A tumultuous Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia witnessed the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team recover from a chaotic start to make their way back through the field and score points with both cars. It wasn't the race anyone expected, nor was it the race the team wanted. P6 and P7 was likely the best that was on offer today, regardless of how the race was executed, which is a result of our position as the fourth-fastest car on the grid at this part of the season.
Rain started to fall a few minutes before the cars went to the grid, thunder booming around the circuit while the rain became progressively heavier as the start approached, eventually requiring Race Control to delay proceedings. The formation lap finally rolled out behind the Safety Car, at 15:40, 40 minutes behind schedule. But this was a short-lived foray, with the Red Flag being thrown after two formation laps, with several cars limping on track. A long halt ensued, with the race finally getting underway at 16:33.
When the tyres were unwrapped from their blankets, the McLaren Mastercard cars were the only ones with Mediums fitted. The rest of the field was a mix of Soft and Intermediate compounds. Oscar made the call to box at the end of the first lap, swapping to an Inter ahead of the standing start. Lando kept going, but it became clear that the track wasn't ready for slicks. He and the other cars that hadn't fitted Inters dropped back through the field, and in the opening laps, were lapping around 15s slower.
Valtteri Bottas became stuck in the gravel on Lap 9, bringing out a Safety Car (SC) just as the dry runners started to outpace those on Inters. This imminent crossover point was poised to add further intrigue to the race, potentially rewarding Inter runners for a well-timed switch to slicks, while also posing the question as to whether those running on dries could extend their stint and regain some race time. Ultimately, the SC neutralised these questions and the majority of the grid aligned around a similar strategy.
Both cars pitted, Oscar from P10, Lando from P15, and both took on a Hard tyre. The middle part of the race featured some great midfield battles with both cars climbing through the field. The cars were running net P6 and P9 when the next round of pit stops began. At that point, the team split the strategies. Oscar taking another Hard tyre, Lando going to the other end of the range with a Soft.
They fell to P8 and P9 but had a significant tyre delta over the Ferraris and were catching Charles Leclerc, Oscar whittling down a 7.5s deficit to under two seconds, when a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed, Alex Albon suffering a suspected gearbox failure. The Ferraris took advantage of the VSC to stop, both McLaren Mastercard cars stayed out - but when marshals struggled to move the stricken Williams, and the VSC was upgraded to a full SC, both cars came in and double-shuffled. Oscar fitting a Medium, Lando another Soft.
The timing was a little unlucky, particularly for Oscar - but there was one more element of chaos to follow. George Russell stopped on track behind the SC, the pack closed together, and Lando, warming his tyres on the main straight, had to take avoiding action, and run into the gravel, dropping to P11. The race resumed with four laps remaining, he fought his way up to P9, while Oscar finished where he started, in P6.
The team will take the few days ahead of Singapore to reset and review before turning its attention to the Sprint event at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Andrea Stella: "It was a race packed with incidents, just as we'd expected. Setting aside any assessment of the decisions made at crucial moments - the tyres at the start, the timing of the pit stops - the reality is that this weekend our car package was fourth in terms of performance. Even if we'd got every decision spot on, I don't think we could have achieved any higher than Oscar's sixth place. Of course, we could have picked up a few more points with Lando had it not been for his excursion onto the run-off area at the second restart, but in terms of assessing our overall performance, it wouldn't have made a difference.
"We need to analyse the results of the last two races carefully and work out how to get our performance back to the level we saw around the summer break, when we secured two wins and three Pole positions. Certainly, some of our direct rivals have taken a significant step forward - such as Red Bull - and now it's up to us to respond so that we can get back into the fight for podium places and try to improve our position in both championships."
Kimi Antonelli came home second with George Russell unfortunately failing to finish after a suspected power unit issue in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. After a delayed start due to heavy rain, and then a subsequent aborted start sequence as several cars faced issues on the formation lap, the race finally got underway in mixed conditions. Both Kimi and George started on the Intermediate tyre, whilst several other cars opted for a slick tyre start. The Inter proved the correct choice and after both our drivers made lightning starts, they vaulted into first and second. After a lap 9 Safety Car afforded both cars the chance to take the Medium compound as the track dried, it became clear that we didn't have the pace to challenge the Red Bull of Max Verstappen for victory. Despite that, Kimi and George ran relatively untroubled in P2 and P3 and looked on course to secure a double podium. However, George suffered a suspected power unit issue which forced his retirement just five laps from the end. Kimi held on to P2 at the flag after a tough weekend for the team. Our lead in the Constructors' Championship has been trimmed to 151 points as we head to Singapore and the final race in this triple-header.
