2026 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix 199
Follow Ferrari at the relocated 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix, exceptionally being held at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. This archive covers practice, qualifying and the race, alongside strategy, tyre performance, technical analysis and every major development involving Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari. For full event history, circuit context, records and Ferrari’s past Bahrain Grand Prix performances, visit our Bahrain Grand Prix circuit guide.
How Lewis Hamilton’s composure masked Ferrari pit-wall errors at Sepang
The Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang once again highlighted Lewis Hamilton’s talent at Ferrari, with the seven-time world champion managing to recover from a serious strategy error by the pit wall. Despite being left with a compromised car after the decision to use the soft tyres, Lewis Hamilton produced an outstanding display of sensitivity, pace and race management. The major concern remains Ferrari’s handling of race strategy and the way the team communicates its decisions.
The Malaysian race provided another example of how Lewis Hamilton’s experience can limit the consequences when circumstances turn against Ferrari. After an impressive qualifying performance, the Briton had to deal with a situation that quickly became far more complicated than expected, raising further questions over the team’s decision-making during a weekend in which tyre behaviour at Sepang was always expected to play a major role.
Lewis Hamilton manages Ferrari’s strategy mistake
Without taking anything away from the excellent Charles Leclerc, the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia once again confirmed the enormous talent of Lewis Hamilton. At Sepang, the Ferrari driver became almost the perfect embodiment of the message “never give up”. It was a race in which he was not only genuinely quick, but also displayed the complete range of qualities that have defined his Formula 1 career. Hats off, Mr Lewis.
The race began with an immediate setback. Ferrari came up with what appeared to be a clever idea: start on the soft tyres, survive the opening laps and then begin building pace while potentially avoiding a pit stop. On paper, the strategy looked intelligent. The problem was that the conditions in which it was applied were nowhere near suitable for it. It became a major mistake that left both Ferrari drivers in serious difficulty.
Unlike Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton was also unable to correct the pit wall’s mistake. He was forced to remain on track and drive an almost unmanageable car for at least ten laps. It became a genuine nightmare, but one that Lewis Hamilton handled superbly. He never gave up and consistently kept driving errors out of the equation despite the difficult circumstances.
The episode once again put Ferrari’s strategic execution under the spotlight. Readers can follow the team’s broader pit-lane decisions, stop timing and race-management trends through the Ferrari pit-stop and strategy data.
Lewis Hamilton remains a formidable Formula 1 driver
“On this track, the tyres won’t start working before ten laps,” Lewis Hamilton said as he prepared to line up in second position on the grid. Ferrari’s pit wall believed that two or three laps would be enough before the restart and convinced Lewis Hamilton that this would be the case. The Ferrari driver could also have opposed the decision and did not do so, meaning he shares part of the responsibility. Next time, greater attention will be required.
But the question remains: why were dozens of technicians, supported by all the technology available to a Formula 1 team, unable to anticipate such a scenario? There is no obvious answer. It must also be acknowledged that almost half of the grid encountered the same problem, which provides Ferrari with some mitigation. Even so, knowing that others made the same mistake offers little consolation. Lewis Hamilton will have taken note for the future.
There is still satisfaction in knowing that he gave everything and never questioned his own ability for even a second. At 41 years of age, after producing an excellent qualifying performance and then finding himself having to fight back from the rear of the field, Lewis Hamilton refused to become discouraged. That is what shows the Briton remains intact as a racing driver: his talent does not disappear even in circumstances such as these.
The performance reflected a continued desire to compete at the highest level and a fierce competitive spirit. Those characteristics are essential in Formula 1, particularly when wearing Ferrari red and pursuing the dream of achieving something important in arguably the most difficult environment of all. Lewis Hamilton deserves credit. He remains a great champion, and even if he ultimately wins nothing with Ferrari, he has still managed to win people over after a disastrous 2025 season. More coverage of his Ferrari campaign can be found in the Lewis Hamilton section.
Ferrari still has a major problem to address
The final issue concerns public statements and the way Lewis Hamilton conducts himself in front of the cameras. He is accustomed to speaking clearly, with little politics and considerable directness. It is the approach of a leader who is not afraid to acknowledge his own mistakes or expose his weaknesses. He is a figure of enormous stature, but unfortunately Ferrari does not always follow the same approach in its own communication.
Ferrari’s senior leadership continues, on too many occasions, to present versions of events that appear at the very least imaginative. It is not an approach that helps the team. The hope is that, internally at least, public-facing statements give way to a more direct assessment of reality. Considering the repeated mistakes made over recent seasons, however, it is difficult to be fully convinced. Hopefully, this time, that concern proves misplaced.
The team principal is certainly one person who could do more. Neither the individual nor his commitment to Ferrari can be questioned, but his media approach can. A repeated tendency to distort reality for personal advantage is never helpful. It can affect judgement and establish precedents that later become difficult to ignore. This appears to be one of Ferrari’s biggest problems as a team.
The challenge is therefore not only to give Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc a faster Formula 1 car, but also to improve how decisions are made, assessed and communicated when races become complicated. Sepang showed once again that driver quality can sometimes reduce the consequences of a strategic mistake, but it cannot permanently solve the underlying problem.
Ferrari behind the scenes: slick tyre decision made after watching safety car onboard footage
Ferrari’s decision to start both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on slick tyres at Sepang was influenced by onboard footage from the safety car, according to radio exchanges between the drivers and the pit wall. The images made the circuit appear significantly drier than it actually was, contributing to a tyre choice that immediately put both Ferrari drivers on the back foot in Malaysia.
Ferrari’s slick tyre choice at Sepang
Much has been said about Ferrari’s decision to start both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on dry-weather tyres at Sepang. It quickly proved to be the wrong choice, leaving both Maranello drivers facing a difficult race from the outset.
The tyre decision had been one of the major strategic questions surrounding a weekend in which Pirelli’s Sepang compounds and Ferrari’s SF-26 were already under close scrutiny.
Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur defended the decision by pointing out that “50% of the cars had chosen slicks” and that the teams would “only find out on the first lap whether the choice was right or wrong”. He added that “at that point, it was too late to pit”.
Ferrari made the decision after watching the safety car onboard
Frédéric Vasseur had also stressed that the pit wall only had “the information coming from the track to the pits” when Ferrari made its decision.
Analysis of the team radio exchanges between the drivers and their engineers subsequently revealed another important detail: Ferrari opted for slick tyres after watching onboard footage from the safety car. The conversation took place while the cars were waiting in the pit lane before the reconnaissance lap ahead of the grid start.
Lewis Hamilton told the team: “The Mercedes are on intermediates.”
Ferrari replied: “Lewis, we’ve seen the track is dry from the safety car onboard footage. You’ll see it yourself when you go out on track.”
Lewis Hamilton then asked: “Does Charles have the same tyres?” Ferrari confirmed: “We confirm it, Lewis.”
The safety car footage therefore provided an indication that ultimately proved misleading. Max Verstappen also suggested as much during his post-podium conversation with Lewis Hamilton, explaining: “The track didn’t look wet, but there was still a lot of water on the asphalt.”
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc immediately recognised the problem
Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc realised almost immediately that Ferrari’s initial call had been problematic. During the reconnaissance lap, both drivers reported how difficult it was to manage slick tyres on the wet surface.
Despite those warnings, Ferrari stuck with its original plan and sent both cars to the starting grid on dry-weather tyres. The decision became another significant example of how rapidly tyre strategy can change in mixed conditions, an area that can also be explored through the Ferrari Pit Stop & Strategy Statistics.
Lewis Hamilton warned the pit wall: “This track won’t dry for at least 10 laps.”
Charles Leclerc also questioned the decision, saying: “At the moment it’s very wet. I’m driving almost at my normal pace. Do you think we should come in for intermediates?”
Ferrari nevertheless maintained the slick tyre choice for the start. The radio exchanges reveal that the decision was not made blindly: the team had studied the available images from the circuit, but the safety car onboard footage did not accurately convey how much water remained on the surface.
The episode adds another layer to the unusual conditions surrounding the Malaysian weekend, with further event information available in the 2026 Bahrain GP at Sepang guide.
Charles Leclerc warns F1 drivers can lose control of 2026 cars in wet conditions
Charles Leclerc has raised a serious concern about the behaviour of Formula 1’s new-generation cars in wet conditions, warning that there are situations in which drivers do not have full control over either the car or the power delivered by the Power Unit. The Ferrari driver made the comments after the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, where the first major wet-weather test of the 2026 regulations produced chaos and renewed debate over how much control drivers actually have.
A disastrous wet-weather test for the 2026 F1 cars
There had been considerable curiosity throughout the Formula 1 paddock over how the cars created under the 2026 technical regulations would behave in rain and on a wet circuit. Malaysia provided the first significant answer, and it was far from encouraging.
The chaos that unfolded during the formation lap before the first attempted start was unprecedented in Formula 1 history and triggered embarrassment and controversy. The unusual conditions at Sepang formed part of an already demanding weekend, with the wider event context available in the 2026 Bahrain GP at Sepang guide.
During the post-race press conference, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton compared what happened on track — with several cars being stopped by extraordinary software problems — to Lego racing. However, the two world champions were not the only drivers to voice criticism.
Speaking to Sky Sport F1 after Sunday’s race, Charles Leclerc raised a more specific warning that revived a debate already heard earlier in the season: how much control drivers truly have over these new cars. The Ferrari driver’s comments are particularly significant because they concern not simply performance, but the interaction between software, Power Unit delivery and the driver’s ability to manage the car.
Charles Leclerc warns drivers do not always have full control
Asked whether the 2026 cars could be driven safely in wet conditions, Charles Leclerc acknowledged that they could, but stressed that risks remained.
“There are definitely risks. They can be driven, yes. But there are risks: what we don’t like, and I think it’s the same for all drivers, is that there are situations where we don’t have control of the car and the power we receive from the Power Unit,” Charles Leclerc said.
The concern is not entirely new, given the increasingly pervasive role of software in managing the new-generation Formula 1 cars. However, the clarity of the Ferrari driver’s warning gives the issue additional weight, particularly after the problems witnessed in Malaysia.
The comments also reinforce the importance of understanding how the 2026 regulations are affecting the relationship between driver input, software management and Power Unit behaviour, an area that remains central to Ferrari technical analysis as teams continue developing their new cars.
FIA and Formula 1 face pressure to reduce the risks
Charles Leclerc’s concern goes beyond whether the cars are simply capable of circulating on a wet track. The key issue is that, in certain situations, drivers may not have complete control over the power being delivered to them, creating a level of uncertainty that they do not want to face behind the wheel.
The hope is that the corrective measures already approved by the FIA and Formula 1 for 2027 will at least help reduce and contain these risks. After what happened at Sepang, the subject of driver control over the new cars is likely to remain an important part of the discussion surrounding the 2026 technical regulations.
For further coverage of the Monegasque driver’s season and comments from within the team, the latest updates are available in the Charles Leclerc Ferrari news section.
Why Ferrari could not keep Lewis Hamilton on soft tyres at Sepang
Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s tyre strategy attracted plenty of attention during Sunday’s race in Malaysia, but one of the most important decisions was dictated not by preference but by Formula 1’s sporting regulations. Despite the Grand Prix being officially declared a wet race, Lewis Hamilton used only dry-weather tyres at Sepang, meaning Ferrari was still required to put him on a second dry compound.
Ferrari’s strategy with Lewis Hamilton at Sepang
There was considerable discussion surrounding the strategy adopted by Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari during the Malaysian race. Two moments came under particular scrutiny: Ferrari’s decision not to start on intermediate tyres and Lewis Hamilton’s determination to remain on used soft tyres while the circuit was drying.
The latter decision ultimately allowed the seven-time Formula 1 world champion to recover several important positions by making one fewer pit stop than some of the drivers running ahead of him. It was another example of how decisive tyre behaviour at Sepang could become as track conditions evolved.
However, there was another specific moment in Lewis Hamilton’s race that deserves closer attention. It involved both strategy and the regulations and was a detail that many viewers may have missed during the live broadcast of the Grand Prix.
