Max Verstappen flushed away at least some of his seasonlong frustrations Sunday by winning the rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The four-time Formula 1 drivers’ champion earned his first win of 2026 and the 72nd of his decorated career when he waited out a 1-hour, 33-minute delay at the outset and then held off current drivers’ standings leader Kimi Antonelli at the finish.
George Russell, who was still alive with an outside chance at catching Mercedes AMG Motorsport teammate Antonelli for the drivers’ title, saw those hopes take a blow due to an engine failure with five laps remaining.
After a season in which Verstappen struggled to adapt to changes to F1 cars, the rest of the field was able to feel his pain for a day. Those new cars struggled to operate in the wet conditions, leading to an initial 40-minute delay at the start and then another 53-minute delay when software issues plagued some cars, including Verstappen’s.
“It was very hectic with a lot of different things in the start,” Verstappen said. “No power, so you have to wait for the power to kick in. But then we made the right call with the intermediates, and after that, step by step, we moved our way forward.”
When the race finally started, Verstappen dropped from his position on the pole into third place before passing Antonelli on Lap 13, and went on to win from there, finishing 2.3 seconds ahead of the standings leader. Lewis Hamilton was third after rallying from 18th place.
“It’s a really nice one, after the year that we’ve had and the progression that we’ve made,” Verstappen said. “I’m incredibly proud of everyone, and it’s just super nice to win here.”
Charles Leclerc finished fourth, while Isack Hadjar was fifth.
Hadjar was one of the first drivers to be impacted by the early conditions when he lost control on Turn 2 of the formation lap and was forced into the gravel. Verstappen and Hamilton then reported engine issues.
A red flag was issued as drivers took a more cautious approach than usual in the early going.
Russell’s issues arrived after Alexander Albon saw his car stall. With the safety car on the track on Lap 43, Russell came to a stop just before heading into Turn 1.
Verstappen maintained his lead on the restart and went on to the victory.
–Field Level Media