Toto Wolff: This has been our worst weekend of the season. It hurts, and I feel incredibly sorry for George and everyone in the team. George drove an outstanding race and was on course for a very strong result, but we let him down. The reality is that has happened too often this year, and that is not acceptable.
We were not quick enough, and we were not reliable enough in Malaysia. That is the truth. Both drivers kept fighting, stayed focused, and got everything out of the car that was possible though. Whilst George lost out through no fault of his own, Kimi did a very good job and deserved his podium.
Now we need to understand exactly what happened this weekend. We underperformed compared to our nearest competitors and our form in recent races. We will do so with our usual focus, by working diligently and being led by the data. We don't have many days before we are on track again, but we are determined to put on a better showing next week in Singapore.
Andrew Shovlin: Today was a difficult race to manage, particularly in the opening stages when we had to make several important decisions around tyre choice and crossover points as the conditions evolved. The team made good calls throughout the afternoon and we were able to maximise Kimi's race, bringing home a well-deserved podium. He drove a mature and controlled race and extracted everything that was available to him.
For George, it's incredibly frustrating. He was driving a strong race, managing the conditions well, and looked on course for a comfortable podium before his retirement. Losing a result like that at any race is painful, but especially when he has suffered so much bad luck so far this season.
Whilst there are positives we can take from today's race execution, we weren't quick enough to fight for the win. We have a lot of data to review and very little time before we are back on track in Singapore. Our focus now is on understanding the factors that have contributed to this weekend's performance and identifying where we can improve. Singapore presents a very different challenge, and our job over the next few days is to make sure we arrive there better prepared and in a position to be more competitive.
Laurent Mekies: "This is another milestone moment in the history of this Team: the first victory for us as a power unit manufacturer with Red Bull Ford Powertrains in its very first season! The credit goes to all the people involved who have been working incredibly hard on this project over the past five years. Everyone in Milton Keynes and at the track deserves this moment and should celebrate it as an important step towards many more victories in the future.
The first win of the season is a great way to finish what has been an extremely successful weekend overall. After showing strong pace in every session and securing our first pole position of the season yesterday, Max converted that performance into an outstanding P1 today. In often chaotic circumstances, he remained in control throughout the race, managed the conditions brilliantly, showed the strongest pace and delivered exactly the kind of performance we know he is capable of.
More broadly, this result confirms the progress we have been making in recent months. We were already close several times, and today we converted that pace. The Team has been working tirelessly to improve our package, and weekends like this are the reward for that effort.
There are naturally mixed feelings on the other side of the garage because Isack also showed very strong pace all weekend. We could have rounded off this weekend with another double podium; unfortunately, not everything went well with his car. Finishing fifth still represents a strong result considering where he started, but naturally it is frustrating when you know more was possible. We will analyse exactly what happened, take the positives from a weekend where both drivers were consistently competitive, and immediately turn our focus to Singapore.
For tonight, however, everyone should enjoy a well-deserved victory and an important milestone for this Team."
Scuderia Ferrari HP drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finished the Bahrain Grand Prix, held at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia in third and fourth place respectively. The race was full of twists and turns, with both drivers having to fight their way back through the field after a wrong tyre choice for the start saw them drop down the order in the opening laps. It was the team's tenth podium of the season, and Lewis's sixth. The 27 points scored today also consolidated the Scuderia's second place in the Constructors' Championship.
The race was due to start at 15:00, with Hamilton and Leclerc lining up in second and fourth places. However, a violent thunderstorm forced race control to delay the start by 40 minutes. After several laps behind the Safety Car, a widespread software issue led to the race being stopped. The race finally got underway at 16:30, 90 minutes later than originally scheduled, by which time the rain had stopped. The team therefore decided to start both SF-26s on Soft tyres. The choice of slicks proved costly in the early stages, with both Lewis and Charles dropping down the order. The Monegasque also sustained damage to his front wing on the opening lap following contact with Nico Hülkenberg and he had to pit for a replacement, taking the opportunity to switch to Intermediate tyres. The Safety Car, which appeared on track on lap nine, bunched up the field and that signalled the start of the Ferrari fightback. Hamilton worked his way through the field with a series of overtakes that quickly took him into the points and then the leading positions, followed not far behind by his team-mate. At two thirds distance, Lewis was fifth ahead of Charles.