Why Lewis Hamilton had to use the medium tyres
At his first pit stop, Ferrari fitted Lewis Hamilton with medium tyres. The #44 immediately described them as “terrible”, although he was still able to continue his recovery during the stint.
Lewis Hamilton later returned to his preferred soft tyres for the final stint after making his next pit stop during the race neutralisation that followed the retirement of Alex Albon’s Williams.
Some questioned why Ferrari fitted the medium compound rather than another set of soft tyres at the first stop. Under the regulations, however, Lewis Hamilton was required to complete at least one lap on the medium tyres despite the race having been declared wet.
The rule requiring drivers to use at least two different dry-weather tyre compounds during a Grand Prix is waived only when the driver actually uses one of the two wet-weather compounds: the intermediate or the full wet.
Normally, that distinction is largely irrelevant during a race officially declared wet. Lewis Hamilton’s Malaysian Grand Prix was an unusual exception because, despite Race Direction declaring a wet race, he did not use either intermediate or wet tyres at any stage.
Readers can examine the different compounds and stint patterns in greater detail through the F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis.
The F1 regulation Ferrari had to respect
In Lewis Hamilton’s specific case, the requirement to use two different dry-weather compounds therefore remained in force. Had he completed the entire Grand Prix exclusively on soft tyres, he would have faced disqualification.
Ferrari fortunately remained alert to the regulatory requirement and ensured that Lewis Hamilton fulfilled it by using the medium tyres. The relevant requirement is explicitly set out in Article B6.3.6 of the sporting regulations:
“Unless they have used intermediate or wet-weather tyres during the Race, each driver must use at least two (2) different specifications of dry-weather tyres during the Race, at least one (1) of which must be a mandatory Race dry-weather tyre specification (Article B6.1.2).”
The detail helps explain why Ferrari’s medium-tyre decision was effectively unavoidable rather than simply an alternative strategic choice. The wider context of the Malaysian weekend, including the unusual conditions at Sepang, can also be found in the 2026 Bahrain GP at Sepang guide.
Could Ferrari have avoided its Sepang strategy mistake by splitting the risk?
Charles Leclerc’s fourth place and Lewis Hamilton’s third tell only part of Ferrari’s story at Sepang. After a disastrous start from a strategic point of view, the SF-26 recovered to the leading positions thanks to competitive race pace and the numerous neutralisations that repeatedly reshuffled the field.
But precisely because Ferrari showed that it had strong pace, another question becomes even more interesting: how much could the team have achieved if the pit wall had managed the opening phase differently?
There is no definitive answer. As we also highlighted in our own analysis, the repeated Safety Cars continually reset the gaps, making it impossible to establish with certainty what Ferrari would have achieved with another strategy. Doing so would require a crystal ball.
There is, however, another question that is perhaps even more important: with two Ferraris on track, why did the team not diversify its strategy?
Ferrari put both cars on slicks in uncertain conditions
The situation was particularly delicate. Following the delayed start and the change in track conditions, Ferrari chose slick tyres for both cars. The decision initially proved costly, while those starting on Intermediates were able to gain ground rapidly.
That was one of the key points we highlighted in our video. Ferrari had two cars available and, in such uncertain circumstances, could potentially have used one of them as an immediate reference for understanding how the track was developing.
This does not mean that a different strategy would automatically have guaranteed a podium. It simply means Ferrari could have divided the risk: one car on slicks and the other on Intermediates, giving the team two different scenarios to follow.
The broader tyre picture from the Malaysian weekend can also be explored through our analysis of how Pirelli’s Sepang compounds suited the Ferrari SF-26, while the complete compound and stint sequences can be compared through the F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis.
Charles Leclerc says Ferrari must take a step forward on strategy
After the race, Charles Leclerc acknowledged that the initial decision had not been the correct one. The Monegasque explained that Ferrari tends to choose the more cautious solution and admitted that, in those situations, other teams are sometimes able to make more effective decisions.
The comparison made by the Ferrari driver was very specific: Red Bull.
According to Charles Leclerc, Ferrari needs to take a step forward in the way it manages strategy. It is an important admission because the discussion is not simply about how fast the car is. It is also about the team’s ability to read the race as circumstances change.
Why not put the two Ferraris on different strategies?
This is where the central issue emerges. If Ferrari was not completely certain that the circuit was ready for slick tyres, why not use its two cars to cover both possibilities?
With two cars, a team can take a risk with one while protecting itself with the other. If the track had dried quickly, the Ferrari on slicks could have gained an advantage. If conditions had remained too wet, the car on Intermediates could have limited the damage.
It would effectively have given the team a form of strategic insurance. Not a guarantee of success, but one more possibility.
The decision can also be viewed alongside Ferrari’s wider strategic execution, which can be tracked through the Ferrari pit-stop and strategy data.
Charles Leclerc explains the downside of splitting strategies
Charles Leclerc’s explanation also opens another discussion. He pointed out that dividing the strategies in those conditions would have created the risk of one driver having an excellent race while the other was heavily penalised by the opposite choice.
That is an entirely understandable consideration. If two team-mates receive different strategies, one can suddenly find himself with a huge advantage over the other.
But that leads to another question: should that really be the main concern when a team is trying to maximise its overall result?
Should the team result come first?
Formula 1 is an individual sport, but it is also a team sport. Lewis Hamilton races for his own result. Charles Leclerc races for his own result. Ferrari, however, is also competing in the Constructors’ Championship.
The pit wall therefore has to pursue the highest possible combined points total. If one strategy proves clearly superior to the other, one driver will inevitably benefit more than his team-mate.
That does not necessarily mean the team made the wrong decision. It could simply mean Ferrari deliberately chose to cover two different possible race scenarios.
The season-long balance between the two drivers can be followed in the Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton season comparison.
When one Ferrari is already out of position, risk can become a weapon
There is another, more specific situation to consider. If one driver has already fallen a long way from the leading positions, that car could be the one used to try something different.
An aggressive strategy can become an opportunity. If it works, the team gains. If it fails, the damage is more limited because that car was already not ideally placed to secure a major result.
That is a very different philosophy from committing both cars to precisely the same approach.
Two Ferrari cars mean two strategic opportunities
This is probably the most important point. Having two cars does not simply mean twice the opportunity to score points. It also offers a team the chance to cover different scenarios.
One Ferrari can follow the more conservative strategy while the other takes a more aggressive approach. One can cover a rival while the other anticipates a change. One can use one tyre compound while its team-mate tries the alternative.
In certain situations, that flexibility can turn having two cars into a major strategic advantage.
Ferrari put all its eggs in one basket at Sepang
At Sepang, Ferrari essentially committed both cars to the same direction. When that decision initially proved wrong, both drivers paid the price.
The problem was therefore not simply the decision to use slicks. It was also the decision to expose both cars to the same risk.
As we highlighted in our video, if Ferrari had doubts about the track conditions, it could have sent only one car out on slicks and observed how the situation developed before committing completely to that approach.
Red Bull becomes Charles Leclerc’s reference point
Charles Leclerc’s comments therefore carry even greater significance. The Ferrari driver did not simply acknowledge that the Sepang strategy had been wrong. He also recognised that other teams more frequently make the right decisions in similar situations and specifically identified Red Bull as a benchmark.
For Ferrari, that should be a warning sign. The challenge is not merely deciding which tyre to fit. It is understanding when to take a risk, how much risk to accept and, above all, how to use two cars to reduce the team’s overall exposure.
A fast Ferrari is not enough without strong execution
The Sepang race demonstrated something else as well. Ferrari had enough performance to recover after its disastrous opening phase.
Lewis Hamilton climbed all the way back to the podium, while Charles Leclerc finished fourth. That makes the strategic issue even harder to overlook.
If the SF-26 had lacked pace, Ferrari could simply have pointed to a technical limitation. But when a car is able to recover so much after its race has initially been compromised by strategy, it is inevitable to wonder what might have been possible with stronger management from the beginning.
On that point, however, it is important to remain realistic. There is no way to know exactly what the final result would have been under a different strategy.
Further analysis of the SF-26’s broader competitive position is available in our look at what Ferrari’s recent performance revealed about the SF-26.
The strategic lesson Ferrari can take from Sepang
The lesson should not necessarily be that Ferrari must always diversify its strategies. That would be far too simplistic.
The real lesson is learning when to diversify. There are races in which putting both cars on the same strategy is unquestionably the strongest option. But when conditions are extremely uncertain, using two cars to cover two different scenarios can provide a major advantage.
Ultimately, it is a question of risk management, and this appears to be one of the areas in which Charles Leclerc is asking Ferrari to improve.
Ferrari must improve how it reads changing races
The speed of the SF-26 alone is not enough. Ferrari must also turn the car’s performance into results, and doing so requires more effective strategic decisions.
Speaking to Sky Sport, Charles Leclerc made his position clear: Ferrari needs to take a step forward in strategy. His reference to Red Bull was equally significant.
That does not mean Red Bull gets every decision right. It means Ferrari needs to become more effective during the moments when a race changes rapidly and there is no obvious answer.
The final question: why put both Ferraris on the same strategy?
Ultimately, the question remains. Ferrari had two cars, two drivers and two opportunities, yet it chose to expose both to essentially the same risk.
Perhaps splitting the strategies would indeed have resulted in one driver gaining a major advantage while the other suffered badly, as Charles Leclerc explained. But perhaps, in such uncertain conditions, that was exactly the risk Ferrari needed to accept in order to protect the team’s overall result.
We cannot know whether a Ferrari starting on Intermediates would have reached the podium. We cannot know whether the car on slicks would subsequently have recovered.
But one legitimate question remains: if you are not certain which option is correct, why risk everything with both cars?
That may be the most interesting strategic question left behind by the Sepang Grand Prix.
Ferrari Bahrain GP strategy explained after Hamilton and Leclerc recovery
Ferrari ultimately escaped the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang with third and fourth place, but the final result concealed just how difficult the race became after its opening tyre gamble. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both fell outside the top 10 after starting on slicks, before strong drives, strategic decisions and two Safety Car periods brought the Scuderia back into contention.
The unusual race conditions were shaped by the lengthy delay before the start. Crucially, the power-unit problem that interrupted proceedings was not caused directly by water. Instead, the software froze because the cars were travelling at extremely low speeds, with those low speeds themselves caused by the torrential rain.
Why the delayed start transformed the Bahrain GP strategy at Sepang
The race had originally been scheduled to start at 15:00 local time in Malaysia, before intense rain pushed proceedings back to 15:40. The cars initially headed out on Intermediate tyres, but software problems affecting the power units led race control to stop the action with a red flag.
Updating the software required more time, and the FIA eventually identified 16:35 as an opportunity to restart. By then, however, rain had not fallen continuously for more than half an hour. Combined with Sepang’s strong drainage characteristics, that encouraged several teams to consider slick tyres for the eventual start.
That changing picture explains why the grid was divided so widely on tyre choice. Ferrari was among the teams prepared to gamble on slicks, despite the amount of rain that had fallen earlier. The background to the compounds available for the weekend can be found in our analysis of Pirelli’s Sepang tyre selection and the Ferrari SF-26.
Intermediate start proves the strongest opening strategy
The most effective approach was ultimately to begin on Intermediate tyres before moving onto slicks. Max Verstappen followed that route, with the Soft compound becoming his main dry-weather tyre during the race.
Most drivers completed three pit stops, with two of the main opportunities arriving under Safety Car conditions. The first neutralisation came on lap nine following Valtteri Bottas’ retirement, while another occurred between laps 43 and 45 after Alexander Albon stopped.
Lewis Hamilton took a different route. The seven-time world champion was the only driver to finish on a two-stop strategy after choosing not to pit during the first Safety Car period. That decision became one of the most important moments in his recovery.
Hamilton also completed 31 laps on the C4 Soft, the longest stint of the race on that compound. Track temperatures of between 33 and 38°C helped make such an extended run possible, reducing the thermal demands compared with the warmer conditions seen earlier in the weekend.
Safety Cars help Ferrari recover from difficult slick start
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc initially paid heavily for Ferrari’s decision to start on slick tyres. Both dropped outside the top 10 and appeared to be facing an extremely difficult afternoon before the race began moving back towards them.
