Verstappen prevails to win crazy Bahrain GP in Malaysia

Max Verstappen survived a four-lap sprint to the finish to storm to victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia ahead of Kimi Antonelli after George Russell retired with five laps to go with an engine problem.

A thunderstorm hit the track around half an hour before the start of the race, with rain so heavy that the start had to be delayed by 40 minutes to allow the standing water to clear.

A bizarre pair of formation laps behind the safety car then had multiple drivers encountering engine software issues — related to the low revs spooling down the turbo and exhausting the battery — that jumbled the order and forced race control to suspend the start.

A red flag was thrown, and after an almost hour-long wait — during which time the cars were shuffled back into grid order while parked in pit lane — the drivers were released behind the safety car again to prepare for a standing start 90 minutes after the original start time.

By then the track appeared to have mostly dried, but eight drivers stuck with intermediate tires. They were quickly proved correct on what immediately became apparent was a still-slippery track, and another five drivers pitted at the end of the formation lap to switch to inters.

Nine drivers stuck it out on slicks, including front-row starter Hamilton, but it was the wrong decision. The intermediate drivers got far better starts and were multiple seconds a lap quicker in the greasy conditions during the opening minutes of the race.

The Mercedes drivers got the best launches of all, with Antonelli and Russell sweeping past Verstappen to take first and second in the opening stint, leaving the pole man reeling.

Before long, though, the Dutchman found his bearings, and by lap 6 he was past Russell at Turn 4.

Antonelli put up a mighty fight as the track gradually dried, and by lap 9 the crossover point was nigh.

But the tension of the strategic inflection was neutralized by Valtteri Bottas, who spun his Cadillac off the road at Turn 12, enabling the entire field to pit without losing positions.

Antonelli restarted the race on lap 13, but his launch from the final turn was poor, and Verstappen swept around his outside at Turn 1 to take the decisive inside line into Turn 2. Russell then opportunistically picked Antonelli’s pocket for second place at Turn 4.

Verstappen eked out a healthy advantage, leaving the Mercedes drivers to squabble between themselves.

Antonelli closed onto the back of his teammate and radioed that he was faster, angling for team orders. The team denied his request, instead offering an alternative strategy, but on lap 21 he did the job himself, getting down Russell’s inside at the same corner he’d lost the place originally.

But he had no answer to the pace of Verstappen, who galloped away to a 12s lead before Alex Albon’s Williams stopped with a gearbox issue on lap 43.

A virtual safety car became the full safety car, and just as racing was due to get underway, Russell’s engine expired with five laps remaining, leaving just Antonelli to try to pinch victory from the Dutchman.

But Verstappen’s restart was expert, and the 2017 Malaysia winner claimed a comfortable victory.

It was his first win of the season and the first win for Red Bull’s in-house engine program.

“It’s a really nice one after the year that we’ve had and the progression that we made,” he said. “I’m incredibly proud of everyone.

“To win our first race in our first year with our own power unit is pretty impressive.”

Antonelli finished second, having covered his teammate throughout the race before Russell’s engine expired.

The result takes Antonelli out to an 84-point title lead with up to seven grands prix remaining.

“I think today was the maximum we could’ve done,” he said.

“On our side, a lot of work to do — we’ve been struggling a bit more than usual — but still really happy to come away with P2.”

Lewis Hamilton recovered to a remarkable third after dropping to 17th after starting the race on slicks.

He rebuffed calls from his team to switch to inters during the race and then refused to pit during the early safety car, giving him a temperature advantage at the resumption that helped him scythe through the midfield and all the way up to fifth behind Isack Hadjar.

Hadjar’s defense was steadfast, and Hamilton’s offense was blunted by a switch to mediums, but the late safety car allowed him to change back to softs without losing time, and he swept past the Frenchman easily to claim his first podium since July’s British Grand Prix.

“I could see everyone just pulling away [at the start], and I could see on the screen it was a minute down, and I thought that was race over for us.

“But I just kept my head down. The guys did a great job with the pit stops … lots of chasing.

“Honestly, of all the years I’ve been here, this is the best race we’ve had here.”

Leclerc gave in to the late inters switch, which ultimately cost him race time, but by lap 20 he was up to speed and making good progress.

An early second stop undercut him past Piastri, and another service during the late safety car gave him the tires to demote Hadjar to fifth.

Oscar Piastri pitted at the end of the formation lap for intermediate tires, and was into the points by the end of the first racing lap despite the pit lane start.

McLaren switched to hard tires at the safety car, and though they took time to come up to temperature, they eventually overpowered other drivers on worn softs and mediums, hauling him to sixth, which became fifth after the safety car and 0.883s short of Hadjar in fourth.

Liam Lawson finished seventh ahead of Fernando Alonso, whose career experience and expertise at this circuit as a three-time winner delivered Aston Martin an improbable four points despite him having started the race on slicks.

Lando Norris almost rear-ended Piastri behind the late safety car and instead skated into the gravel and down to 11th, with two late passes returning him to ninth.

Arvid Lindblad completed the points-paying places in 10th ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto, Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz, Gabriel Bortoleto and Sergio Perez.
RESULTS