In the closing stages, Alex Albon stopped on track, forcing race control to deploy the Safety Car. Both drivers pitted for fresh Soft tyres and, at the restart, Lewis was fourth ahead of Charles, following the retirement of George Russell. The race resumed on lap 51, and on the following lap Lewis managed to pass Isack Hadjar to move into third place. One lap later, Leclerc also got the better of the French driver, securing fourth place at the chequered flag for a solid team result.
The Formula 1 calendar is relentless and the teams now travel straight to Singapore for next Sunday's 17th race of the season at the Marina Bay street circuit.
Fred Vasseur: Overall our result is good, especially considering where we were at the end of the first lap. To finish third and fourth after dropping to the back of the field is a very strong comeback from the whole team.
The tyre choice on the grid was a difficult one: in those conditions, you can only judge from what you see around you on the grid and in the pit lane. We did not have the full picture of the track and, in the end, we got the call wrong. We will analyse everything carefully and make sure we learn from it for the future.
From that moment on, we stayed calm, executed well and made the right decisions. The strategy worked as intended, our pace was strong and both Lewis and Charles did an excellent job managing their tyres while fighting their way back through the field. Charles' race was made even more difficult by the need to stop after the first lap to replace the front wing following a collision, which makes his recovery to fourth place particularly impressive.
We scored good points, secured another podium and showed strong pace in difficult conditions.
James Vowles, Team Principal: "A difficult afternoon with moments where we looked to be in a good position, and, conversely, moments where we don't have the pace in order to be fighting for points at a track like this. It was an interesting day with rain coming in at exactly the right time causing a halt to proceedings whilst the monsoon passed. Then we had an unusual set of events where cars were unable to get around on their own power on the laps off the grid, requiring a red flag before we could start.
"It was a tricky call to determine whether to run the inters or slicks as everyone saw, so well done to the team for really committing with the inters; it was a good decision, and we were looking strong, as we pulled a clear pit stop gap, relative to cars behind. It was unfortunately short lived with a safety car that allowed everyone to close back in again, and from that point forwards, we didn't get it perfect, but also just simply didn't have the car pace we needed to make it work.
"We'll come back stronger in Singapore, but our focus is well and truly on getting this right for 2027."
Alan Permane: "It felt like a long race today, but it also went by in a flash. It's been great to be back here in Malaysia; standing on the grid in the pouring rain this afternoon felt like we'd never been away. This place always gives us a spicy race and that's certainly what we got.
"We definitely got the basics right today; the choice for Inter tyres was the correct one especially as the cars went out, you could see there was huge spray. For Liam it was quite a straightforward race, there were no threats from behind and we stopped under the Safety Car for the first set of Hard tyres and then stopped for the second set later on in the race. Arvid had a little bit of a tougher day, he suffered with a lot more tyre degradation than Liam did, but he's had good pace all weekend and did a great job getting past Nico [Hulkenberg] on that final lap, bringing home that extra point. Whilst we come away with some impressive points today, it's far from over, so we'll take all our learnings into Singapore to finish the triple header.
"A huge well done to everyone at track and back at home in Faenza and a huge congratulations to everyone at Red Bull Ford Powertrains - a first win in its first season - very impressive, congratulations!"
Mike Krack: "It's great to score four points and achieve our best result of the year, with Fernando in P8 and Lance in P12. Both drivers were in the mix throughout the afternoon, executing some strong overtakes and making the most of the opportunities that came their way. It's encouraging to convert the speed we showed in qualifying into race results. So much happened this afternoon, from the rainy conditions to the delayed start, so we need to conduct a thorough review of how things played out and some of the decisions we made. It's also important that we thank Bahrain and Malaysia for their fantastic collaboration in making this race possible with just a couple of months' notice."
TGR Haas F1 Team finished with Oliver Bearman 14th, and Esteban Ocon 15th, at Round 16 of the 2026 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, held Sunday at Sepang International Circuit.
The race start was postponed for 40 minutes due to torrential rainfall during the build-up, with the formation lap beginning behind the safety car. Both Bearman and Ocon took the Cinturato Green intermediate tires, but several drivers experienced hybrid power control software issues on the formation lap, prompting Race Control to suspend the start procedure. The field returned to the pit lane, and another delay of 50 minutes followed while the technical situation was rectified up and down the grid, before the race finally began behind the safety car.