Hamilton’s decision to stay out during the first Safety Car proved particularly effective. By avoiding that stop, the Briton recovered track position and placed himself back into contention for the top five.
Leclerc followed a different path. Ferrari switched him onto Intermediate tyres after three laps, and the compound was the quickest option at that stage. The Monegasque was even able to pass his team-mate during the early phase of the race.
The first Safety Car then forced Charles Leclerc to pit, costing him track position to Hamilton. From there, however, his race remained clean and effective, eventually carrying him to fourth place directly behind the other Ferrari.
The final Safety Car was even more important. Alexander Albon initially triggered a Virtual Safety Car when his Williams stopped with a gearbox problem. Had the car been removable under VSC conditions, the finishing order could have looked very different.
Instead, race control had to deploy the full Safety Car. The field closed up, allowing Hamilton and Leclerc to reach Isack Hadjar and overtake him during the closing stages.
Why third and fourth were Ferrari’s maximum result
Although the opening strategy forced Ferrari into a far more complicated race than necessary, the final positions were considered the maximum realistically available. Verstappen opened a gap of almost five seconds over Hamilton in only five laps after the last restart, underlining the performance difference at the front.
For that reason, beginning the race on Intermediate tyres was not expected to have changed Ferrari’s eventual result. It would simply have made the route to third and fourth considerably more straightforward.
The drivers therefore deserve much of the credit for recovering from the initial setback. Hamilton’s decision to avoid the first Safety Car stop and manage an exceptionally long Soft stint proved crucial, while Leclerc recovered effectively after Ferrari corrected his opening tyre choice. More coverage of both drivers is available through our dedicated Charles Leclerc section.
Other drivers also benefited from the final neutralisation. Fernando Alonso finished eighth and would probably have been only 10th without the last Safety Car after being overtaken by Nico Hülkenberg. The Audi driver was perhaps the clearest example of someone who gained little from the late intervention despite producing a strong race.
Pirelli explains why the Soft tyre lasted so long at Sepang
Pirelli Motorsport director Dario Marrafuschi assessed the first meaningful use of the Intermediate tyre positively. As the circuit dried towards the end, some light graining appeared on the wet-weather tyres, although the highly abrasive asphalt did not create significant wear concerns.
Marrafuschi also explained that temperatures were considerably lower than during the preceding days. The damp circuit helped control tyre temperatures and reduced thermal degradation, making the C4 Soft especially competitive and capable of running unusually long stints.
Some drivers were therefore able to complete close to half the race on the softest compound. The Safety Car periods also encouraged many teams to select the C4 for the closing stages, while the C2 Hard and C3 Medium behaved consistently and predictably but offered less grip than the Soft.
For further event context, including the circuit characteristics behind the unusual strategic picture, our 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang guide covers the Malaysian venue in detail.
Ferrari therefore left Sepang with the best positions it realistically appeared capable of achieving, but only after Hamilton and Leclerc had to undo much of the damage created at the start. The result was ultimately rescued by driver execution, tyre management and the timing of the race neutralisations rather than by an uncomplicated strategic plan.
Fred Vasseur’s explanation raises questions over Ferrari’s Sepang strategy decision
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc recovered from a disastrous strategic start to finish third and fourth at Sepang after Ferrari’s decision to begin the race on slick tyres left both of its cars tumbling backwards in the damp conditions. The seven-time world champion and his Maranello teammate ultimately produced an impressive recovery, but their pace also raised questions over how much more might have been possible with a different opening tyre choice.
Hamilton had qualified second behind Max Verstappen and appeared set to fight near the front before the chaotic pre-race sequence dramatically changed the situation. His SF-26 initially stopped on the main straight when a software problem affected several cars in the wet conditions, although the British driver was eventually able to get going again. Following a delay of almost two hours, attention then turned to one of the biggest strategic decisions of the race.
Ferrari’s slick-tyre gamble hurts Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc
Teams were divided over whether to remain on intermediate tyres or take the risk of starting on slicks. Roughly half of the field stayed with the intermediates, while Ferrari joined the group willing to gamble on dry-weather rubber despite the uncertain track conditions.
Hamilton had already warned the team that surviving the opening phase on dry tyres could prove difficult. That concern quickly became reality once racing began, with the drivers on intermediates making rapid progress towards the front while both Ferrari cars slipped towards the rear of the field.
Charles Leclerc responded by stopping for intermediates, while Hamilton initially remained on the soft tyre as grip gradually began to improve. The contrasting decisions came during a particularly difficult period for Ferrari, with the team attempting to judge how quickly conditions would move towards slick tyres across a circuit that was still offering inconsistent levels of grip.
Hamilton nevertheless transformed his afternoon from that point. Strong pace from the SF-26 allowed him to work his way back through the field and eventually claim third place, while Leclerc completed a Ferrari three-four finish. The recovery once again highlighted the speed available from the car at Sepang, but it also made the damage from the opening strategy call more significant.
The weekend had already placed a major emphasis on tyre behaviour at Sepang, with Ferrari facing an important challenge in understanding how its car would perform on the available compounds. More background on that aspect of the event can be found in our analysis of why Pirelli’s Sepang compounds could suit the Ferrari SF-26.
Fred Vasseur explains Ferrari’s Sepang tyre decision
After the race, Fred Vasseur addressed Ferrari’s opening strategy and explained that the field had been almost evenly divided between intermediates and slicks. The Ferrari team principal indicated that judging conditions from the grid offered only a limited picture of the track and maintained that the decision had been made collectively with the information available at the time.
Vasseur acknowledged that Ferrari had not possessed as much information as it would have liked when making the call. At the same time, he focused on the eventual outcome, arguing that the strategy ultimately recovered well and pointing to the team’s strong pace and the way both drivers managed their tyres during the race.
The final result was unquestionably valuable, with Ferrari securing third and fourth after such a difficult beginning. However, Hamilton’s speed after falling towards the back also suggested that an even bigger result had potentially been available. Starting on intermediates could have placed the 41-year-old in a much stronger position during the early laps and potentially allowed him to fight for victory rather than spend much of the race recovering lost ground.
Ferrari had several opportunities to reassess the conditions
Questions remain over whether Ferrari truly lacked enough information to make a different decision. Oscar Piastri and Gabriel Bortoleto were among the drivers who changed tyres during the two-lap period before the standing start, demonstrating that teams still had an opportunity to react as the track conditions developed.
Hamilton was also providing information from inside the cockpit. As he explored more of the circuit, the Ferrari driver reported that the track remained slippery, giving the pit wall another indication of how difficult the opening laps could be on slick tyres. Trackside observations from around the circuit could also have provided a broader picture than the view of the asphalt around the grid alone.
Carlo Santi, the Briton’s race engineer, additionally referred to onboard footage from the safety car that showed dry areas of the track. That represented another piece of information available to Ferrari before the race began, even though conditions around the lap were clearly difficult to interpret consistently.
The combination of those inputs makes the opening tyre choice one of the key talking points from Ferrari’s weekend. The Scuderia ultimately rescued an excellent result, but the early loss of track position forced Hamilton into a comeback that might not have been necessary with a stronger initial call.
For a broader overview of the unusual event and its Sepang setting, see our 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang circuit guide.
Hamilton’s third place demonstrated that Ferrari had the race pace to recover from its strategic setback. It also strengthened the argument that the opening phase may have cost him an opportunity to challenge for what would have been his second victory of the season.
Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari straight-line deficit exposed by Sepang ghost-car comparison
Lewis Hamilton’s claim that Ferrari was losing heavily to Max Verstappen on Sepang’s straights was backed up by a revealing ghost-car comparison after Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying. Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard concluded that the SF-26 appeared extremely strong mechanically, but Red Bull’s combination of power unit performance and aerodynamic efficiency gave Max Verstappen an advantage that Hamilton simply could not overcome in the full-throttle sections.
The contrast did not prevent Lewis Hamilton from producing one of his strongest weekends for Ferrari. He qualified on the front row for the first time since Barcelona, finishing just under three tenths behind Max Verstappen, before recovering to the podium on Sunday after the Scuderia’s unsuccessful slick-tyre gamble initially dropped him towards the rear of the field.
Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari deficit becomes clear in ghost-car footage
After qualifying, Lewis Hamilton estimated that Ferrari was losing around three to four tenths of a second to Red Bull on the straights. The seven-time world champion explained that this was essentially the only area where the SF-26 was giving away significant time, leaving the team to maximise its performance through the corners instead.
The ghost-car comparison between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen provided a particularly clear illustration. Analysing the footage, David Coulthard felt the Ferrari chassis was working extremely well, especially from a mechanical perspective, but the Red Bull was able to recover significant lap time once the cars reached the straights.
Coulthard attributed that difference to a combination of Red Bull’s power unit performance and lower aerodynamic resistance. He also believed the rival car looked competitive with Ferrari through the higher-speed corners, where its aerodynamic platform appeared particularly effective.
David Coulthard sees major low-speed strength in Ferrari SF-26
The comparison was far more encouraging for Ferrari in slower sections of the lap. David Coulthard suggested that, mechanically, the Maranello team may have extracted more from its car at lower speeds and could even possess the strongest package in that specific area.
The decisive difference appeared on the run down the back straight towards Turn 15. That was where Coulthard believed Max Verstappen effectively secured pole position, because Lewis Hamilton did not have the straight-line performance required to respond.
That assessment explains why the qualifying gap could remain relatively small despite such a visible speed difference. Ferrari was recovering time where chassis behaviour and mechanical grip mattered, while Red Bull could take it back when power delivery and aerodynamic efficiency became decisive.
Anthony Davidson points to Ferrari battery deployment loss
Anthony Davidson reached a similar conclusion when analysing the same comparison. The former Formula 1 driver highlighted battery deployment as part of Ferrari’s disadvantage, with Max Verstappen’s ghost visibly pulling away from the SF-26 as the two cars accelerated towards the final corner.
For Davidson, the footage supported Lewis Hamilton’s assessment that the Ferrari was simply not fast enough on the straights. The difference was not hidden within a complicated sequence of corners: it became visually obvious as soon as both cars reached sustained full throttle.
The limitation was especially significant because Hamilton had otherwise put together a highly competitive qualifying performance. Being less than three tenths from pole despite the straight-line loss underlined how effectively the Ferrari was performing elsewhere around Sepang.
Lewis Hamilton still encouraged by Ferrari’s fundamental potential
Sunday then added another layer to the picture. Ferrari’s decision to start on slick tyres in difficult conditions sent Lewis Hamilton towards the back during the opening laps, but a Safety Car brought him back into contention. He subsequently produced a strong recovery and completed the drive with a late overtake on Isack Hadjar to secure third place in the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang.
Despite the power disadvantage, Lewis Hamilton remained highly positive about the underlying car after the race. He regarded Ferrari as having a fundamentally strong package and praised the work of the innovators at Maranello. At the same time, he acknowledged that the team would have to manage its existing power deficit for the remainder of the season.
That leaves Ferrari with a distinctive performance picture. The SF-26 appears capable of recovering significant lap time through its chassis performance, particularly in slower sections, while its weakness becomes much harder to conceal on long acceleration zones. At Sepang, the difference was sufficiently large for both David Coulthard and Anthony Davidson to identify the same problem from the ghost-car footage.
For Ferrari, the encouraging part is that the Bahrain Grand Prix still ended with Lewis Hamilton on the podium despite the strategic setback and straight-line deficit. The challenge is that the comparison with Max Verstappen showed just how much work the SF-26 had to do in the corners simply to compensate for time being surrendered every time the cars reached the straights.
Bahrain GP analysis: Ferrari SF-26 pace strong but Sepang strategy reaction costs time
Rain completely rewrote the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, overturning the expected tyre strategies and exposing Ferrari’s slow reaction during the opening phase. Max Verstappen won without ever using the hard tyre that had looked so important before the start, while Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc recovered to third and fourth after a race in which the raw numbers told a very different story from the final classification.
The Malaysian race became a sequence of changing conditions, Safety Cars, software problems and strategic resets. By the chequered flag, 19 cars were covered by only 29 seconds, but that compressed result concealed enormous swings in performance and track position across the 55 laps.
