Max Verstappen claimed his first victory of the season in a chaotic rain-soaked Bahrain Grand Prix at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit, where treacherous conditions delayed the start by more than 90 minutes.
The Red Bull driver recovered after losing the lead at the start to Kimi Antonelli, eventually passing the Mercedes youngster and controlling the race to secure Red Bull’s first triumph with its own power unit. Antonelli finished second to strengthen his championship lead, while Lewis Hamilton recovered from an early tyre gamble that dropped him to 18th to take third for Ferrari.
Charles Leclerc finished fourth ahead of Isack Hadjar and Oscar Piastri, while New Zealand’s Liam Lawson produced an impressive drive to seventh after surging from 11th to fourth during the chaotic opening stages. Lawson’s latest points finish keeps him ninth in the championship and the highest-ranked driver outside Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull, while George Russell retired late with a suspected power-unit problem.
