Crimson Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his automobile throughout the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, on October 4, 2026.
| Picture Credit score: AP
Max Verstappen flushed away no less than a few of his seasonlong frustrations Sunday (October 4, 2026) by profitable the rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The four-time System 1 drivers’ champion earned his first win of 2026 and the 72nd of his embellished profession when he waited out a 1-hour, 33-minute delay on the outset and then held off present drivers’ standings chief Kimi Antonelli on the end.
George Russell, who was nonetheless alive with an outdoor probability at catching Mercedes AMG Motorsport teammate Antonelli for the drivers’ title, noticed these hopes take a blow attributable to an engine failure with 5 laps remaining.
After a season by which Verstappen struggled to adapt to adjustments to F1 automobiles, the remainder of the discipline was capable of really feel his ache for a day. These new automobiles struggled to function within the moist situations, resulting in an preliminary 40-minute delay on the begin after which one other 53-minute delay when software program points plagued some automobiles, together with Verstappen’s.
“It was very hectic with a number of various things within the begin,” Verstappen mentioned. “No energy, so it’s important to anticipate the energy to kick in. However then we made the suitable name with the intermediates, and after that, step-by-step, we moved our method ahead.”
When the race lastly began, Verstappen dropped from his place on the pole into third place earlier than passing Antonelli on Lap 13, and went on to win from there, ending 2.3 seconds forward of the standings chief. Lewis Hamilton was third after rallying from 18th place.
“It’s a very nice one, after the 12 months that we’ve had and the development that we’ve made,” Verstappen mentioned. “I’m extremely pleased with everybody, and it’s simply tremendous good to win right here.”
Charles Leclerc completed fourth, whereas Isack Hadjar was fifth.
Hadjar was one of many first drivers to be impacted by the early situations when he misplaced management on Flip 2 of the formation lap and was pressured into the gravel. Verstappen and Hamilton then reported engine points.
A purple flag was issued as drivers took a extra cautious method than traditional within the early going.
Russell’s points arrived after Alexander Albon noticed his automobile stall. With the security automobile on the observe on Lap 43, Russell got here to a cease simply earlier than heading into Flip 1.
Verstappen maintained his lead on the restart and went on to the victory.
Revealed – October 05, 2026 12:44 am IST
