Verstappen secures victory at chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix

M ax Verstappen held off championship leader Kimi Antonelli to win a chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix, awarding himself and Red Bull their first victory of the season all while Russell’s faint title hopes slipped further away.

The Bahrain Grand Prix, the middle leg of a Baku-Sepang-Singapore triple header, was held at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit for the first time since 2017 due to the Middle East conflict which forced Bahrain’s race to relocate, while Saudi Arabia’s Grand Prix in Jeddah is still yet to be rescheduled.

“To win our first race in our first year with our own power unit is pretty impressive”

Verstappen sealed pole position on Saturday with a commanding lap. However, he was jumped by both Mercedes on lap one, with all three cars on intermediate tyres. This was after a suspended start procedure occurred due to several drivers struggling to maintain speed and falling out of position during the initial formation lap. Verstappen ultimately made his way back to the lead and then held on to it at the restart after a second safety car to secure his 72nd victory.

After the race, Verstappen said: “To win our first race in our first year with our own power unit is pretty impressive.”

Behind Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton produced the best recovery drive of the day. Ferrari’s decision to start on slicks on a drying track backfired, sending him from P2 to P18 early on. Leclerc also gambled on slicks, but contact with his teammate on the opening lap broke his front wing and forced him to pit for intermediates. Hamilton stayed out under the safety car, running his started soft tyres for 31 laps and working his way through the field as the track dried, eventually passing Hadjar late on to take third.

This ended Ferrari’s five-race podium drought. Most importantly, this race raised questions over the new engine regulations due to software glitches that that left several cars losing power on the formation lap. Sepang’s circuit was the first wet race under the new power unit which revealed a considerable oversight in the FIA software that controls the deployment of
electric on each car. With Hamilton comparing it to a “Lego race” and drivers describing it as “totally unacceptable”, it highlighted a distinctive contrast for Verstappen, whose win came in a power unit built by Red Bull themselves.