Verstappen wins Bahrain Grand Prix

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, claiming his first victory of the season and the 72nd of his Formula 1 career. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) finished second, with Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) taking third.

The race was originally scheduled to take place in Bahrain in April, but was postponed due to the military conflict in the region. The Bahrain Grand Prix was eventually moved to Malaysia’s Sepang circuit, which last hosted Formula 1 in 2017.

Verstappen and Charles Leclerc set the pace in Friday’s practice sessions, while Antonelli was fastest on Saturday morning. Verstappen came out on top in qualifying, taking his and Red Bull’s first pole position of the season. Hamilton joined him on the front row, with Antonelli and Leclerc lining up on the second row.

Heavy rain shortly before the start caused a lengthy delay, with the race eventually getting underway around an hour and a half later than scheduled.

Antonelli took the lead at the start on a still-damp track, while Verstappen lost several positions. As conditions improved, Max began to recover and moved up to second on lap six. The Safety Car was deployed shortly afterwards when Valtteri Bottas went off, prompting the entire field to switch to slick tyres.

After the restart, Verstappen passed Antonelli to take the lead. Kimi remained in contention and later moved back into second place after overtaking his Mercedes team-mate George Russell.

In the second half of the race, Verstappen controlled the lead, while Antonelli and Russell held positions in the top three. Behind them, Hamilton gradually recovered from a difficult start and had climbed to fifth by lap 40.

On lap 43, Alex Albon stopped on track, initially triggering a Virtual Safety Car before the full Safety Car was deployed. Most of the front-runners took the opportunity to change tyres. Shortly after racing resumed, Russell stopped on track with a power unit problem and was forced to retire. His retirement opened the door for Hamilton to fight for a podium place, and on lap 53 the Ferrari driver passed Isack Hadjar to move into third.

Verstappen retained the lead after the restart and went on to take victory. Antonelli finished second, while Hamilton completed the podium in third.

Verstappen’s 72nd career victory saw him equal Michael Schumacher’s record for the most Formula 1 wins with a single team. The result also marked the first Formula 1 victory for a Red Bull Ford power unit. Antonelli, meanwhile, extended his championship advantage over Russell to 84 points.

The championship continues next week with the night race in Singapore.