Oscar Piastri drove a superb lights-to-flag at Bahrain to score his second victory of this season for McLaren. His teammate Lando Norris had a challenging race with a time penalty for the false start and yet recovered to finish third.
Piastri took the chequered flag by 15 seconds from George Russell, closing in the drivers’ championship to within three points of Norris while Max Verstappen could only manage sixth.
The cooler conditions invited most cars to start on soft tyres for an expected two-stopper, with Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton the most notable medium starters. Piastri made a good start from pole and led the early running while Russell passed Leclerc for second, reclaiming the position he lost with a grid penalty.
Norris made an even better start and blitzed from sixth to third, although it soon became apparent the McLaren driver had been outside his grid slot, which resulted him a five second time penalty. He attempted to pass Russell on the first stint but to no avail, with Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz and Andrea Kimi Antonelli slotting in behind.
From seventh Verstappen initially unable to make much progress, but he soon followed Antonelli past a struggling Sainz, as did Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda behind them.
With his five-second penalty in mind Norris boxed early on lap 11 to bolt on mediums, serving his penalty during the stop. The powerful undercut allowed him to stay in the hunt up front and he soon shot past Gasly once more.
Verstappen, meanwhile, did not have new sets of mediums available like his direct competitors and was forced to take the less performant hards on his lap 11 pitstop, with the Red Bull driver quickly reporting the compound had no grip. It was apparent on the timesheets too, with Verstappen dropped by Haas driver Esteban Ocon before being passed by Antonelli and Hamilton, falling to ninth.
By that stage Russell had pitted for mediums on lap 13, neatly covered off by leader Piastri on the following lap. All eyes were then on the Ferraris as they attempted to make their start on mediums count, but both Leclerc and Hamilton already curtailed their first stint after 17 laps, despite Leclerc protesting against it.
Leclerc did use his fresher tyres to put pressure on Norris ahead and passed the faster McLaren on lap 24, while teammate Hamilton also found some pace to pass Ocon for sixth. As they approached the halfway mark Piastri easily controlled the race with a six-second gap to Russell, Leclerc and Norris. Gasly held firm in fifth with Hamilton approaching.
After 27 laps – and just 16 laps on the hards – Verstappen had seen enough and stopped again for a used set of mediums, desperate to get off the harder compound that proved the wrong tyre due to the cooler track conditions. Verstappen was further troubled by two slow pitstops, with a slow front-right tyre change dropping him down the order.
On lap 33 the cards were reshuffled when the safety car came out for debris in Turn 3, caused by pieces of Sainz’s floor shearing off after contact with Tsunoda.
The convenient timing prompted most runners to make their second and last pitstop, with leader Piastri grabbing another fresh set of mediums that were to see him through to the finish. Ocon and Doohan, who had just pitted for hards, stayed out, as did Ocon and Verstappen. Mercedes bolted soft tyres on the cars of Russell and Antonelli, which the former called “audacious”.
At the restart Piastri led Russell, Leclerc, Norris, and Hamilton. Gasly was sixth with a slight tyre disadvantage, as was Ocon. Verstappen took the restart in eighth.
On the lap 34 restart Piastri held station ahead of Russell and Leclerc, while Hamilton passed Norris for fourth. Norris attacked but went off the track, deciding to give up the position to Hamilton to avoid another penalty.
Realising the job he had on his hands to bring the car home, Russell was forced into looking after his more brittle softs rather than using the grippier compound to put pressure on the imperious Piastri.
As Piastri disappeared into the distance, Russell instead came under threat from behind while he started suffering from electronic glitches, which affected his dashboard and DRS mechanism. Norris was on the front foot with his preferred mediums, passing Hamilton once more and then hounding Leclerc into the final 15 laps, finally getting the job done around the outside of Turn 4 on lap 52.
Lando’s move on George for second didn’t come off thanks to stout defending from the Mercedes driver, who denied McLaren a 1-2 finish.
Five seconds behind fourth-placed Leclerc Hamilton had a lonely end to the race to fifth, rallying from a tough qualifying session. Gasly bravely held off Verstappen until the Red Bull driver picked the Alpine off on the final lap, but Verstappen will still be reeling from his sixth place after a reality check for Red Bull.
Ocon did successfully keep a Red Bull at bay – driven by Tsunoda – to claim eighth, with the Haas teammate Oliver Bearman securing a double points finish after holding off Antonelli and Albon.