The hard tyre that never touched the track
After qualifying, Saturday at Sepang had revealed that Max Verstappen, like Charles Leclerc, would have only one hard tyre set available for the race. Red Bull had returned one set to Pirelli following FP2, meaning the Dutch driver reached Sunday with just one C2 remaining while almost everyone else had two.
That seemed like an important limitation before the race. In the end, the answer came in almost ironic fashion: the hard tyre remained under its cover until the chequered flag and Max Verstappen won without ever needing it.
Rain changed the entire strategic picture in the hour before the start. The wet circuit divided the grid between two opposite gambles, while one Safety Car later removed much of the reward for those who had taken risks and another erased in six laps the 11-second advantage the leader had built over approximately 30 laps.
The tyre sequences that ultimately shaped the race can be explored in the ScuderiaFans F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis.
Ninety-minute delay as Formula 1 cars lose power
The lights were originally supposed to go out at 15:00, but the start did not come until around 16:33, more than an hour and a half later. Rain had already pushed the formation lap back to 15:40, but the more serious problem appeared afterwards as the field attempted to reach the grid.
Several cars simply stopped. Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclerc and Valtteri Bottas were left stationary on the circuit, while even Max Verstappen reported a loss of power over the radio.
These were not individual mechanical failures or an extraordinary coincidence. The cars were being affected by a fault in the software controlling the delivery of the new power units, using the same standard code installed across all 22 cars.
The FIA suspended the starting procedure and ordered the field back into the pit lane. An update was then distributed directly on the grid, removing the energy-limitation constraint in the critical sectors. After approximately 20 minutes under the red flag, the race began from a standing start at 16:36:37.
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis accepted the governing body’s responsibility: “It is clearly FIA software, we have a primary role and we need to do better.”
Sepang becomes seven races inside one Grand Prix
What followed can only really be understood by dividing the race into separate phases. There were two laps behind the Safety Car, six laps on a wet circuit that was gradually drying, and another neutralisation following Valtteri Bottas’ accident.
That was followed by around 30 laps of relatively uninterrupted racing, a Virtual Safety Car, another Safety Car and finally a four-lap sprint to the finish. Nine of the 55 laps were therefore not genuinely raced at normal speed, which is one reason the final gaps reveal considerably less than they might initially suggest.
Saturday had already decided who could improvise
Max Verstappen’s pole lap of 1:35.130 had been set with the track at 59 degrees Celsius. On Sunday, the asphalt temperature was only 33 degrees, a drop of 26 degrees that made direct comparisons between qualifying and the race extremely difficult.
The more important legacy of Saturday, however, was hidden inside the garages. In addition to Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc had only one hard tyre available for the start, and his remaining C2 had already been used during FP3.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Isack Hadjar had no new soft tyres remaining. Nico Hülkenberg had three, giving the Audi driver the richest supply of new softs on the grid.
The available tyre allocations had effectively decided who could improvise before the Grand Prix even began.
Before the race, medium-hard-hard and soft-hard-hard appeared to be the two fastest strategic combinations, while a one-stop race looked unattractive because overtaking was relatively manageable. Drivers with only one C2 might even have needed to consider three stops. Ironically, the fastest theoretical strategies were unavailable to two of the drivers who had the pace to exploit them: Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
None of those strategies was eventually used. Once wet-weather tyres appear in a race, the obligation to run two different slick compounds disappears. Max Verstappen therefore completed his opening stint on intermediates before running three separate stints on soft tyres, precisely the compound of which he had a strong supply.
Fifteen choose intermediates while seven remain on slicks
The standing start revealed three different approaches. Mercedes and Red Bull selected intermediates, Ferrari and Haas started on softs, while McLaren used mediums.
During the two laps behind the Safety Car, however, five drivers changed their minds and returned to the pits at enormous cost. Oscar Piastri spent 81.5 seconds in the pit lane, Gabriel Bortoleto almost 74 seconds and Nico Hülkenberg more than 61.
The final count showed 15 drivers using intermediates and seven who never fitted the green-marked compound. Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly, Oliver Bearman and Valtteri Bottas remained entirely on slick tyres, and in the opening laps they paid an enormous price.
By lap three, Kimi Antonelli, George Russell and Max Verstappen occupied the leading positions, while Lewis Hamilton was only 15th and Charles Leclerc had fallen to the back of the field.
Lewis Hamilton loses 100 seconds before the race turns
Charles Leclerc reached the rear of the field after two problems in quick succession. First came contact with Nico Hülkenberg’s Audi at Turn 9, an incident that the stewards closed without further action. He then spent 38 seconds returning to the pits and switching onto intermediates.
Lewis Hamilton persisted with the original Ferrari choice and asked over the radio to see the team’s strategy through. By lap nine, however, the seven-time world champion was 100 seconds behind the leader.
As soon as the racing line began to dry, the equation changed quickly. Within six laps, lap times improved by approximately 25 seconds. Lewis Hamilton climbed to ninth by lap 16 and fifth by lap 22.
Valtteri Bottas was the one driver who never managed to recover. He remained around 10 seconds per lap slower than cars using the correct tyre and eventually ended his race in the barriers at Turn 14.
Lap nine Safety Car erases the strategic advantage
It was that accident that destroyed much of the reward for drivers who had taken the original strategic gamble. With the Safety Car deployed, 18 drivers pitted at roughly half the normal competitive cost.
The advantage accumulated by those who had stayed on slick tyres disappeared almost instantly. Lewis Hamilton still retained the benefit of having made one fewer stop than most of the field, but that was far less valuable than Ferrari’s original gamble had threatened to become once the track began drying.
One number mattered enormously at Sepang. Pirelli had estimated a pit-stop time loss of approximately 22.5 seconds, but the actual transit through the pit lane cost closer to 27.5 seconds. Five additional seconds per stop becomes 15 seconds across a three-stop strategy, a major discrepancy that pre-race simulations had not anticipated.
Kimi Antonelli recorded the quickest pit-lane transit at 27.141 seconds on lap 44. Max Verstappen remained between roughly 27.5 and 27.8 seconds across all three of his stops, neither gaining nor losing significant time.
Gabriel Bortoleto spent 51.7 seconds during his lap-34 visit, although that included a 10-second penalty for contact with Carlos Sainz. The Spanish driver himself lost almost 40 seconds during his lap-42 stop.
Sergio Pérez eventually accumulated seven stops and Gabriel Bortoleto five. Both surrendered more than a minute in total through the pit lane and neither was able to return to the group fighting for the important positions.
Ferrari race pace tells a very different story
Removing the neutralised laps leaves 44 genuinely competitive laps, and those provide a much better indication of true race performance. The median of the clean lap times put Max Verstappen at the top with a 1:41.163, while Kimi Antonelli was 0.328 seconds slower.
Immediately behind came a Ferrari far closer to the front than the race result alone suggested. Lewis Hamilton was 0.621 seconds from the benchmark and Charles Leclerc 0.629 seconds away, leaving just eight thousandths between the two SF-26 drivers despite their races unfolding in completely different ways.
The fourth place eventually secured by Charles Leclerc therefore matched his underlying pace remarkably well. George Russell, before retiring, was 0.819 seconds away and possessed the sixth-fastest race rhythm overall.
Ferrari’s underlying performance can also be compared directly with the rest of the field through the ScuderiaFans F1 Race Pace & Lap Time Comparison.
The internal team gaps offered another useful indication. Ferrari’s two drivers were separated by just eight thousandths per lap. McLaren’s gap was 0.123 seconds, Mercedes’ 0.491 and Red Bull’s 0.793, the largest among the leading teams. Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli therefore extracted significantly more from their cars than the drivers on the other side of their respective garages.
Just twelve hundredths per lap decide the victory
The clearest performance window came during the third stint, between laps 32 and 45. The track was dry, no flags interrupted the running and the drivers were using comparable used compounds for similar stint lengths.
In those conditions, Max Verstappen was losing only 0.051 seconds per lap in performance, compared with 0.171 for Kimi Antonelli on the same compound. The difference was just 0.12 seconds per lap.
That seems almost insignificant, but over 10 laps it produces more than one second of advantage without requiring an overtake or a dramatic pace increase. It explains why Max Verstappen’s margin grew with remarkable consistency: 1.2 seconds by lap 13, almost five seconds by lap 20 and 11.918 seconds by lap 42.
Energy deployment proves decisive at Sepang
The race speed figures might initially suggest that Red Bull was simply using a significantly different aerodynamic configuration. Saturday’s data, however, painted another picture.
Without slipstream and over a single qualifying lap, the first eight drivers were covered by less than 10 km/h in maximum speed, ranging from Kimi Antonelli at 306 km/h to Lewis Hamilton at 316 km/h, with Max Verstappen sitting approximately in the middle of the group.
The real difference was where electrical energy was deployed. On the main straight, Max Verstappen reached 324 km/h, the highest figure in the field. On the back straight he dropped to 306 km/h and could be passed by the McLarens.
Lewis Hamilton showed a similar trade-off. On his best lap, the Ferrari driver completed the same section at 301 km/h compared with around 310 km/h on earlier attempts, and that energy-management choice cost him part of the third sector.
With the 2026 Formula 1 power units, electrical energy must be spent where it provides the greatest benefit. At Sepang, Red Bull used that resource more effectively than anyone else.
Sector analysis reveals Ferrari’s strengths and weaknesses
The sector times were particularly revealing because combining each driver’s personal best sectors showed exactly where performance was being lost.
Max Verstappen left only 0.335 seconds on the table across the entire race, all of it in the opening sector. In sectors two and three, the Dutch driver produced the absolute benchmarks.
Lewis Hamilton showed almost the exact opposite pattern. His 24.992 was the fastest first sector of the race and no rival came particularly close, but he lost 0.418 seconds through sector two and almost half a second in sector three.
The Ferrari was therefore particularly effective in the sections dominated by braking and acceleration, while suffering more through the high-speed corners that form the heart of Sepang.
Charles Leclerc left 1.388 seconds spread across all three sectors, with the clearest deficit appearing between Turns 5 and 7. Isack Hadjar, by contrast, lost most of his time through the slower sections around Turn 1 and the Turn 14-15 complex.
The harshest verdict belonged to George Russell. The Mercedes driver left 2.7 seconds between his actual and ideal lap, with most of the deficit coming through sectors one and three despite no meaningful straight-line speed disadvantage. Mercedes had arrived on Saturday looking like a potential favourite but found itself chasing on Sunday, before the retirement completed an already difficult weekend.
Other teams exploit – or suffer from – the chaos
Behind the four leading teams, Aston Martin extracted one of the strongest results from the circumstances. Fernando Alonso finished eighth and Lance Stroll 12th after the team’s best qualifying performance of the season and its first 2026 appearance with both cars in Q2. Their underlying pace was approximately 1.9 seconds from the benchmark, meaning the team achieved more than its raw speed suggested.
Racing Bulls also maximised its opportunities. Liam Lawson finished seventh from 11th on the grid, while Arvid Lindblad recovered to tenth after starting last following a 30-place penalty. Seven points represented an excellent return from a race in which neither car possessed genuine front-running pace.
Alpine experienced contrasting fortunes. Franco Colapinto gained eight positions to finish 13th, while Pierre Gasly lost seven and the team scored no points. Audi had a similar split, with Nico Hülkenberg 11th and just outside the points while Gabriel Bortoleto lost eight positions including the effect of his penalty.
Haas recovered what it could after Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon had both been eliminated in Q1, with each gaining two places. Williams left empty-handed after Carlos Sainz lost four positions and Alexander Albon stopped on lap 42, triggering the second major neutralisation. Cadillac finished with only Sergio Pérez classified, the Mexican ending the race last among the finishers after seven pit stops.
Three moments reshape both the Bahrain GP and championship
The race changed direction three times, and on every occasion the decisive event was outside the drivers’ control. The lap-nine Safety Car caused by Valtteri Bottas effectively equalised the strategies.
