Max Verstappen delivered Red Bull Ford Powertrains its maiden Formula 1 victory in a rain-hit, safety-car shuffled Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, with Kimi Antonelli second and Lewis Hamilton completing the podium after a brilliant recovery drive. The result tightened the top of the standings but left Antonelli still firmly in control of the title race as George Russell’s late retirement cost him valuable points.
The day began under dark skies and heavy showers, with torrential rain and thunderstorms forcing Race Control to delay the start by more than 40 minutes as water pooled on the track. When the race finally got underway, it was behind the Safety Car, and even then conditions remained treacherous, with several drivers struggling for grip on the drying line. The interrupted start set the tone for a chaotic afternoon where strategy calls, tyre choices and luck would matter as much as outright pace.
Verstappen, starting from pole, managed the restarts cleanly and built a small but crucial gap during the middle phase of the race, keeping his Red Bull out of trouble as others gambled on tyre strategies. A late Safety Car bunched the field again, but he held his nerve over the final laps to take the checkered flag ahead of Antonelli, who had recovered well after a difficult qualifying session that saw him start from the back of the grid. It was Red Bull’s first win of the 2026 season and a landmark moment for their new Ford-powered package.
Hamilton’s podium was the story of the race for many fans. After Ferrari’s early call to put him on slicks at the wrong time dropped him down the order, he carved back through the field with strong pace on the right tyres. In the closing stages he chased down Isack Hadjar, who had briefly looked set for a second consecutive podium, and passed him for third with a few laps remaining to secure his first rostrum finish since Silverstone. Charles Leclerc finished a close fourth ahead of Hadjar, Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson in a tightly packed top ten.
Not everyone made it to the end. George Russell, who had been running in a strong position and in contention for the championship, retired late with a power-unit issue, a blow that widened the gap to Antonelli at the top of the table. The combination of Verstappen’s win, Antonelli’s second place and Russell’s DNF reshaped the mathematics of the title fight with only a handful of rounds remaining.
After 55 laps at the 5.543 km Sepang International Circuit, the drivers’ standings saw Antonelli leading on 320 points, 84 clear of Russell on 236. Hamilton moved into third on 214, ahead of Charles Leclerc (191), Lando Norris and Max Verstappen tied on 188, and Oscar Piastri on 128. With the Bahrain GP in Malaysia now done and dusted, the focus shifts to the next race on the calendar, where both the title battle and the fight for podiums and points look set to intensify.
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