought by his team and the chaos around him. The triple head concludes next weekend as Formula One will move from Malaysia to another Asian country, with the grid heading for the Singapore Grand Prix next weekend.