On lap 42, Alexander Albon stopped on track, prompting Race Control first to deploy the Virtual Safety Car and then a full Safety Car. In only six laps, the 11-second lead Max Verstappen had built over approximately 30 laps disappeared.
George Russell then stopped on lap 49 while running third. The failure of the number 63 Mercedes power unit became a significant moment in the championship fight.
Mercedes had chosen not to replace the unit in Azerbaijan, hoping to reach Austin before introducing the new turbocharger. The gamble failed at an especially costly moment, leaving 15 points on the table for the driver attempting to chase his own team-mate in the title race.
At the lap-51 restart, the gaps had effectively vanished. Kimi Antonelli was only seven tenths behind the leader and Lewis Hamilton was less than two seconds away.
Four laps were enough for the competitive hierarchy to re-establish itself. Max Verstappen produced laps of 1:38.423, 1:38.529, 1:38.614 and finally 1:38.220, the fastest lap of the race, to win by 2.307 seconds.
Lewis Hamilton passed Isack Hadjar, while Charles Leclerc produced consecutive low-1:39 laps to recover the fourth position that his underlying performance had suggested was achievable from the beginning.
How the Bahrain GP changes the F1 standings
The result produced relatively little movement at the very top of the Drivers’ Championship but significant changes immediately behind. Kimi Antonelli moved to 320 points and extended his lead over George Russell to 84. The British driver remained on 236 points with seven races left and a maximum of 183 still available.
Lewis Hamilton climbed to 214 points, while Charles Leclerc moved ahead of Lando Norris into fourth with 191. Lando Norris remained level with Max Verstappen on 188 points but stayed ahead on countback through his number of victories. The latest championship picture can also be followed via the Formula 1 driver standings.
In the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes remained well clear on 556 points. Ferrari collected 27 points to reach 405 and extend its advantage over McLaren, which remained on 316.
Red Bull recorded the biggest haul of the day with 35 points and moved to within 18 of the Woking team. A championship challenge may not be realistic, but securing the team’s first victory of the season represented an important step, while Max Verstappen could also take encouragement from the improving trend towards 2027.
For Ferrari, the clearest conclusion from Sepang was that the opening strategy and slow reaction to changing conditions cost heavily, but the underlying SF-26 performance was considerably stronger than the early race order suggested. With Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc separated by only eight thousandths in clean race pace, the Malaysian weekend delivered both a warning for the pit wall and an encouraging technical reference for the development of the Ferrari SF-26.
Further updates on the two Maranello drivers are available through the dedicated Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc sections, while the remaining races can be followed through the 2026 Formula 1 calendar.
Fred Vasseur praises Ferrari Bahrain GP pace: “Overall, it was a convincing performance”
Ferrari ended the Bahrain Grand Prix back on the podium, although not with both cars, as Lewis Hamilton brought the number 44 SF-26 home in third place with Charles Leclerc immediately behind in fourth. Despite a difficult start to the race at Sepang, Fred Vasseur described the overall performance as convincing and highlighted the strength of Ferrari’s race pace.
The result completed a complicated afternoon for the Maranello team, which had to overcome an early technical scare and a tyre strategy that initially sent both cars towards the back of the field during the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang.
Lewis Hamilton suffers early power unit scare at Sepang
The race began badly for Lewis Hamilton even before the competitive action had properly started. During the laps behind the Safety Car, the British driver’s Ferrari switched off after the entire electrical side of the car stopped functioning.
The SF-26 restarted shortly afterwards, allowing Lewis Hamilton to continue. The fact that the race was subsequently suspended again also helped the seven-time world champion resume his afternoon without losing the opportunity to compete for a strong result.
The episode appeared particularly unusual in the context of the technical problems affecting the field during the formation-lap procedure. Fred Vasseur later suggested that the issue was connected to FIA software rather than a Ferrari-specific problem.
Ferrari slick tyre gamble sends both cars backwards
The difficulty increased once the race began because Ferrari adopted very similar tyre strategies for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Both drivers started on slick tyres while the circuit remained wet, and the dry-weather rubber did not provide the grip required when the lights went out.
As the laps progressed, other cars moved past and both Ferraris dropped towards the rear of the field. Charles Leclerc soon returned to the pits to fit intermediate tyres, while Ferrari also called Lewis Hamilton in.
However, Lewis Hamilton chose to stay out. The expectation at that stage was that the circuit would continue drying, which meant making a pit stop could potentially have resulted in unnecessary lost time if conditions quickly became suitable for slicks.
The contrasting tyre choices and their effect on the race can also be examined through ScuderiaFans’ F1 Race Pace & Lap Time Comparison.
Fred Vasseur explains why Ferrari did not split its starting strategy
Speaking to Sky Sport after the race, Fred Vasseur was asked why Ferrari had not deliberately divided the strategies between its two drivers by putting one car on intermediates and the other on slicks.
“I think the same rule applies to every team: when you are convinced that one option is the best at that particular moment, you have to make the same choice on both cars. It is the same decision McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes made. Around 50% of the cars on the grid chose to start on wet/intermediate tyres and the other 50% on dry tyres.”
The Ferrari team principal stressed how easy it was to judge the decision once the outcome was known.
“Clearly, in hindsight it is far too easy to say that one choice was better than the other, but when you are on the pit wall you only have the information coming from the radar and from the grid on the reconnaissance lap. On the first lap you discover whether the decision was right or wrong, and by then it was already too late to come straight back in.”
Fred Vasseur points to FIA software behind Lewis Hamilton issue
Fred Vasseur also addressed the technical incident involving Lewis Hamilton during the early stages of the race.
“I don’t think the sequence of events is completely clear to everyone yet, but from the beginning it looked to me like a problem related to the FIA software. It is no coincidence that the Federation then chose to update and reset all the cars’ software during the red flag, and after that modification the system started working normally again.”
Once the early difficulties were overcome, Lewis Hamilton was able to recover strongly and ultimately secure another podium during his Ferrari campaign, while Charles Leclerc followed him home in fourth.
Ferrari encouraged by strong SF-26 race pace
Before turning attention fully towards the next Grand Prix, Fred Vasseur offered one final assessment of Ferrari’s Sepang performance and emphasised that the positives had already been visible from qualifying.
“It was a very good weekend starting from Saturday’s qualifying. In the race our pace was extremely strong: consider that we had to bring Charles into the pits for an additional tyre change and, despite that, finishing third and fourth with Lewis and Charles is really a fantastic result.”
The performance also reinforced the positive signals surrounding the SF-26 over a race distance, despite the unusual weather and strategic complications. Charles Leclerc’s continuing campaign can be followed through the dedicated Charles Leclerc section.
Ferrari turns attention to Singapore
Formula 1 now heads directly to Marina Bay for the Singapore Grand Prix. The street circuit will host an evening race and, as Lewis Hamilton suggested after the previous event in Azerbaijan, its characteristics could potentially suit the philosophy of the SF-26.
However, the competitive picture remains difficult to predict, with this Formula 1 season continuing to produce significant uncertainty from one circuit to another.
Fred Vasseur nevertheless made Ferrari’s ambition clear ahead of the rapid turnaround. “Now another race weekend awaits us in just a few days: we will immediately be back on track in Singapore to do even better.”
Malaysia opens talks over Formula 1 return to Sepang after Bahrain GP
Malaysia has begun discussions over the possibility of bringing Formula 1 back to Sepang in the coming years, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim confirming that talks have already taken place with Formula 1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali. The development follows the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix held at Sepang, which marked Formula 1’s return to Malaysia after a nine-year absence.
Anwar Ibrahim explained after the race that the government is exploring whether the country could once again host Formula 1 on a regular basis, although he stressed that discussions remain at a very early stage.
Malaysia opens discussions over Formula 1 return to Sepang
The Malaysian Prime Minister said he had been in contact with Stefano Domenicali over the possibility of Formula 1 returning to the country.
“We are discussing it with their president. But it is too early. He has opened the door to dialogue and we have to discuss,” Anwar Ibrahim said.
He added that any final decision would require careful evaluation, taking into account both the importance of hosting Formula 1 for Malaysia and the financial implications involved.
The Bahrain Grand Prix had been moved to Sepang in October following an agreement between Formula 1, the FIA and the governments of Malaysia and Bahrain. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East had prevented the race from taking place in its original April slot, allowing the event to remain on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar while also bringing the championship back to Malaysia for the first time since 2017.
Rain, delays and a packed Sepang atmosphere
The returning Formula 1 event produced a dramatic afternoon at Sepang. Heavy rain delayed the start by more than an hour and a half, with the medical car reporting significant standing water around the circuit.
Technical problems then left several cars moving slowly during formation laps behind the Safety Car. The start had originally been scheduled for 15:00, but racing was not authorised until around 16:35, after the FIA had clarified the grid order.
Asked whether he was more accustomed to the weather than international visitors, Anwar Ibrahim, soaked but clearly enthusiastic, replied: “I’m wet, drenched, but excited. You see, the whole of Malaysia is celebrating.”
The Prime Minister emphasised that the enthusiasm was shared by Malaysians attending the event, underlining the level of interest generated by Formula 1’s return to Sepang.
Malaysian royalty attends Formula 1’s Sepang return
Several prominent figures were present for the event, including Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and his son, Prince Abdul Mateen Bolkiah.
On track, Max Verstappen won for Red Bull after starting from pole position. The Dutch driver, who had also won the previous Formula 1 Grand Prix held in Malaysia in 2017, claimed his first victory of the season after a chaotic race featuring mixed wet and dry conditions, two Safety Car periods and a late retirement for George Russell caused by power unit trouble.
Max Verstappen finished just over two seconds ahead of Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, who strengthened his championship lead. Lewis Hamilton completed the podium for Ferrari after recovering from a difficult start that had dropped him towards the rear of the field, continuing an eventful Ferrari campaign for Lewis Hamilton.
The spectacle, attendance and enthusiasm surrounding the race have now provided Malaysia with fresh momentum as discussions begin over whether Formula 1 could become a regular fixture at Sepang once again.
Ferrari admits Sepang tyre error as Lewis Hamilton leads dramatic recovery
Ferrari is back on the Formula 1 podium after a complicated Sunday at Sepang, with Lewis Hamilton recovering to third place after an opening tyre decision threatened to ruin the team’s Malaysian weekend. After five Grands Prix without a top-three finish, the result provided welcome relief for Maranello and ended a race that, despite the mistakes, also delivered encouraging signs about the performance of the SF-26.
The first major decision of the day was also the one that came closest to costing Ferrari dearly. On a circuit that was still damp, Ferrari and McLaren chose to start on slick tyres, while Red Bull and Mercedes opted for intermediates. It took barely half a lap for the correct choice to become clear. Max Verstappen and the Mercedes cars disappeared into the distance while both Ferraris fell towards the back of the field.
After eight laps, Charles Leclerc was running 16th and Lewis Hamilton 18th, more than a minute behind Max Verstappen. At that stage, Ferrari’s Sunday already appeared to have fallen apart.
Frédéric Vasseur admits Ferrari made the wrong tyre call
Frédéric Vasseur acknowledged that Ferrari needed to be clear-headed about the decision and accept that it had not been the correct one. “We have to be lucid and recognise that it wasn’t the right choice,” the Ferrari team principal admitted. “It would have been much better to start on intermediates. We decided with the information we had, thinking that the track would dry quickly. The time needed for a pit stop, around 26 seconds, also played a role, but in the end it is clear that the correct choice would have been another one.”
The uncertainty surrounding the Sepang conditions made tyre behaviour one of the central themes of the race, after it had already been a major talking point in the build-up to the weekend. The different compound sequences can also be examined through the ScuderiaFans F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis.
Safety Car gives Ferrari a second chance
Ferrari was suddenly brought back into contention when the Safety Car appeared on lap nine. The neutralisation proved invaluable, effectively erasing the enormous deficit accumulated during the opening laps.
Charles Leclerc took the opportunity to switch to intermediates, while Lewis Hamilton instead trusted his own instincts. The Ferrari pit wall informed the seven-time world champion that the team was ready to receive him, but he told race engineer Carlo Santi that he wanted to continue on the set of soft tyres fitted at the start.
