Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang in Malaysia to claim his first victory of the 2026 season. The Red Bull driver prevailed in a race disrupted by heavy rain, software failures and rapidly changing tyre conditions. George Russell, who needed a strong result in the title fight, retired late with a technical problem.
A delay of almost 90 minutes
The start was delayed by 40 minutes after a downpour. The race was then red-flagged after the formation lap when several cars, including those of Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, suffered software glitches that made throttle input ineffective. That stoppage lasted a further 53 minutes.
The combined delay approached an hour and a half, while the track continued to evolve before and during the race. The unusual opening placed as much emphasis on managing systems and tyres as on outright pace.
Verstappen made the conditions count
Kimi Antonelli and George Russell initially moved ahead on intermediate tyres after the race got under way. Verstappen soon began his recovery. On lap six, he passed Russell at Turn 4 and started pressuring leader Antonelli.
The race changed again on lap nine when Valtteri Bottas lost control at Turn 13 and ended up in the gravel. His crash brought out the safety car and altered the tyre picture: as the circuit dried, slick tyres became the faster option.
At the restart, Verstappen went around Antonelli at Turn 1 to take the lead. Russell also moved ahead of his Mercedes teammate, but the team’s promising position did not last.
Russell suffers another setback
Late in the race, Russell retired with a technical failure. The available reports do not specify which component failed, but the retirement further damaged his championship prospects. No points totals or updated standings are provided in the available material.
Verstappen held on to win. His first victory of the season reflected more than Red Bull’s pace: the team and driver negotiated the rain delay, software problems, a safety-car restart and the transition between tyre types.
For Mercedes, a race that had begun with both drivers in contention ended as a missed opportunity. Russell failed to finish, while Antonelli lost the lead at the restart. Verstappen, by contrast, converted an unstable race into the result Red Bull needed.
