Verstappen wins chaotic rain-hit Bahrain GP at Sepang as Antonelli stretches title lead to 84 points

Verstappen converts pole into first win of 2026

Max Verstappen won the rain-disrupted Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit on Sunday 4 October, leading home Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton to claim his and Red Bull's first victory of the 2026 Formula 1 season. It was the four-time world champion's 72nd career win and his first since Abu Dhabi 2025, as Il Sole 24 Ore's race report noted, and came nine years after his previous triumph at the same Malaysian circuit, which had also been his second-ever Formula 1 victory in 2017. ¹³⁶⁷

Verstappen arrived at Sepang on pole position, his first of the season, and held off Mercedes across a 56-lap race described by Motorsport Week as a wet-dry thriller. He crossed the line 2.3 seconds clear of Antonelli, who had led early before the Red Bull driver worked his way past. Antonelli admitted after the race that second place represented the limit of what his team could achieve on the day, telling reporters in parc ferme: "I think today, [it] was the maximum we could have done," while conceding Mercedes had been "struggling a bit more than usual". ²⁴⁶⁹

Hamilton completed the podium after recovering from 18th on the opening laps, passing Red Bull's Isack Hadjar for third late on, with Charles Leclerc fourth ahead of Hadjar fifth. It was Hamilton's first podium since the British Grand Prix in July, according to PA's report carried by ESPN. ¹²³⁶

Rain and power unit gremlins derail the start

The race, scheduled to begin at 3pm local time, was first delayed around 40 minutes by torrential rain that left standing water on the track, with the FIA's medical car reporting conditions unsuitable for racing. When the formation procedure finally began, Verstappen reported over the radio that he could not accelerate, saying "I am pressing the throttle, and nothing is happening", and Hamilton stopped with a throttle-related problem that Ferrari connected to software. Race control suspended the start and the cars limped back to the pit lane, per ESPN's report. ²⁵⁶

PA, via ESPN, reported that a further 53 minutes passed before the field was released again, by which time the track was largely dry, with no explanation offered for the delay. The problems were linked to the 2026 regulations' 50-50 split between combustion and battery power. Mercedes test driver Anthony Davidson told Sky Sports the trap occurred when off-throttle running let the turbo spool down, draining the battery and leaving the car on combustion power alone, unable to re-accelerate. ²

Ferrari compounded its own difficulties at the restart by starting both Hamilton and Leclerc on soft dry tyres on a still-damp track. Both plummeted down the order, with Motorsport Week noting Leclerc pitted at the end of the first lap and filtered out last after a slow stop, while the intermediate-shod runners made the early running. Fernando Alonso criticised the decision to abort the initial start, asking over the radio, per ESPN: "Why did they put out the red flag? This is racing." ²⁶

How the race unfolded

Antonelli vaulted into the lead at lights out, followed by teammate Russell, with Verstappen third after a sluggish start on his intermediates. Verstappen moved past Russell for second on lap 6 and closed on Antonelli, who eked out a two-second advantage before holding the Red Bull at bay through the opening Turns 1 and 2, as Motorsport Week's lap-by-lap report described. Valtteri Bottas's stranded Cadillac triggered the first Safety Car on lap 9, bringing the leaders in for dry tyres and neutralising the gaps. ⁵⁶

At the lap 13 restart Verstappen swept around the outside of Antonelli into Turn 1 to retake the lead. Antonelli slipped behind Russell before regaining second on lap 21, and Mercedes radio exchanges reported by Motorsport Week showed Antonelli telling his engineer, "I have more pace", with a response that strategy would be handled differently. Verstappen then built a lead of up to ten seconds as the second round of stops played out. ⁶

A late Virtual Safety Car when Alex Albon's Williams stopped with a gearbox problem prompted Verstappen to pit, briefly handing Antonelli the lead, before Mercedes double-stacked its drivers under the following full Safety Car and Verstappen resumed at the front. Hamilton, running long on his opening tyre set after Ferrari declined to pit him under the earlier Safety Car, charged through the field and passed a battery-starved Hadjar on the main straight on lap 53 to take third, with Leclerc also getting through a lap later. ¹⁶

Russell's retirement reshapes the championship

George Russell was running third behind the Safety Car with five laps remaining when his Mercedes pulled over at the pit exit, his power unit giving out. AsiaOne reported that Mercedes told Antonelli over the radio it appeared Russell had suffered a power unit problem. Crash.net reported Russell had been on course for third, and that team principal Toto Wolff later said he was "massively annoyed" in revealing the cause of the retirement. ⁷⁸

The retirement widened Antonelli's championship lead over Russell from 66 to 84 points, with only seven scheduled races remaining and a maximum of 183 points available, as PA reported via ESPN. Crash.net noted Russell had already been set to take a grid penalty for further engine changes before the end of the season, compounding the blow to his fading title bid. ²⁴⁷

Crash.net's post-race standings report has Antonelli leading on 320 points with eight wins, from Russell on 236, Hamilton on 214 and Leclerc on 191, with Lando Norris and Verstappen level on 188, Norris ahead on countback. Oscar Piastri is the leading Australian on 128 points in seventh. In the constructors' championship, Crash.net reports Mercedes clear on 556 from Ferrari on 405 and McLaren on 316, with Red Bull fourth on 298 after closing to within 18 points of McLaren. The Independent's standings rundown presents slightly different constructors' totals, listing Mercedes on 538 and Ferrari on 378, and places Alonso on six points where Crash.net lists seven, a discrepancy that remains unresolved between the two outlets. ⁷¹⁰

A Bahrain round in Malaysia, and what comes next

The round carried the Bahrain Grand Prix name despite being held roughly 6,000 kilometres from Sakhir, after the original April date in Bahrain was cancelled when Iranian retaliatory strikes following the outbreak of war on 28 February reached the country, including Manama. Il Sole 24 Ore reported the rescheduled event stems from an agreement between the FIA, Formula 1, Bahrain and Malaysia, under which Bahrain pays the rights fees to F1 and collects the ticket revenue. It was Formula 1's first race at Sepang since 2017. ¹³⁸¹⁰

Looking ahead, Formula 1 Returns to Marina Bay for the Singapore Grand Prix, a sprint weekend, from 9-11 October, as Grande Prêmio notes. Il Sole 24 Ore reported that F1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali confirmed to Sky Sport that the Qatar round, listed for 27-29 November in The Independent's calendar, and the Abu Dhabi season finale on 4-6 December will go ahead based on the information and assurances received, ending speculation that Imola might serve as a reserve venue. ³⁴¹⁰