Newsletters
Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday, taking Red Bull's first victory of the 2026 Formula One season in wet conditions at the Sepang International Circuit near Kuala Lumpur.
The 29-year-old Dutch driver, a four-time world champion, finished 2.307 seconds ahead of Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time champion, took third after recovering from a poor start. It was Verstappen's 72nd career win and his first since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year.
He also won the last F1 race held at Sepang nine years ago.
The race was originally scheduled for April at the Bahrain International Circuit but was removed from the calendar after the outbreak of the Iran war.
F1 and the FIA announced July 26 that Sepang would host the race under the Bahrain name, following an agreement with the Bahraini and Malaysian governments.
The race began after a 100-minute delay caused by a tropical rainstorm, with half the field on intermediate tires. Both Mercedes cars passed Verstappen at the start, with Antonelli taking the lead in turn one and George Russell following. Hamilton, who started second on soft slick tires, lost grip and fell down the order.
The safety car came out on lap nine after Valtteri Bottas slid into the gravel. Nearly all drivers pitted for dry tires, with Antonelli taking mediums and Verstappen softs.
Hamilton stayed out. At the restart, Verstappen passed Antonelli and held the lead to the finish.
Hamilton, who was more than a minute behind after what he called a wrong tire decision at the start, moved into fifth on lap 23 by passing Liam Lawson. A late virtual safety car and then a full safety car brought everyone in for fresh softs.
Russell retired with a power failure under the safety car, and Hamilton reached the podium by passing Isack Hadjar in the final four-lap sprint.
Hamilton's Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc finished fourth after dropping to last place in the early laps. Hadjar was fifth for Red Bull, followed by McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Racing Bulls' Lawson.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, a two-time champion, took a season-best eighth, ahead of world champion Lando Norris and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad.
Antonelli's lead in the drivers' standings grew to 84 points over Mercedes teammate Russell. Russell said he was "beyond disappointment" and called his title chances "exceptionally unlikely."
Verstappen said, "It is really nice to win after the year we've had and all the progression we've made."
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
3 min read