That decision transformed Lewis Hamilton’s race. By staying on track, the British driver gained six positions and, once racing resumed, began to benefit from remaining on dry-weather tyres.
Frédéric Vasseur explained that Ferrari had deliberately allowed Lewis Hamilton to make the final call. “We gave him the possibility to decide,” the French manager said. “In these situations, it is the driver who is in the car. When we tell him that we are ready, it means that he can stop if he believes that is the correct choice.”
Lewis Hamilton builds his Sepang comeback
The recovery was not entirely straightforward. Because Lewis Hamilton had not started on intermediates, he still needed to use another compound after the soft tyres and subsequently switched to mediums. That tyre did not prove particularly effective, and although the Ferrari driver closed in on Isack Hadjar, he was unable to find a way past.
The situation changed again when a second Safety Car was deployed on lap 43. Lewis Hamilton fitted a fresh set of soft tyres and, immediately after the restart, managed to pass the Red Bull.
It developed into an excellent drive from the seven-time world champion: seven overtakes, strong tyre management and, above all, the clarity required to take advantage of the opportunities created by such a chaotic race. His comeback initially carried him into fourth place before George Russell’s retirement promoted him to third and secured Ferrari’s first podium in five Grands Prix.
Frédéric Vasseur praised the performance. “Lewis had a very good race,” the Ferrari team principal stressed. “When you are one minute behind the leader, you have to try something, you have to take risks. He managed the tyres very well and his pace remained competitive even at the end of the stints.”
The result offered another significant reference point in Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari season, particularly after the team had appeared completely out of contention during the opening phase of the race.
Charles Leclerc limits the damage after first-lap contact
Charles Leclerc endured a more difficult Sunday. Contact with Nico Hülkenberg on the opening lap added another complication to an already challenging situation and forced the Monegasque driver to replace his front wing.
Charles Leclerc was unable to perform at the same level as his team-mate and benefited considerably from the final Safety Car, which eliminated his deficit to Isack Hadjar and subsequently allowed him to overtake. Considering how badly the race had begun, the 12 points he eventually collected almost felt like a minor miracle.
Frédéric Vasseur defended his driver after the race. “Charles had contact on the first lap and we had to change the wing,” he explained. “I think he did his job. I certainly can’t blame him for contact when he is driving on slicks in those conditions.”
The weekend therefore produced sharply different races for Ferrari’s two drivers, with more coverage of the Monegasque’s campaign available in the Charles Leclerc section.
Could Ferrari have challenged Mercedes with the correct tyres?
The inevitable question is what Ferrari might have achieved had it started on intermediates. The Maranello team could have been in a position to fight Kimi Antonelli and probably put Mercedes under pressure, although the overall points haul would not necessarily have been dramatically different.
Victory, however, does not appear to have been genuinely within reach. Even removing the strategic errors and race incidents from the equation, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull appeared to have something extra.
The more important takeaway for Ferrari was the pace of the SF-26. The car had been competitive over a single lap and, once the consequences of the tyre choices were removed from the equation, its race rhythm was slower only than that of Max Verstappen. That represented a significant improvement after Ferrari’s more difficult recent weekends and strengthened the positive signals surrounding the car’s underlying performance.
SF-26 race pace gives Ferrari reason for confidence
Frédéric Vasseur confirmed the improvement but also cautioned that conditions had changed dramatically between practice and the race. “It’s true, the race pace was much better this weekend,” he said. “The conditions, however, were completely different. We did all the free practice sessions with around 60 degrees of track temperature and then the race with thirty degrees less. It was practically another track.”
The difference complicated tyre interpretation for everyone. After one of the restarts, the field was almost evenly divided between soft, medium and hard tyres, providing a perfect illustration of the uncertainty teams were facing on the pit wall.
Even with those complications, Ferrari’s competitiveness over the race distance was an encouraging development. It added substance to the performance gains seen from the SF-26 and provided another useful reference for ScuderiaFans’ broader Ferrari technical analysis.
Ferrari ends five-race podium drought at Sepang
Sepang ultimately gave Ferrari a far better result than seemed possible after eight laps. Lewis Hamilton returned the team to the podium after five races without a top-three finish, while Ferrari also gained 17 points on McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship. Most importantly, the SF-26 once again looked competitive over a race distance.
It was not a perfect Sunday. Without the first Safety Car, the opening tyre mistake would probably have carried a very heavy cost, while the final neutralisation also helped both Ferrari drivers. But whenever the chaotic race created an opportunity, the team managed to take advantage of it, and Lewis Hamilton completed the recovery.
After five Grands Prix without a podium, Ferrari badly needed to interrupt its negative run. Sepang does not erase the problems of recent weeks, but it restores points and confidence while providing a performance level on which Maranello can build. Considering how the afternoon began, that is far from insignificant.
Ferrari at least F1’s second force at Bahrain GP: SF-26 shines in Sepang corners
Ferrari emerged from Sepang looking like at least Formula 1’s second force, with an outstanding Lewis Hamilton recovering to the podium after the team’s costly tyre decision at the start. The SF-26 remained extremely strong through the corners, while Mercedes encountered unexpected problems with its new aerodynamic package during a chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix weekend at Sepang.
The Malaysian circuit also delivered an immediate reminder of why it became an F1 classic. Formula 1’s return to Sepang – even if officially under Bahrain colours – evoked the atmosphere of the early 2000s, and a downpour arriving just around the scheduled start immediately disrupted strategies and the established performance order. As the race developed, however, it also revealed a great deal about the strengths and weaknesses of the leading cars.
The track refused to dry and only a few teams read the conditions correctly
The first major decision concerned which tyre to use at the start. The grid was split almost in half, although a slight majority opted for slicks. Ferrari and McLaren were among them, but Oscar Piastri changed his mind during the formation lap, returned to the pits and chose to start from the back on intermediates after correctly sensing what was really happening on track.
It is important to judge that decision as objectively as possible. From a distance, the impression was not only that the circuit was relatively lightly wet, but also that the high temperatures could allow it to dry extremely quickly. Drivers themselves could be heard reporting over the radio that conditions were improving at an extraordinary rate, making slick tyres appear to be the logical choice. Ferrari’s messages to Lewis Hamilton followed exactly that logic: the task was to “survive for one lap”, after which the initial gamble was expected to begin paying off.
That did not happen, mainly for two reasons. The first was that Sepang’s old, low-grip asphalt made the damp surface almost impossible to negotiate on slick tyres. Drivers who started on dry-weather rubber lost between 30 and 40 seconds on the opening lap alone, immediately wiping out the roughly 26 seconds they could potentially have gained by avoiding a pit stop.
The second factor was the extremely high humidity. Once the initial surface water had drained away, the circuit took much longer than expected to become genuinely dry. The behaviour of the different compounds had already been one of the major questions surrounding Ferrari’s tyre prospects at Sepang, and the unusual race conditions made that judgement even more difficult.
Those factors clearly caught most teams by surprise. There is, however, an important counterpoint: Red Bull and Mercedes did not make the same mistake. Both chose intermediates without hesitation and disappeared up the road during the opening laps, building advantages of more than a minute over parts of the group that had remained on slicks.
The circumstances were unusual enough to mislead many teams, but the organisations that have most consistently demonstrated a strong understanding of changing track conditions made the correct call. Charles Leclerc later expressed much the same concept, highlighting an area Ferrari will inevitably need to improve. The evolution of the compounds and stints can also be explored through the F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis.
Kimi Antonelli all but ends the title fight as Mercedes encounters problems
Kimi Antonelli’s second place, combined with George Russell’s retirement, has reduced the championship fight to little more than a mathematical question. The young Italian could realistically secure the Formula 1 world title around the middle of the remaining part of the season.
It would nevertheless be unfair to attribute the result simply to good fortune. Sepang was a constant trap, beginning with the difficult opening laps in the wet, yet Kimi Antonelli made virtually no mistakes. He was fast, decisive and able to reclaim position from George Russell cleanly before eventually establishing a clear advantage over his team-mate on race pace.
The combination of a champion’s talent with the calmness and clarity usually associated with a far more experienced driver remains remarkable considering Kimi Antonelli’s age. George Russell’s retirement therefore accelerated the situation in the championship rather than creating it, because the sporting verdict between the two Mercedes drivers had already begun to emerge on track.
There was also another important element behind the retirement. George Russell stopped with a power unit failure and, based on the available data, the impression was that the internal combustion engine had suffered the problem. Mercedes had already been concerned about the British driver’s power unit and was understood to have proposed replacing it in Baku.
George Russell instead appears to have preferred taking the risk, waiting for the ADUO unit and attempting to maximise points in an already difficult pursuit of Kimi Antonelli. The gamble contributed to victory in Azerbaijan, but it also came with an enormous price at Sepang and could potentially lead to a grid penalty in Singapore, one of the least favourable circuits on which to serve one.
The task of catching Kimi Antonelli now resembles an almost impossible mountain for George Russell. Even before the technical problem, Sepang had already indicated the superiority of the younger Mercedes driver, leaving relatively little for the Briton to regret from a purely performance-related perspective.
Mercedes aero package creates unexpected Sepang problems
Mercedes itself, however, clearly has plenty of work ahead after the disappointing behaviour of its new aerodynamic package. The impression is that the team attempted to strengthen the rear of the car further, probably with the objective of unlocking additional engine performance during the coming races.
On Sepang’s low-grip asphalt, however, that appears to have left the front end too weak. The result was significant understeer, particularly through the slow corners. The new package also increased aerodynamic load, but at the cost of additional drag.
That rise in resistance was poorly absorbed by the power unit. Mercedes showed clear difficulties with energy deployment and engineers were forced to modify strategies even during qualifying, without being able to exploit the exceptional straight-line performance previously seen from the car. The issues add further context to questions surrounding the development of the Mercedes W17.
It provides another indication of a wider characteristic of this generation of Formula 1 cars: efficiency is fundamental to overall performance, perhaps even more important than absolute downforce. Mercedes will naturally work to optimise the package and will also need to reassess it on circuits with different asphalt characteristics. Toto Wolff nevertheless appeared particularly angry after the race, and the reasons were not difficult to understand.
Ferrari at least second force as Lewis Hamilton produces remarkable comeback
After Ferrari’s strategic mistake at the start, Lewis Hamilton’s recovery to the podium was an exceptional drive, reminiscent of both Ferrari and the seven-time world champion at their best. The SF-26 inevitably continued to lose performance on the straights, but it remained the strongest car through the corners even across race-distance running.
The performances and comments from the two Ferrari drivers initially seemed to present different pictures of the car’s potential. In our assessment, however, much of that contrast came from the very different sensations Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc experienced behind the wheel.
Lewis Hamilton believed that starting on intermediates would have given him the opportunity to fight Max Verstappen for victory. The British driver’s recovery was aided by one of the most successful setup compromises he has found since joining Maranello, making the Sepang race another significant chapter in his Ferrari campaign.
Lewis Hamilton felt extremely comfortable with the SF-26 after finding a setup close to ideal for his driving style. The rear of the car was well protected while the front remained strong enough to minimise understeer. It was probably one of the best levels of harmony between the seven-time world champion and a Ferrari since his arrival at Maranello.
With a heavy fuel load, tyre degradation to manage and the power units initially operating at reduced output because of the wet conditions, it is therefore reasonable to believe Lewis Hamilton could genuinely have troubled Max Verstappen. He would also almost certainly have been ahead of the Mercedes cars on outright performance.
Charles Leclerc experienced a very different weekend. The Monegasque driver had already moved away from his ideal setup window on Saturday and then struggled considerably with rear-end management during the race. In his post-race team radio, he went as far as describing his pace as “horrible”. Those difficulties help explain why his assessment of the SF-26’s potential differed so much from that of his team-mate.
Charles Leclerc believed Ferrari’s third and fourth places were broadly where the team would have finished even in a straightforward race. His difficulties also underlined how sensitive the car remained to setup choices, an aspect that will continue to be important across the remainder of Charles Leclerc’s season.