The circuit conditions evolved during the interim, prompting a split strategy for the standing start on lap three, with Bearman lining up from 16th on Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires, while Ocon remained on intermediates in 17th position. The circuit still held sufficient damp patches, facilitating those on intermediates, enabling Ocon to leap up to eighth, while Bearman was shuffled down to 20th place. Ocon passed the Williams drivers to surge into sixth, before the safety car was called on lap 9 for Valtteri Bottas' stranded Cadillac, providing an opportune time for Ocon to box for Red soft tires as the circuit dried. Bearman also came into the pits, switching onto Yellow medium tires.
Ocon took the restart from sixth place and maintained position, before being passed by the recovering Ferrari and McLaren drivers, shuffling down to the foot of the top 10. Ocon came into the pits on lap 29, switching to White hard tires, re-emerging in 11th place, before coming in again on lap 41 for soft tires. Bearman, who took the restart from 20th place, came in for his second stop on lap 25 for hard tires, and gradually worked his way through the lower midfield, before he came into the pits once more on lap 39, changing onto another set of hard tires. A late safety car period, caused by Alex Albon's Williams coming to a halt, bunched up the field, and after a five-lap dash to the checkered flag Bearman classified 14th, with Ocon 15th.
TGR Haas F1 Team maintains seventh position in the Constructors' Championship on 27 points.
Up front Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen claimed victory, ahead of Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and Scuderia Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "What an eventful race. Firstly, conditions were very tricky, so we decided to split the risk. I regret that decision - to not split the strategy, that was the right thing to do, but we really should've then boxed Ollie as soon as we realised how much lap time he was going to lose. We thought the track was going to dry a lot quicker, and that wasn't the case. The positives are that Esteban's pace on the first stint on inters was very strong, and also the first stint on soft tires against Racing Bulls on hard were very strong. Unfortunately, on pit entry he went wide and our pit stop wasn't the best, so we lost position to one of the Racing Bulls and then pushed the new tires too hard, and from there, Esteban's race got destroyed. It was a very challenging race, there were some positives - and areas where we were strong, but we need to take this as an opportunity to improve overall and focus for Singapore to get back into contention."
Audi Revolut F1 Team fought fiercely in a chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, missing out on a point on the very last lap, as Nico Hulkenberg finished 11th, with Gabriel Bortoleto 18th.
The Sepang International Circuit was battered by a monsoon shower as car headed out to the grid, causing a delay to the start of the race. Once proceedings were underway, a split of tyre choices saw half the field start on intermediate tyres, with the other half on slicks. Both Audi Revolut F1 Team drivers opted initially for dry tyres but switched for inters at the end of the formation lap - a decisive choice to change that pushed them up the field.
As the race continued, Nico emerged as a serious points contender and was running as high as ninth in the closing stages. Gabriel's afternoon was compromised by contact with Carlos Sainz at the restart from the first Safety Car, which caused damage to his car and left him with a 10-second penalty. The race was blown wide open by another, late Safety Car, caused by Alex Albon's retirement, while further drama emerged with George Russell and Lando Norris running into trouble at the final restart.
Ultimately, Nico couldn't hold on to P9, being passed by Norris and Arvid Lindblad in the final laps and had to settle for 11th place. Gabriel crossed the line in P18, nursing his damaged car to the end.
The team will return to action in next week's Singapore Grand Prix, the final leg of the Asian triple-header.
Allan McNish, Racing Director: "It was a difficult race. The weather conditions at the start were right on the edge, the crossover point between tyres, which was reflected by the split on the grid between slicks and intermediates. Already from the formation lap, it became clear to us that the intermediates were the correct choice, so we made the change and were able to recover to roughly the position we had been in before stopping for slicks on lap eight.
"Unfortunately, Gabi had contact with Sainz, which caused some damage and required an additional pit stop, and he ultimately received a ten-second penalty as well. That effectively took him out of the fight for points. Nico, on the other hand, had a strong run throughout the race: I think the strategy and the tyre choices we made were the right ones. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough to bring us into the points, with Lindblad getting past Nico on the final lap."
"It's disappointing to miss out on the points on the final lap for the second race running. We have looked competitive throughout the weekend, but we need to keep working hard to manage to find a little more that will put us back in the top ten."
Flavio Briatore: "It was not the result we wanted today from where we started the race. Particularly with our competitors scoring and the current points difference in the Championship. We had performed well all weekend up until that point and looking at what happened in the race, we did not make the right calls or do a good enough job as a team. We, and some other teams, tried something different with the tyres and after that we did our best to recover but it did not pay off. However, the speed in the dry looked promising and there's still a lot of races left to chase down fifth place in the Championship."
