BahrainGP in Malaysia: Verstappen Break First Victory in 2026 at Sepang

Max Verstappen converted pole position into a hard-fought victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, a chaotic affair disrupted by torrential rain, a red-flagged start, split tyre strategies and overtaking from the first lap to the last — capped by a dramatic late retirement for George Russell that reshaped the championship picture.

Trouble arrived before a wheel had turned. In the hour before the scheduled 1500 local start, a huge rain shower and accompanying thunderstorm soaked the Sepang International Circuit, throwing the entire schedule into doubt. A couple of minutes before lights-out, Race Control confirmed a delay as the rain continued to pour and teams sheltered their cars under gazebos on the grid.

An exploratory lap from the Medical Car revealed significant standing water around the circuit, confirming conditions were unsuitable to start. Relief arrived around 1510 as the rain eased, drawing cheers from the grandstands, before the FIA reported by 1525 that only a couple of corners remained problematic thanks to lighter rainfall and marshals sweeping the track. The formation lap was eventually scheduled for 1540 — some 40 minutes behind plan.

When the 22-car field finally moved off on intermediate tyres, drama struck almost immediately. Isack Hadjar lost control exiting Turn 2 and took a trip through the gravel, before both Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton reported power issues. "I can't accelerate! It's not working, guys," radioed Verstappen, while Hamilton reported his throttle wasn't responding before grinding to a halt on the start/finish straight.

With more cars struggling and lapping well below pace, Race Control suspended the start procedure and threw a red flag, sending drivers back to the pits for a second attempt — eventually rescheduled for 1633 with the original grid order restored.

The second attempt brought a fresh tyre dilemma as the track continued to dry. Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez and Franco Colapinto all gambled on slick tyres, while Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll opted for mediums. Most of the field, including Verstappen, stuck with intermediates.

Perez pitted at the end of the Safety Car-led opening lap to switch to intermediates, with Piastri, Bortoleto, Stroll and Hulkenberg following suit a lap later. When the standing start was finally given, Mercedes pair Kimi Antonelli and Russell seized the opportunity to charge into first and second, while Liam Lawson surged to third and engaged polesitter Verstappen in a wheel-to-wheel battle. Hamilton and Leclerc, both caught out on slicks, were shuffled outside the points entirely.

As the Ferrari pair languished outside the top 10, Leclerc opted to switch to intermediates while Hamilton gritted it out on slicks after back-and-forth discussion with his pit wall over the gamble. At the front, Antonelli built a lead of several seconds over Russell before Verstappen reeled in the Briton and completed a pass into Turn 4, while Hadjar cleared Lawson for fourth into the final corner.

Bortoleto reported smoke from his Audi while battling to keep pace with Piastri, and replays later confirmed Leclerc had clipped Hulkenberg's sister Audi at the start, damaging his front wing and lengthening his eventual pit stop.

The race's defining moment arrived at the end of Lap 8 heading onto Lap 9, when Antonelli drifted wide at the final corner, opening a door for Verstappen just as slick-shod Bottas spun off in the final sector and triggered a Safety Car. The intermediate runners streamed into the pits for slicks, with Mercedes executing a flawless stop to keep Antonelli ahead of Verstappen, while Russell held station over Hadjar, Lawson, Esteban Ocon, Arvid Lindblad, Carlos Sainz, Bortoleto and Piastri.

When racing resumed, Verstappen tucked into Antonelli's slipstream heading onto Lap 13 and completed a bold move around the outside of Turn 1, only for Russell to pounce on the squabbling pair and snatch second from Antonelli through Turn 5. Around the same period, the stewards noted a Turn 2 incident between Bortoleto and Sainz that dropped the Williams driver from the top 10 to 18th and sent the Audi into the pits with damage — aiding Hamilton's recovery as he inherited 10th before clearing Hulkenberg for ninth.

With Antonelli and Russell trading places and radio messages about alternate strategies, Verstappen began reeling off a series of fastest laps, his advantage over Russell growing beyond three seconds by Lap 19. Antonelli reclaimed second from his teammate with a smart move into Turn 4 at the start of Lap 21, but Verstappen was by then five seconds clear and pulling away.

Hamilton's recovery drive continued apace, picking off Lindblad, Ocon and Lawson to move into fifth, while Antonelli's own pursuit of the lead was hampered when he ran wide at the final corner and clipped the pit entry bollard, reporting a need to "check the front wing" as Russell closed to within a second behind him.

Russell made the first of the leading trio's final stops on Lap 33, with Verstappen and Antonelli following a lap later, all three switching to softs — a decision Russell questioned over team radio after being told he wouldn't stop again. Hamilton, running mediums and struggling with grip, nonetheless closed on Hadjar's car in his push for fourth, while fresh-tyred Hulkenberg produced a standout double pass on Stroll and Ocon into Turn 4, though he was separately noted for a potentially unsafe release. Bortoleto, meanwhile, was handed a 10-second penalty for his earlier clash with Sainz.

The race's closing act brought further twists. A Virtual Safety Car on Lap 43, triggered by Albon stopping his Williams out on track, prompted extra stops from Verstappen and Hamilton, with Verstappen dropping to second behind Antonelli upon rejoining. A lap later, both Mercedes drivers pitted again for fresh tyres, restoring the lead to Verstappen, before a full Safety Car was deployed as marshals worked to clear Albon's car — triggering further stops from Norris, Lawson, Alonso and Hulkenberg.

It was during this Safety Car period that disaster struck for Russell, who ground to a halt just before Turn 1 and was forced to retire, shouting in anguish over the radio as his already slim championship hopes suffered a decisive blow. Norris, meanwhile, came close to colliding with teammate Piastri under braking at Turn 1 as the field bunched, sliding through the gravel and rejoining down in 11th.

When racing resumed, Verstappen nailed the restart to maintain the lead over Antonelli and Hadjar, with Hamilton and Leclerc completing their remarkable recoveries to fourth and fifth before both eventually passed Hadjar in the closing laps — Hamilton sending the crowd into raptures with a move into Turn 1 for third, with Leclerc following a lap later to complete a dramatic turnaround for Ferrari.

Verstappen controlled the remaining kilometres to take the chequered flag comfortably clear of Antonelli, securing his and Red Bull's first win of the 2026 campaign, with Hamilton, Leclerc and Hadjar rounding out the top five.

FULL RACE CLASSIFICATION

Not Classified (DNF): Alexander Albon (Williams, 41 laps), Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac, 7 laps).

Fastest Lap: Max Verstappen, 1:38.220 on Lap 55 (203.164 km/h).

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: ANTONELLI'S CUSHION GROWS TO 84 POINTS

Russell had trimmed Kimi Antonelli's championship lead to 66 points with victory in Azerbaijan, but his Malaysian DNF paired with Antonelli's second-place finish means that margin has swollen back out to 84 points heading into the final seven rounds of the season.

Drivers' Championship (Top 10)

Verstappen's win vaults him level on points with Norris in the standings, though Norris retains fifth by virtue of countback, with both now just a handful of points off the podium places in the championship table — a dramatic shift from where the Dutchman began his season-long pursuit of a maiden 2026 victory.

Constructors' Championship

Mercedes retains a commanding 151-point advantage over Ferrari at the head of the Constructors' Championship despite Russell's retirement, while Red Bull's victory closes the gap to McLaren in third to just 18 points, setting up a tense battle for the remaining podium position in the teams' standings as the season enters its final stretch.

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