Ferrari’s cornering strength remains clear, but straight-line weakness persists
What happened in Malaysia nevertheless reconfirmed several characteristics already visible earlier in the season. Ferrari probably possesses the strongest car in the corners and is also good at managing its tyres, but it continues to pay a price in engine performance and resistance during traction phases and at higher speeds.
Those are precisely the areas that appear to matter most in the current Formula 1 regulations. The SF-26 can generate impressive cornering performance, but efficiency and energy deployment remain decisive when acceleration and straight-line speed become more important. The broader technical picture can be followed through ScuderiaFans’ Ferrari technical analysis.
The contrast was particularly visible at Sepang, where Lewis Hamilton could exploit the Ferrari’s balance and cornering ability but still surrendered performance on the straights. Recorded speed differences across Formula 1 can be compared through the F1 Top Speed Comparison.
McLaren struggles with drag and an unusual soft-tyre problem
McLaren, meanwhile, endured a second consecutive disastrous weekend. At Sepang, the MCL40 displayed excessive drag on the straights, but the bigger concern was a very specific problem with the soft tyre that was difficult to understand from the outside.
Unfortunately for the Woking team, both qualifying and most of the race were run on that compound. It was therefore notable that Lando Norris attempted to start on mediums, while the only stage of the race in which Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri appeared reasonably competitive came when they switched to the hard tyres.
The drivers also fell short for the second consecutive race. Oscar Piastri remained inexplicably stuck behind Liam Lawson before Lewis Hamilton effectively drove away from him, prompting a team-radio reaction that, at least conceptually, recalled the famous exchange involving Giancarlo Fisichella in Australia in 2006.
Lando Norris, meanwhile, ran deep under the Safety Car and lost positions and points as a consequence. The papaya car still displays good characteristics through the corners, but if the objective of the Baku package was to eliminate its drag problem, the evidence so far suggests that target has not yet been achieved.
Singapore provides the next major test
Formula 1 now moves only a short distance to Singapore for the final Sprint weekend of the season. The competitive order is likely to change again compared with the previous two races, making Marina Bay a particularly interesting test of how much performance Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and their rivals can actually extract from their respective packages. The remaining events can be followed through the 2026 Formula 1 calendar.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen laugh over Kimi Antonelli’s Sepang pit-lane mishap
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were left laughing after discovering that Kimi Antonelli was responsible for knocking over the cone marking the pit-lane entry during the race at Sepang. The Italian driver’s mistake became the highlight of the traditional conversation behind the podium before the trophy ceremony.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen share a laugh before the Sepang podium
The strong relationship Kimi Antonelli has managed to build with both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton during his two years in Formula 1 turned the usual pre-podium conversation after the Sepang race into something closer to an amusing chat between friends than an analysis of what had happened on track.
The relaxed exchange was another example of the rapport between the young Italian and the seven-time world champion, with Lewis Hamilton having previously shown his support for Kimi Antonelli during the Mercedes driver’s Formula 1 career.
One incident in particular triggered laughter from Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen: the moment when Kimi Antonelli accidentally knocked over the cone marking the entrance to the pit lane during the race.
It was not an insignificant detail. Under Race Control’s instructions, any driver who passed to the outside of that cone was required to enter the pit lane, even if they had ended up beyond it because of a driving error.
Kimi Antonelli narrowly avoids being forced into the pits
That was precisely the situation Kimi Antonelli almost found himself in. The Italian missed his braking point at the final corner and ran very deep, reaching the boundary marked by the cone at the pit-lane entrance.
By applying maximum steering lock to the left, however, Kimi Antonelli managed to avoid passing outside the marker. Instead, he simply knocked the cone over.
When the incident came up in the cooldown room, Max Verstappen immediately realised what had happened and, unable to contain his laughter, told Kimi Antonelli: “You were the one who did it!”
Lewis Hamilton was equally amused by the revelation. The Ferrari driver replied: “I wondered for the whole race who had done it!”
For Kimi Antonelli, therefore, there may be more than just a historic Formula 1 world title on the horizon. After his Sepang strike, there could also be a special membership card waiting for him in Formula 1’s unofficial “bowling club”.
Sepang software bug: how wet-weather rules caused F1 power unit failures
A programming error involving Formula 1’s complex 2026 power units delayed the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Some paddock insiders described it as a perfect storm, with a chain of factors that came close to shutting down several power units. The problem originated in the parameters governing the use of electrical power in wet conditions, which the FIA was forced to adjust to ensure the combustion engine could continue operating correctly.
How the Sepang power unit bug developed
The trigger was the storm that hit Sepang around the time of the start, setting off a chain of events that exposed a bug in the power unit control software. Following the prescribed procedure, and for the first time since the current technical regulations were introduced, Race Control declared a low-grip conditions scenario, which activates different rules governing power unit use. In particular, the maximum output of the electric motor drops from 300 to 250 kW, with a further reduction in the more technical sections of the circuit.
One of those areas is around Turn 9, the hairpin at the end of the second sector and one of the slowest sections of the Malaysian circuit. Max Verstappen, leading the field on the formation lap after taking pole position on Saturday, slowed to below 50 km/h. This caused the combustion engine revs to fall and also slowed the turbo, resulting in a loss of boost pressure.
At that point, the restrictions on electrical power in wet conditions meant the electric motor could no longer provide enough assistance to raise the combustion engine’s revs and bring the turbo back up to pressure. The power unit therefore entered a negative spiral in which it continued to lose power until a bug in the control software was triggered.
The software bug that left F1 cars without power
The electronic control unit is believed to have entered a mode known as Continuous Offset, which prevents use of the electric motor for one minute. This condition is triggered when the electrical component is switched off suddenly rather than progressively, a scenario permitted by the regulations only for safety reasons.
By disabling the MGU-K for 60 seconds, the system discourages anyone from abruptly switching it off for performance purposes, as had happened with the solution developed by Mercedes- and Red Bull-powered cars in qualifying earlier in the year. PlanetF1 offered a different reconstruction, according to which the power units entered a protective failsafe mode.
Whichever mode was actually activated, the practical consequence was the same: throttle input became effectively useless. Telemetry shows Max Verstappen repeatedly pressing the accelerator, visible through the repeated throttle-input spikes, without the car ever accelerating beyond 40 km/h.
At a certain point, the Red Bull power unit managed to reset itself and returned to normal operation. By then, however, the long period during which Max Verstappen had been travelling at low speed had forced the drivers behind him to slow as well, including both Ferrari drivers, triggering the same negative spiral.
The telemetry indicates that Charles Leclerc somehow managed to recover from the situation, while Lewis Hamilton had to stop his Ferrari and restart the power unit to allow the entire system to reset. The unusual sequence became one of the defining moments of the Sepang software chaos before the race could eventually begin.
How the FIA intervened before the Bahrain GP start
The slowing cars at the front progressively forced the rest of the field to do the same, causing the problem to appear on cars powered by Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes and Audi engines, with no apparent correlation to the characteristics of the individual power unit designs. At that point, the FIA recognised the software bug, which had been developed by the governing body itself in collaboration with the teams.
The start therefore had to be delayed by another 20 minutes while the FIA’s technical department corrected the control software code. According to the statement subsequently issued by the governing body, the new version removed the limits on usable energy in the affected sectors. The emergency Sepang software update was then distributed so the teams could apply the changes before the start.
However, a more plausible interpretation reported by several members of the media was that the limits on electrical power had been relaxed, allowing greater use of the electric component to keep the combustion engine operating at sufficiently high revs.
Nikolas Tombazis explains the unprecedented Sepang scenario
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis addressed what happened directly: “We were not able to test the software as extensively as we would have liked, because we have done very little running in the wet this year and there was a combination of circumstances that triggered this bug. Essentially, during the formation lap, some cars were travelling very slowly, almost coming to a stop. This caused a chain reaction between the cars and some of them almost stopped completely. The bug prevented the power unit from delivering the power needed to get moving again.”
Nikolas Tombazis added: “Once the problem occurred, our staff quickly understood what was happening, under significant time pressure to update the software so that the teams could install it on their cars. All of this took 20 minutes. It may have felt like five hours for the spectators, which is understandable and we are sorry about that. However, considering the problem, I think it was a quick response.”
Lewis Hamilton jokes about Ferrari tyre gamble: “I won’t go to the casino with the team”
Lewis Hamilton was able to joke about Ferrari’s costly tyre gamble after recovering to the podium at Sepang, although the seven-time world champion admitted there was still frustration because the team had the potential to challenge Max Verstappen for victory. After starting the race on the wrong tyres and enduring an extraordinary pre-race problem, the final result was far better than the Ferrari driver had expected.
The 2026 Bahrain-Malaysia Grand Prix provided another example of the resilience that has defined much of Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 career, fitting the “Still I Rise” mantra and tattoo that have long been particularly meaningful to the Ferrari driver.
Lewis Hamilton recovers from chaotic Sepang start
During the first starting procedure, Lewis Hamilton was forced to restart his SF-26 from a standstill after the rest of the field had already disappeared into the distance. The difficulties then continued at the start of the race when Ferrari found itself on the wrong tyres, with slicks fitted while conditions remained unsuitable.
It was another major strategic complication in an already unpredictable Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, where changing conditions made tyre selection particularly difficult.
Despite everything, the way the race unfolded eventually brought Lewis Hamilton onto the podium, helped by the technical failure that forced George Russell out of the Grand Prix. It was, overall, a deserved result for the Ferrari driver, but one that still left a sense of disappointment because the SF-26 appeared to have enough potential to fight Max Verstappen for the victory.
Hamilton jokes about Ferrari’s tyre gamble
Speaking in the post-race press conference, Lewis Hamilton used humour when reflecting on Ferrari’s tactical decision.
“What did I learn today? I will never go to the casino with members of the team,” Lewis Hamilton said.
Despite the joke, the Ferrari driver immediately made clear that the team would take the mistake seriously and learn from what had happened.
“We will definitely learn from what happened today. We are all giving everything, without exception. On Saturday, the engineers and I stayed up until 11:30 trying to prepare as well as possible for a race in which we had the chance to fight Max Verstappen.”
The tyre decision ultimately became one of the decisive elements of Ferrari’s race, with compound choices and stint trends throughout the weekend also available through the F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis.
Ferrari knows where improvements are needed
Lewis Hamilton stressed that Ferrari was not attempting to ignore the weaknesses exposed by the Sepang race. Despite recovering to the podium, he acknowledged that there were still areas where the team needed to improve if it wanted to convert its performance potential into stronger results.
“We know there are areas where we need to improve. We are not burying our heads in the sand. We will address them,” Lewis Hamilton concluded.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen unite over Sepang software chaos: “It looked like a Lego race”
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen found themselves unusually united after the extraordinary power unit software chaos that disrupted the formation lap at Sepang. The two world champions were among the first drivers to lose power before the start and later agreed that the bizarre scenes exposed a problem with the complexity of Formula 1’s new-generation engines.
Sunday’s race in Malaysia produced no shortage of talking points, including Max Verstappen’s first victory of the season, Lewis Hamilton’s recovery drive and a championship that is now firmly in Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s hands. Yet the unavoidable subject after the Grand Prix was the remarkable and embarrassing confusion before the start, when numerous cars suffered power unit software problems and began slowing, stopping and, in some cases, restarting at different points around the circuit.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen caught in Sepang software chaos
The scenes looked more like a malfunctioning video game than a Formula 1 World Championship event. Curiously, the problems began with the two most successful drivers on the grid, who were together on the front row and leading the formation lap: Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
The two stars were the first to experience the sudden power losses caused by software problems within the highly complex power units. The disruption became one of the defining moments of the chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix weekend at Sepang, before both drivers later discussed what had happened during the post-race press conference.
For once, the long-time rivals were firmly on the same side, with both pointing towards the regulations and the complexity of the power unit technology.
Lewis Hamilton explains why he had to restart his Ferrari
“The rain came and there was general panic when we lost power,” Lewis Hamilton said as he recalled the chaotic moments from the cockpit. “In my case, in particular, the power didn’t come back immediately: I had to stop on track and restart the car.”
Max Verstappen was then asked whether it was concerning that a little rain could trigger such a situation.