The Cadillac Formula 1® Team faced a challenging and eventful Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, completing its first wet-weather running of the 2026 season after the race start was delayed by heavy rain.
Both drivers faced strategic tire decisions from the outset, with slicks and wet-weather tires presenting a significant gamble during the changing conditions. The team opted for slicks, but track conditions at the start ultimately favored those who committed to Intermediates.
Valtteri Bottas was forced to retire on Lap 9 after losing the car at Turn 13 on the wet track and beaching his MAC-26 in the gravel trap, while Checo Pérez brought his Cadillac home in P19. Despite the result, the Mexican driver's race provided the team with valuable data and experience in wet conditions, marking the first time Cadillac had run competitively on a wet track since entering the Championship.
The team will regroup ahead of the next race in one week, when the Marina Bay Street Circuit hosts the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, October 11.
Marcin Budkowski, Team Principal: "Today was a challenging race and a new experience for the team with our first wet running of the season. We took the decision to start both cars on slicks after the red-flag restart, hoping the track would improve quickly, but the conditions ultimately made the Intermediate tires the better choice. Valtteri unfortunately lost the car at Turn 13 and had to retire early, while Checo brought the car to the finish and collected some valuable data for us. There is a lot for us to learn from today, particularly around tire behavior and car set-up in these conditions, and this experience will be important for the races ahead. We will regroup quickly and look forward to Singapore next weekend, which will present a different challenge."
Max Verstappen claimed his first victory of 2026. The Dutchman took victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix, held at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. It was also an important success for his team, marking Red Bull's first win with an engine entirely designed and built in-house. Verstappen had to fight until the closing laps to secure the victory after a Safety Car bunched up the field in the final stages of the race.
The Bahrain Grand Prix was full of incidents, starting with a delayed start. Race Control postponed the start due to standing water in several corners of the circuit. When the race finally got under way, still in difficult conditions, there was significant variation in tyre choices: nine drivers opted for Intermediates, while the remainder of the field selected either Softs or Mediums.
From the opening laps it was clear that the track was still too wet for slick tyres. A further six drivers therefore quickly pitted to switch to Intermediates. After nine laps, the Safety Car was deployed following Valtteri Bottas' off-track excursion. At the restart, with the asphalt almost dry, all drivers returned to action on slick tyres. Over the course of the race, every compound in the range was used except the Full Wet.
Verstappen quickly built a margin over the two Mercedes drivers but saw his advantage wiped out by a Virtual Safety Car that was later upgraded to a full Safety Car. The Red Bull driver had in fact stopped ten laps before the neutralisation to fit a set of Softs. Both he and Kimi Antonelli, who eventually finished second, took advantage of the VSC to make an additional stop and fit another set of used Softs.
In the closing laps, Verstappen managed to hold off Antonelli and secure the victory. Lewis Hamilton finished third for Ferrari. The Ferrari driver was one of the few not to use Intermediates, choosing instead to start directly on Softs, on which he completed 31 laps. He then switched to a used set of Mediums before making a final stop during the Virtual Safety Car period for a set of used Softs, which he ran to the chequered flag.
Antonelli therefore followed an Intermediate-Medium-Soft-Soft strategy, while Verstappen opted for Intermediate-Soft-Soft-Soft, with Hamilton completing the race on Soft-Medium-Soft. The Sepang podium therefore featured three drivers from three different teams, each using a different strategy.
Dario Marrafuschi: "Sepang provided the first real opportunity this season to see significant use of the Intermediate tyre. In the conditions encountered today, its performance was positive, delivering a high level of grip and consistent performance throughout its stint length. In the closing laps, as the track continued to dry, a slight amount of graining appeared on the wet-weather tyres, although there were no particular wear concerns despite the highly abrasive surface.
The environmental conditions played a decisive role in the Malaysian Grand Prix. Temperatures were noticeably lower than those recorded in previous days and, following the downpour before the start, the track remained damp for much of the race. This helped keep tyre temperatures under control and reduced thermal degradation.
In this scenario, the Soft proved particularly competitive, enabling very long stints and delivering consistent performance, helped by teams gradually bringing it into the operating window tested on Friday. Some drivers managed to cover almost half the race on the softest compound, while the neutralisations prompted many teams to opt for the C4 in the closing stages. Both the Hard and Medium also displayed consistent and predictable behaviour, albeit with lower grip levels than the Soft, confirming themselves as viable options for both the frontrunning teams and those in the midfield."
