Verstappen breaks 2026 win drought as Russell suffers huge championship blow

After a wait of almost two hours and an extremely eventful build-up to the start, the Bahrain Grand Prix finally got underway in chaotic fashion, with mixed conditions immediately shaking up the order and different tyre strategies producing contrasting fortunes across the field. Mercedes made the perfect getaway, with Kimi Antonelli surging into the lead ahead of team-mate George Russell, while Max Verstappen slipped to third.

The leading trio all started on intermediate tyres, while Ferrari opted for a different approach by sending both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc out on softs. The gamble backfired badly, with both Ferrari drivers losing a huge number of positions and dropping outside the top 10.

Leclerc's difficult start was compounded by front-wing damage, forcing him into the pits for a replacement. Hamilton followed a lap later to switch back to intermediates, effectively confirming Ferrari's costly strategic mistake.

At the front, Verstappen soon began his fightback. The Dutchman first swept past Russell, who was unable to respond, before setting his sights on Antonelli. Just as Verstappen appeared poised to make his move for the lead, Valtteri Bottas went into the gravel on lap nine, triggering a safety car and allowing all the frontrunners to pit and switch to slick tyres.

At the restart on lap 13, Verstappen muscled his way past Antonelli around the outside of Turn 1, with Russell also taking advantage to overtake his team-mate. The championship leader consequently dropped from first to third.

On lap 21, Antonelli reclaimed second place, while Verstappen continued to pull away at the front. There was also contact between Gabriel Bortoleto and Carlos Sainz at Turn 2, with the stewards handing the Audi driver a 10-second penalty for the incident.

Hamilton, meanwhile, steadily worked his way back through the field with impressive pace, eventually closing in on Isack Hadjar in the battle for fourth. After patiently biding his time for several laps, the seven-time world champion finally made his move on lap 41 to take the position.

The closing stages were disrupted on lap 43 when Alexander Albon ground to a halt, prompting Race Control to call a Virtual Safety Car. With the Thai driver's car stuck in gear and the marshals unable to move it behind the barriers, the situation eventually required a full Safety Car.

The timing of the neutralisation allowed the leading runners to dive into the pits without sacrificing track position. Piastri remained out for an extra lap before making his own stop, allowing Hamilton to move back into fifth and resume his chase of fourth-placed Hadjar.

The championship picture took another dramatic turn in Malaysia after George Russell was forced to retire in the closing stages, potentially allowing Kimi Antonelli to make a significant gain in the standings.

Russell appeared to suffer a power unit problem and brought his W17 to a halt at Turn 1 while the field was still circulating behind the Safety Car. With Antonelli running in second place, the Italian is currently on course to increase his championship lead by a further 18 points.

The late setback could prove particularly costly for Russell, while Antonelli finds himself in an increasingly strong position in the title battle heading into the final part of the season.

Russell’s retirement promoted Hamilton to fourth, before the Ferrari driver eventually found a way past Hadjar to secure a podium finish and complete an impressive recovery in a race that had initially looked heavily compromised.

Verstappen, meanwhile, retained the lead at the restart and went on to claim his first victory of the season, with Antonelli crossing the line in second place.