Max Verstappen finally ended his 2026 victory drought in spectacular fashion, winning a chaotic and rain-hit Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at the Sepang International Circuit while George Russell suffered a late retirement that delivered a major blow to his championship hopes.
Starting from his first pole position of the season, Verstappen recovered from an eventful opening phase to beat Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli by 2.307 seconds. Lewis Hamilton completed a remarkable recovery to finish third for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc fourth and Isack Hadjar fifth.
The victory was Verstappen’s first of the 2026 campaign and Red Bull’s first win of the season. It also came on a weekend that produced Formula 1’s first wet race of the year, with torrential rain forcing a lengthy delay before the field could finally get underway.
The race was originally scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. local time, but heavy tropical rain left significant standing water around Sepang. Race Control delayed the start while marshals and track sweepers worked to improve conditions.
When the cars finally ventured out for the formation procedure, the drama immediately escalated. Isack Hadjar aquaplaned into the gravel, while Verstappen and Hamilton both reported apparent acceleration and software problems. Hamilton subsequently stopped on the back straight before Ferrari managed to get the car moving again.
With several cars struggling in the treacherous conditions, the FIA suspended the start procedure and displayed the red flag. The original qualifying order was eventually restored, with Verstappen back on pole and Hamilton alongside him. The second attempt finally got underway after more than 90 minutes of disruption.
A TYRE GAMBLE TURNS THE RACE UPSIDE DOWN
The drying track created a huge strategic dilemma. Verstappen, Antonelli and Russell were among the drivers choosing intermediate tyres, while several others gambled on slicks.
Hamilton and Leclerc were among the biggest names to take the risk, but the decision immediately backfired. Hamilton dropped as far as 18th, while Leclerc also fell deep into the order after the Ferrari struggled for grip on the drying-but-still-slippery circuit.
At the front, Mercedes made the most of the conditions. Antonelli launched brilliantly from third and took the lead into Turn 1, with Russell following him into second. Verstappen initially dropped behind the two Mercedes cars but quickly found his rhythm.
The Red Bull driver passed Russell at Turn 4 on Lap 6 before beginning to close rapidly on Antonelli. Hadjar also moved through the field, overtaking Liam Lawson for fourth.
Then Valtteri Bottas changed everything.
On Lap 9, the Cadillac driver lost control at Turn 13 and ended up in the gravel, triggering the Safety Car. The timing could hardly have been better for the intermediate runners, who were finally able to switch to slick tyres as the track became increasingly suitable for dry-weather rubber.
The Safety Car compressed the field and effectively reset the race.
VERSTAPPEN TAKES CONTROL
Once racing resumed, Verstappen wasted no time.
Using the slipstream into Turn 1, the Red Bull driver attacked Antonelli around the outside and completed the pass through Turn 2. Russell then capitalised on the battle between the two to move past his Mercedes team-mate for second.
From there, Verstappen began to pull away.
Antonelli fought back and eventually reclaimed second place from Russell at Turn 4 on Lap 21, but the Italian had already lost valuable time to Verstappen. His afternoon became even more difficult when he ran wide at the final corner and clipped the pit-entry bollard.
Meanwhile, Hamilton was producing one of the drives of the race.
After being buried near the back following Ferrari’s slick-tyre gamble, the seven-time world champion began picking his way through the field, overtaking a series of rivals before reaching the top five. Leclerc followed a similar recovery path, eventually breaking back into the points.
The second round of pit stops brought another twist.
Russell stopped first among the leading trio, followed by Antonelli and Verstappen. Later, a Virtual Safety Car was deployed after Alex Albon stopped his Williams on track, allowing Verstappen to make another relatively cheap pit stop.
For a brief moment, Antonelli inherited the lead.
But Mercedes soon brought both cars in, and Verstappen was handed back the advantage. The situation changed again when the VSC became a full Safety Car, bunching the field together for one final shootout.
Then came the biggest championship moment of the afternoon.
RUSSELL’S TITLE BID TAKES ANOTHER MASSIVE HIT
As the field circulated behind the Safety Car, Russell suddenly slowed on the start-finish straight and was forced to retire with a suspected power-unit problem.
He had been running inside the top three and appeared set for another strong points haul. Instead, his Mercedes was classified 20th after completing 49 of the race’s 55 laps.
The retirement was especially damaging because Antonelli was running second.
Russell entered the weekend just 66 points behind his Mercedes team-mate after winning in Azerbaijan. With Antonelli scoring 18 points and Russell scoring none, the gap increased to 84 points with seven rounds still remaining.
It was another brutal swing in a title fight that had looked much tighter just one week earlier.
HAMILTON COMPLETES A STUNNING COMEBACK
With four laps remaining, the Safety Car returned to the pits and Verstappen delivered a clean restart.
Antonelli remained within striking distance, but the Red Bull driver never looked seriously threatened again.
Hamilton, meanwhile, finally broke through against Hadjar at Turn 1 to claim third place. Leclerc followed soon afterward, passing the Red Bull rookie to complete a remarkable Ferrari recovery.
Hamilton crossed the line just 4.919 seconds behind Verstappen, while Leclerc finished another 2.339 seconds behind his team-mate. Hadjar held fifth ahead of Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson.
Fernando Alonso claimed eighth for Aston Martin, while Lando Norris recovered from a late off-track excursion to finish ninth. Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad took the final point in 10th.
Nico Hulkenberg finished 11th for Audi, followed by Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto, Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon. Pierre Gasly was 16th, ahead of Carlos Sainz, Gabriel Bortoleto and Sergio Perez.
Russell, Albon and Bottas were the three retirements.
For Verstappen, however, the chaotic conditions produced exactly the result Red Bull desperately needed.
He started the weekend by taking his first pole of the year, survived the rain, the technical confusion, changing tyre conditions, Safety Cars and a fierce Mercedes challenge, then controlled the final restart to secure his first victory of 2026.
The win also carried an extra touch of symmetry. Verstappen was the last driver to win at Sepang before the circuit disappeared from the F1 calendar after 2017.
Now he has won there again but this time in a Bahrain Grand Prix staged thousands of kilometres away from Bahrain.
And after months of waiting, Verstappen finally has a win in 2026.
Adhe is part of the 88 Eight Box Editorial Team, covering JDM culture, motorsport, automotive technology, and industry news. The team focuses on delivering original automotive stories, reviews, and insights for enthusiasts worldwide.