Sainz was the only retirement after a disastrous afternoon that spiralled out of control due to the damage the Williams man suffered for the Tsunoda contact, and also included a 10-second penalty for forcing Antonelli off the track.
In the drivers’ championship Norris safeguarded his lead, but saw Piastri close to within three points as he jumped Verstappen for second. Verstappen now trails Norris by 10 points, with Russell heading to next weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 14 points behind.
So a better race at Bahrain compared to Japan and yet it was McLaren who scored a double podium. Congratulations to Oscar Piastri with a strong drive to score his second victory in this year’s world championship.
Bahrain Grand Prix, race results:
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:35:39.435
2 George Russell Mercedes +15.499s
3 Lando Norris McLaren +16.273s
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +19.679s
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +27.993s
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull +34.395s
7 Pierre Gasly Alpine +36.002s
8 Esteban Ocon Haas +44.244s
9 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +45.061s
10 Oliver Bearman Haas +47.594s
11 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +48.016s
12 Alexander Albon Williams +48.839s
13 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +53.472s
14 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +56.314s
15 Jack Doohan Alpine +57.806s
16 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +60.340s
17 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +64.435s
18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +65.489s
19 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +66.872s
Carlos Sainz Williams DNF
Oscar Piastri has become the first multiple race winner of the 2025 season by taking a sublime victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix, the Australian driver putting in a cool and collected drive to seal P1 on his 50th start in F1 as well as marking McLaren’s first triumph in Sakhir.
After making a strong start from pole position – despite a close call from George Russell when the Mercedes driver locked up into Turn 1 – Piastri built a solid lead throughout the laps that followed.
While there was early trouble for team mate Lando Norris – who was hit with a five-second time penalty for being out of position in his grid box – the McLarens again looked impressive as the race played out, with the Briton working his way forwards.
And while Piastri’s position potentially looked under threat when a Safety Car emerged, the 24-year-old made a clean getaway at the restart and went on to rebuild a gap in the laps that followed, eventually crossing the line with a 15-second lead.
Russell ultimately took second, holding off a thrilling late chase from Norris, though the Silver Arrows driver will be investigated after the Grand Prix for a potential DRS infringement. Norris was just 0.774s behind Russell at the finish, a good recovery from the McLaren racer after a difficult Qualifying on Saturday.
Charles Leclerc had to settle for fourth – despite putting up a good fight against Norris during a scrap for third in the latter stages – ahead of Ferrari team mate Lewis Hamilton in fifth, while Max Verstappen snatched sixth place in the final moments on what had been a tough evening for the Red Bull man, having experienced issues at both of his pit stops.
Pierre Gasly scored Alpine’s first points of the campaign in seventh while Esteban Ocon followed in eighth, the Haas racer’s strategy of an early pit stop seemingly paying off. Yuki Tsunoda took ninth for Red Bull, with Ollie Bearman adding to Haas’ tally in 10th.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/piastri-storms-to-controlled-victory-in-bahrain-grand-prix-ahead-of-russell.47YQh0Ex2gkZcx58fRaRqJ
George Russell faces a penalty after opening the DRS on his Mercedes W16 outside of the DRS zone during the Bahrain Grand Prix. He will meet with the stewards at 6.45 pm UK time.
The FIA stewards have noted the infringement and will be fully investigating the incident after the race.
On lap 45, Russell was told by his Mercedes race engineer, Marcus Dudley, that a DRS issue had developed on the W16 and he could now only open it when told by the team.
Russell’s car also suffered from transponder issues, which may have affected the DRS of Lando Norris behind him, with it assumed that the McLaren was unable to detect the Mercedes in front of it.
The British driver crossed the line in second position behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. However, with Lando Norris just 0.774 seconds behind him, a time or grid penalty would see him lose this place. If Russell is handed a 5-second penalty, he would move to fourth.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/george-russell-faces-late-bahrain-gp-penalty-after-odd-mercedes-w16-issues/10713017/
Lando Norris believed his recovery to third in the Bahrain Grand Prix had a few positives, but rued a “messy race” in which he was narrowly beaten to second on-track by George Russell.
Norris found his way up to third at the start of the grand prix, although he copped a five-second penalty for rolling too far over his grid box at the start – he was in the right position, but couldn’t judge how far forward he was and pulled forward slightly.
Having been close to Russell before his first stop, the McLaren driver’s undercut had helped consume some of the penalty, but he had a smidgen of ground to make up to close Russell down.
