F1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2026 recap: Verstappen picks up season’s first win as Sepang delivers another classic
Max Verstappen picked up his first win of the 2026 Formula One season as he won the Bahrain Grand Prix, which took place on Malaysia’s Sepang track. Verstappen converted his pole to a win, having lost his lead after a wet start before fighting back. It was also the first win for Red Bull Ford Powertrains in Formula One.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished second, while Lewis Hamilton finished 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 Sepang, having won here the 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, which played perfectly into Antonelli’s hands, who increased his championship lead considerably.
Antonelli now leads by 84 points in the championship standings, while Verstappen has made up ground on the drivers in front of him and is only 26 points behind third-placed Hamilton.
Heavy rain and a wet track meant the race faced a 40-minute delayed start. 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 onto 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 them stopped on the main straight, which saw the starting procedure get suspended as the drivers returned to the pits, the start delayed again. Racing finally resumed more than an hour and a half after the original start time, with the race now shortened by one lap. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was the second driver to go off during the formation lap on the second restart but was also able to rejoin the grid.
Racing resumed on Lap 3, with a standing start getting things going. Verstappen had a shocking start, which saw Kimi Antonelli from behind Verstappen take the lead off the line. George Russell also made up places and moved into P2.
Behind the top three, Liam Lawson 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 ten to start on the soft compound.
Ferrari called in Leclerc on Lap 4 to switch him to inters. Both Ferrari drivers had started on softs and were losing places on the track left, right, and centre. Meanwhile, Verstappen at the front had left Lawson behind, with the Racing Bulls driver also 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, respectively, by Lap 5, each having made up ten 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 softs, though he was 55s behind the race leader, in seventeenth.
Verstappen picked off Russell for second place on Lap 6, while his teammate got Lawson for fourth place at the hairpin later in the lap. Coming into the main straight at the end of Lap 8, Antonelli went wide, which gave Verstappen an opportunity on the straight and heading into Turn 1, but Antonelli managed to hold on to the lead with Verstappen all over his back.
On Lap 9, Valtteri Bottas went off into the gravel at Turn 14, which saw the Safety Car come out. Everyone dove into the pits barring Hamilton, who stayed out on his softs.
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 made the move stick going out of Turn 2. Antonelli lost two places on the restart, as Russell also got past his teammate 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 over Russell.
Antonelli took P2 from his teammate on Lap 21 at Turn 4, going inside Russell to storm past him and set off after Verstappen, who was more than five seconds clear at the front.
By Lap 24, Hamilton was up to P5 and continued to showcase his experience and skill by making his 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 and hit the bollard, but he rejoined without much damage, although he lost a lot of time to Verstappen.
Ferrari called in Leclerc for another stop on Lap 29, and he pitted from P9 to rejoin in P13. A host of other lower-midfield drivers 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, while Hamilton also dove into the pits; while the Red Bull driver moved to a soft compound set, Hamilton switched to a set of mediums.
Hadjar and Hamilton rejoined the race in sixth and seventh place, respectively. 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 Oscar Piastri.
Race leader Verstappen also pitted on Lap 34, with Antonelli following him into the pits. The duo rejoined the race in first and second, respectively, with Russell now a little over three seconds behind his teammate, with the Dutchman holding an almost 11-second lead at the front with 20 laps left.
Despite not being happy about his medium tyres, Hamilton was storming on the track and was up to P5 by Lap 37 and within a second of Hadjar in fourth. Elsewhere, on the fringes of the points, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was showing his experienced race craft and soon moved into the points places 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 forced him to retire his car and park it on the side of the track. Verstappen was called in for a quick stop, with Antonelli taking the lead on the track. Hamilton also came in for a change of tyres under the VSC, as did his teammate Charles Leclerc. Hamilton switched to a used set of softs and rejoined in sixth place, giving up a place to Piastri.
Antonelli and Russell were called in for a double stop under the VSC on Lap 45, which saw Verstappen retake the lead. Hadjar also came into the pits and came out ahead of Piastri and Hamilton.
The full Safety Car came out on Lap 46 just as Albon’s FW48 was being cleared from the race track. McLaren were the first to call their drivers in for a stop.
On Lap 50, Russell stopped on the track, while Lando Norris went off the track and into the gravel at Turn 1. A power unit issue ended Russell’s race, and with his 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 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 before finally taking sixth place.
Hamilton, meanwhile, finally made the move stick on Hadjar at the end of Lap 52 to move into the podium places. Leclerc was also moving up and got past Hadjar on Lap 54 to move into P4.
With two laps to go, Verstappen was 1.5s clear of Antonelli, with Hamilton within two seconds of him but unable to make up ground on the young Italian. Verstappen ultimately held on for a comfortable win, finishing over two seconds clear of Antonelli, while Hamilton finished on the podium with Leclerc in tow.
Hadjar’s horror restart at the end saw him finish fifth, with Piastri, Lawson, Alonso, Norris, and Arvid Lindblad rounding out the points places in that order. Fernando Alonso’s P8 marks Aston Martin’s best finish of the season, with the two-time veteran world champion making the most of the upgrades brought by the British outfit amid all the chaos around him.
The triple-header concludes next weekend as Formula One moves from Malaysia to a neighbouring country for the Singapore Grand Prix.
