Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia, turning pole position into the first win of 2026 for Oracle Red Bull Racing after a rain delay and a suspended start. He beat championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 2.307 seconds over 55 laps, and Lewis Hamilton finished third for Ferrari (FIA final classification; Formula1.com).
How it was won
A thunderstorm soaked Sepang in the hour before the 3 p.m. local start, and the race was delayed by about 40 minutes. On the first formation lap several cars, including Verstappen’s and Hamilton’s, lost throttle response, so Race Control suspended the start procedure and sent the field back to the pit lane (Formula1.com; FIA). By the second attempt, the field had split on tyres. Verstappen, Antonelli, George Russell and Isack Hadjar started on intermediates. Hamilton and Charles Leclerc gambled on slicks.
Antonelli and Russell swept past Verstappen at the standing start. Verstappen passed Russell around the outside at Turn 4 and was pressuring Antonelli when Valtteri Bottas spun into the gravel, bringing out a Safety Car. That gave the intermediate runners a free switch to slicks. Mercedes kept Antonelli ahead in the pits, but Verstappen, on softs, went around the outside of the Mercedes into Turn 1 at the restart, took the lead and pulled clear (FIA).
Late in the race, Alex Albon’s Williams stopped on track, bringing a Virtual Safety Car and then a full Safety Car. Verstappen pitted under the VSC and briefly handed the lead to Antonelli, then got it back when Mercedes pitted both cars a lap later. Russell’s Mercedes then stopped on the straight behind the Safety Car, ending his race. Verstappen controlled the final restart and set the race’s fastest lap, 1:38.220, on the last lap. Hamilton and Leclerc, who had both fallen down the order on slicks, passed Hadjar in the closing laps for third and fourth (Formula1.com; FIA final classification).
Verstappen said the start was hectic and he had to wait for power to come back. He said the call to start on intermediates was the right one, and from there the team kept everything under control (Formula1.com).
Results snapshot
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time / Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:47:14.808 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +2.307s |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +4.919s |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +7.258s |
| 5 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull Racing | +8.571s |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +9.454s |
| 7 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +12.753s |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +13.372s |
| 9 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +13.993s |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +15.928s |
Race facts (FIA): 55 laps, 304.874 km; pole 1:35.130 (Verstappen); fastest lap 1:38.220 (Verstappen, Lap 55). Russell retired after 49 laps, and Albon and Bottas also failed to finish. Gabriel Bortoleto received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Carlos Sainz at Turn 2 and was classified 18th (FIA decision).
Drivers’ standings (FIA): Antonelli 320, Russell 236, Hamilton 214, Leclerc 191, Norris and Verstappen 188 each. Antonelli’s lead is back to 84 points with seven rounds left (FIA championship points; Formula1.com).
History & significance
This was a Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia. On July 26, 2026, the FIA and Formula 1 confirmed that Sepang would host the Bahrain round on October 2–4 “amid ongoing regional challenges” (FIA). It was Formula 1’s first race at Sepang since the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix, which Verstappen also won. Sunday’s win was Verstappen’s and Red Bull’s first of the season, after their first 2026 pole on Saturday, and the first victory for Red Bull Ford Powertrains (FIA; Formula1.com).
What’s next
The triple-header ends at the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay on October 9–11 (Formula1.com). After that, Formula 1 comes to Texas for the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas in Austin on October 22–25. Full schedule: 2026 F1 calendar.