On the restart following a lap-32 safety car brought out for debris, Norris then got jumped by both Ferraris; although he passed Lewis Hamilton to reclaim fourth, he had to give the place back as McLaren was worried he’d gone off-track at Turn 4.
He repassed his countryman but subsequently spent a long time battling with Charles Leclerc. A handful of botched attempts to overtake – one which Norris labelled himself a “muppet” for – played out, before he finally made the move stick at Turn 4 on lap 52.
“I didn’t think I was that far forward [in the grid box] I guess, nothing more than that,” Norris reflected after the race.
“A tough race; I made too many mistakes with the overtakes, being out of position, it was a messy race for me and I’m disappointed not to bring home a 1-2 for McLaren cause that would have been lovely at home. A tough one, but still a few positives.
“I mean, it was good racing throughout, so no complaints, just good fun – some good overtakes, but everyone hard and on the limit as it should be.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/norris-rues-messy-bahrain-race-where-he-made-too-many-mistakes/10713038/
Oscar Piastri was all smiles after converting pole position into a dominant victory during Sunday night’s Bahrain Grand Prix, having comfortably beaten Mercedes rival George Russell and McLaren team mate Lando Norris.
Piastri led from start to finish under the Bahrain International Circuit lights, nailing the initial getaway and then a Safety Car restart later in the race to earn his second Grand Prix win of the season and fourth in F1 overall.
It also marked a first triumph at the Sakhir venue for McLaren, who are owned by the island country’s sovereign wealth fund – adding to the celebrations for driver and team when the chequered flag dropped.
Reflecting on his pole, fastest lap and victory hat-trick, Piastri said: “It’s great to have this result out here. It’s been an incredible weekend, starting off with Qualifying yesterday. To finish the job today in style was nice.
“I can’t thank the team enough for the car they’ve given us – it’s pretty handy out there. It’s been a great weekend, and I’m very proud of what I’ve done this weekend as well.
“I’m very proud to do it here in Bahrain as well, it’s obviously a very important race for us given our owners. It’s never been a track that’s been kind to us, so it’s nice to finally have that first win for the team here.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/we-finished-the-job-in-style-piastri-very-proud-to-deliver-mclarens-first.5BVAx5z5gOnjPGym58OMMN
George Russell faced a penalty after opening the DRS on his Mercedes W16 outside of the DRS zone during the Bahrain Grand Prix. However, after a meeting with the stewards, the FIA confirmed that no penalty would be applied.
The FIA stewards initially noted the infringement and investigated the incident after the race.
On lap 45, Russell was told by his Mercedes race engineer, Marcus Dudley, that a DRS issue had developed on the W16 and he could now only open it when told by the team.
Russell’s car also suffered from transponder issues, which may have affected the DRS of Lando Norris behind him, with it assumed that the McLaren was unable to detect the Mercedes in front of it.
The British driver crossed the line in second position behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. However, with Lando Norris just 0.774 seconds behind him, a time or grid penalty would have seen him lose this place.
Norris fought hard with Russell in the latter stages of the race, but was unable to get the move done before the chequered flag. Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle commented: “Lando’s race craft tonight has not been his finest. It will just not fall for him.”
Following the race, Russell confirmed there was a brake-by-wire failure on his car contributing to the issues.
He added: “We were having all sorts of failures, one lap I clicked the radio button and the DRS opened. I hit close and backed off, so didn’t gain any advantage.”
The FIA has now released the following statement:
“The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 63 (George Russell), team representatives and Mr Pearson and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, telemetry and team radio evidence.
“The connection between the automated DRS activation system and the car failed due to issues with a timing loop provided by an external party. Therefore the FIA authorised manual activation of the DRS in accordance with Article 22.1 h. At the time the driver was experiencing a brake-by-wire issue and other electronic issues.
“He was at the time advised to use an auxiliary button in the cockpit which serves as a back up radio button but also serves as a manual DRS activation button.
“On the straight between turns 10 and 11 he tried to radio the team using this button but instead accidentally activated the DRS. The DRS was activated for a distance of 37 metres on a straight of approximately 700 metres. Whilst he gained 0.02 seconds, he gave up 0.28 seconds at the next corner to compensate. This was confirmed by telemetry. Accordingly whilst technically a breach occurred the Stewards decide that as there was no sporting advantage gained, no penalty is imposed.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fia-delivers-verdict-after-george-russells-drs-issue-scrutinised/10713017/