Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia: Verstappen wins from pole at a soaked Sepang, and a late Mercedes failure reshapes the F1 standings

The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia finally gave Max Verstappen the win he had been chasing all year. Starting from pole at the Sepang International Circuit on Sunday, October 4, the Red Bull driver survived a rain soaked, twice delayed start and two Safety Car periods to beat Kimi Antonelli by 2.307 seconds, with Lewis Hamilton recovering to third for Ferrari.

It was Verstappen’s first victory of 2026 and his first since the 2025 season finale in Abu Dhabi, according to Sky Sports. It was also the first Grand Prix win for the new Red Bull Ford Powertrains engine, which means Ford is back on the top step of Formula 1 for the first time in 23 years. The bigger twist came behind him: George Russell, Antonelli’s only realistic title rival, stopped with five laps to go and scored nothing.

Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia result: the top ten

The official classification, as published by ESPN and matched by GPFans, ran over 55 laps instead of the scheduled 56 after the delayed start.

Pos	Driver	Team	Gap	Points
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:47:14.808	25
2	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+2.307s	18
3	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+4.919s	15
4	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+7.258s	12
5	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	+8.571s	10
6	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+9.454s	8
7	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+12.753s	6
8	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+13.372s	4
9	Lando Norris	McLaren	+13.993s	2
10	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+15.928s	1

Did not finish: George Russell (Mercedes), Alex Albon (Williams), Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac).

Just 15.9 seconds covered the whole top ten at the flag. That tells you how much the late Safety Car bunched the field and how little room anyone had to breathe in the closing laps.

Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes, second in the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia — Kimi Antonelli, pictured earlier in 2026, finished second and extended his championship lead. Photo: Liauzh, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How the race unfolded

Heavy rain hit Sepang before the start. Formula 1’s own race report says the first attempt to get going was suspended because of standing water and power unit software problems affecting several cars, and Sky Sports described two separate delays before the race finally got away. Hamilton had qualified alongside Verstappen on the front row, but a gamble on slick tyres in wet conditions cost him places early on. He spent the rest of the afternoon climbing back.

Valtteri Bottas’s early exit in the Cadillac brought out the first Safety Car, and most of the field used it to switch from intermediates to slicks. Alex Albon’s Williams later stopped on track, which triggered a second Safety Car. Russell was running third behind that Safety Car when his Mercedes lost power on the home straight with five laps left. Sky Sports reported it as a suspected power unit failure.

Verstappen kept his head through all of it. “I’m incredibly proud of everyone, and it’s just super nice to win here,” he said afterwards, according to Formula 1.

Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari, third in the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia — Lewis Hamilton recovered to third after losing ground at the start. Photo: Liauzh, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

F1 standings after Sepang: what Russell’s DNF really costs

This was round 16 of 23, so seven rounds remain. According to the standings published on Wikipedia’s race page and matched by GPFans, the top three now look like this:

Driver	Team	Points	Gap
Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	320	Leader
George Russell	Mercedes	236	84
Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	214	106

In the constructors’ championship Mercedes have 556 points to Ferrari’s 405.

Here is the simple maths. An 84 point gap with seven rounds left means Russell has to outscore his teammate by an average of 12 points every weekend just to draw level. That is roughly the difference between winning and finishing fifth, every single time. One mechanical failure on a wet Sunday in Malaysia has turned a title fight into something close to a procession for the 20 year old Italian.

George Russell in the Mercedes, who retired from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia — George Russell’s Mercedes stopped with five laps to go while he was running third. Photo: Liauzh, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Why the Bahrain Grand Prix was held in Malaysia

If the name confused you, you are not alone. The Bahrain Grand Prix was originally due to run at the Bahrain International Circuit in April, but it was pulled from the calendar after war broke out in the Middle East this year. Formula 1, the FIA, Bahrain and Malaysia then agreed to stage it at Sepang under the Bahrain name, with Bahrain keeping the ticket revenue. It slotted neatly between Azerbaijan and Singapore in the Asian leg of the season.

It was the first Formula 1 race at Sepang since the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix, a nine year gap. Sepang has always been known for tropical afternoon rain, and Sunday was a reminder of why teams used to fear it.

Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, host of the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix — Sepang International Circuit hosted Formula 1 for the first time since 2017. Photo: mondayblues, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What’s next: Singapore Grand Prix

There is no rest. The Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit is next, and it is a Sprint weekend. The main race starts at 8pm local time on Sunday, October 11. That is 12pm GMT, 1pm BST, 8am ET and 5pm PKT.

Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia: Verstappen wins from pole at a soaked Sepang, and a late Mercedes failure reshapes the F1 standings

NetSports 247 Editorial Team

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