“Yes, that’s exactly the problem we have,” Max Verstappen replied. “These engines are so complicated and integrate so much software. That’s exactly the problem. And, yes, I triggered it first and then I looked in the mirror and thought: ‘Wait, are they all waiting for me or what’s going on?’ It was like a Lego race.”
Lewis Hamilton confirmed that the cars were travelling at the same reduced speed as the strange problem spread through the field.
“Yes, we had the same speed,” the Ferrari driver explained.
Max Verstappen compares bizarre scenes to Lego cars
Max Verstappen continued: “The same speed. Yes, it was crazy. I mean, it felt like the power of Lego cars. At one point there were five of us side by side on the straight because we couldn’t understand what was happening. Then we did a lap and I saw another eight cars still moving at walking pace, and I saw you [speaking to Lewis Hamilton] on your own moving at walking pace.”
Lewis Hamilton then described the unusual procedure he was forced to perform after his Ferrari failed to recover normally.
“Yes, I had to stop on track, switch off the car and the engine and restart them. I had never done that before,” Lewis Hamilton added in response to Max Verstappen.
Hamilton hopes Formula 1 learns from Sepang problems
Max Verstappen made clear that he did not believe such scenes were appropriate for Formula 1, particularly given the strange spectacle created during the formation lap.
“It’s not really what you want for this sport,” Max Verstappen said.
Lewis Hamilton agreed and expressed the hope that Formula 1 would take something useful from what had happened.
“Yes, I hope a lesson has been learned from it,” Lewis Hamilton added.
The exchange summed up the assessment of two of the most successful drivers of their generation after one of the most unusual and embarrassing pre-race sequences Formula 1 has witnessed, with the complexity of the power unit software suddenly becoming one of the biggest talking points of the Sepang weekend.
Mercedes deletes Ferrari dig after F1 fans challenge Sepang power unit claim
Mercedes attempted to poke fun at Ferrari during the chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, only for the social-media post to be challenged by Formula 1 fans and subsequently deleted. The episode then took another ironic turn late in the race when George Russell suffered a power unit failure and retired, helping former Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton secure a podium for Ferrari.
The already extraordinary Sunday in Malaysia had begun with torrential rain, forcing the start to be delayed by more than half an hour and creating major uncertainty over tyre choices. The situation became even more complicated during the formation lap when software problems affected several 2026 power units, adding another layer of chaos to the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang.
Sepang chaos as power unit software problems emerge
Max Verstappen was the first driver to experience accelerator problems, although the Red Bull driver managed to resolve the issue within a few seconds with assistance from Gianpiero Lambiase on the pit wall.
Things went much worse for Lewis Hamilton. For more than a minute, the Ferrari driver repeatedly pressed the accelerator while waiting for power from his engine, but eventually had to stop at the side of the circuit. He was only able to get going again after carrying out what was effectively the most familiar of electronic solutions: switching the system off and resetting it before restarting.
Mercedes mocks Ferrari before fans challenge the claim
It was an extraordinary situation, and certainly one rarely, if ever, seen in Formula 1. Mercedes responded by posting a sarcastic message on X, formerly Twitter.
“The start procedure has been suspended because several Ferrari-powered cars have stopped at the side of the track,” the official Mercedes account wrote, accompanying the post with an upside-down smiling face, an emoji frequently used to convey irony.
The message was quickly challenged by Formula 1 fans as misleading. X allows users to add contextual information and cite additional sources when they believe a post requires clarification, and that is precisely what happened to the Mercedes message.
“The suspension of the race is the result of a widespread power and software issue that affected cars from several teams and manufacturers, including Red Bull and McLaren, during the formation lap, and not only teams using Ferrari power units,” the reader-suggested contextual information on X stated.
What caused the Sepang power unit software problem?
Information emerging from the Sepang paddock during the day indicated that the issue was caused by the unusually low speed at which the formation lap was completed. In simple terms, some of the power units’ electronic systems appeared to encounter unexpected behaviour because the cars were circulating far more slowly than under normal conditions in the rain.
As the users who challenged the Mercedes post pointed out, the problem was therefore not limited to Ferrari engines. It was nevertheless true that three drivers using Maranello power units – Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon and Valtteri Bottas – had to stop their cars and reset the system before continuing.
The unusual sequence adds another reliability dimension to the new-generation Formula 1 machinery, with retirements and technical failures across the season also tracked in the F1 Reliability & DNF Statistics.
George Russell failure adds an ironic final twist
Mercedes later deleted the post, which is no longer available. The joke did not prove particularly fortunate for the Brackley team either.
George Russell subsequently suffered a power unit failure and retired from the Grand Prix. His retirement ultimately handed the podium position to Lewis Hamilton, the former Mercedes driver now racing for Ferrari, providing an awkward final twist to a social-media exchange that had begun with Mercedes mocking the Scuderia’s problems.
Fernando Alonso demands FIA answers: “They stopped the race to let Hamilton recover”
Fernando Alonso emerged as one of the main talking points at Sepang after returning to the points with an unexpected eighth-place finish for Aston Martin, but the Spaniard was far from entirely satisfied. Beyond concerns about his own car, the two-time Formula 1 world champion questioned the FIA over the handling of the chaotic start and subsequent red flag following the software problems that affected several 2026 power units.
The unusual sequence unfolded during the formation phase behind the Safety Car, when the extremely slow running caused problems for several drivers. Max Verstappen was among the first to experience difficulties with energy delivery, before Lewis Hamilton suffered an even more serious issue. The Ferrari driver went for more than a minute without a response from the accelerator before eventually getting moving again after completing a full system reset. The technical problem and the circumstances surrounding the suspended start are explained in more detail in our report on Lewis Hamilton’s 2026 F1 software glitch at Sepang.
Fernando Alonso questions FIA over Sepang red flag
The chaotic situation did not sit well with Fernando Alonso. By the time the red flag was shown, the Safety Car had caught and almost lapped part of the group that had remained behind Lewis Hamilton. Fernando Alonso, by contrast, had immediately passed the slow-moving Ferrari and was running much further up the order.
Fernando Alonso interpreted the subsequent stoppage as a decision that helped Lewis Hamilton recover his position and said he expected an explanation from the FIA.
“They will have to give us an explanation,” Fernando Alonso said after the race, as reported by Spanish newspaper AS. “This year we have retired in half of the races, yet there has never been a Grand Prix interruption because of our retirement. Hamilton was stopped at the side of the track and they had to interrupt the race to let him recover his position. A little strange, but I imagine the FIA will explain it to us in Singapore. In any case, there is too much technology and the spectators cannot appreciate it.”
The extraordinary sequence came during the exceptional 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, where difficult weather conditions and the behaviour of the new-generation power units combined to create an unusual start procedure.
Fernando Alonso explains how he recovered into the points
Putting the FIA controversy aside, Fernando Alonso also explained how he managed to climb back into the points despite being caught out by a strategic mistake of his own. Aston Martin started him on dry-weather tyres while the circuit was still extremely wet, leaving him needing to stay in contention and wait for the race to turn back in his favour.
“In these races there is always a Safety Car,” Fernando Alonso explained. “When the track is this tricky, some have dry tyres and others have intermediates, but there is always some accident. Something always happens that, at some point in the race, brings the field back together. I knew I had to try to stay on the lead lap and wait for a Safety Car, and in the end it arrived.”
Season-best result does not fully satisfy Fernando Alonso
Eighth place represented Fernando Alonso’s best result of the season and lifted him to seven points in the championship, level with Nico Hülkenberg, Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz. Despite that progress, the two-time world champion was not especially satisfied with Aston Martin’s overall race performance.
“I expected a little more from our car in terms of race performance,” Fernando Alonso said. “We were going well, but there was a lot of oversteer. At the pit stop we adjusted the front wing a little, but we still have to work.”
The closing laps also became complicated as Lando Norris and Nico Hülkenberg began applying pressure from behind. Fernando Alonso believes the way the drivers were managing their batteries played an important role in allowing him to defend his position.
“I have to review the Grand Prix. In the final laps I found myself in trouble with Norris and Hülkenberg behind me. But I think they had discharged their batteries and needed a couple of laps to recharge them. Mine, on the other hand, was at maximum, and during those two laps I used all of it on the straights.”
“These are circumstances that can help or hurt you during the race if you are able to understand and interpret them,” Fernando Alonso concluded.
Bahrain circuit CEO reveals how 2026 F1 race ended up at Sepang
The unusual decision to stage the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang began, at least for Bahrain International Circuit CEO Sheikh Salman Isa Al Khalifa, with an unexpected phone call shortly after the Belgian Grand Prix. Although the race was ultimately preserved on the Formula 1 calendar, even the Bahrain circuit chief did not initially know that Malaysia would become its temporary home.
Sheikh Salman Isa Al Khalifa was leaving Spa-Francorchamps last July when Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Salman Hamad Al Khalifa, contacted him directly. What initially appeared to be confirmation that the Bahrain Grand Prix would go ahead quickly took an unexpected turn when he was informed that the event would instead take place in Malaysia.
How Sheikh Salman Isa Al Khalifa learned about the Sepang plan
Recalling the conversation, Sheikh Salman Isa Al Khalifa explained that the Crown Prince first informed him that the Bahrain Grand Prix would take place. The circuit CEO responded positively, only to then learn that the race would actually be staged in Malaysia. Salman Hamad Al Khalifa was about to board a flight at the time and indicated that they would continue the conversation once he had landed.
That exchange offered an unusual glimpse into the circumstances surrounding one of the most distinctive changes to the 2026 Formula 1 calendar. Rather than disappearing altogether after the original Bahrain event was cancelled, the Grand Prix retained its place in the championship through an agreement to move it thousands of kilometres away to Sepang.
Why Sepang was chosen for the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix
The selection of Malaysia was shaped by several factors. The existing relationship between Bahrain and Malaysia helped make the arrangement possible, while Sepang already had a long-established Formula 1 history that made it a natural candidate to host a World Championship event at short notice.
Sepang International Circuit staged the Malaysian Grand Prix from 1999 until 2017, giving the venue nearly two decades of experience with Formula 1. Its return in 2026 was therefore not a conventional revival of the Malaysian Grand Prix, but a solution designed specifically to allow the Bahrain Grand Prix to remain on the championship schedule.
Sheikh Salman Isa Al Khalifa highlighted Malaysia’s appeal and recalled the quality of the Formula 1 races previously held there. The move was formally confirmed in July as part of an agreement involving Formula 1, the FIA and the governments of Bahrain and Malaysia. The arrangement preserved an event that otherwise would have been lost from the season.
The exceptional 2026 edition can be explored in more detail through the Bahrain Grand Prix and Sepang race guide, including the distinction between the traditional Sakhir event and the race staged in Malaysia.
Diplomatic ties helped make the Malaysia move possible
The relocation was not simply a question of finding an available racing circuit. Strong diplomatic relations between Bahrain and Malaysia were also central to making the project possible, with the leadership of both countries required to approve the arrangement.
Salman Hamad Al Khalifa presented the agreement as an opportunity to further strengthen the bilateral relationship between Bahrain and Malaysia. That political cooperation, combined with the involvement of Formula 1 and the FIA, created the framework needed for Sepang to host the event.
Bahrain GP identity remains despite Malaysia venue
The result was one of the most unusual events of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship. Although the race took place at Sepang International Circuit, it continued to carry the Bahrain Grand Prix name, organisation and identity rather than becoming a revived Malaysian Grand Prix.
That distinction made the event unique: Bahrain retained its place on the championship calendar while Malaysia provided the circuit required to stage the race. Sepang therefore returned to Formula 1 for the first time since 2017 under circumstances very different from its previous history as host of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
For Sheikh Salman Isa Al Khalifa, however, the story began much more abruptly. As he was leaving the Spa paddock following the Belgian Grand Prix, a call that initially appeared to confirm the survival of the Bahrain race instead revealed that the event was about to embark on an unexpected journey to Malaysia.
Ferrari escape another crisis as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc fight back in Malaysia
Ferrari escaped what was shaping up to be another damaging afternoon at Sepang thanks to a remarkable recovery from Lewis Hamilton and a strong fourth place from Charles Leclerc. An early strategy gamble left both drivers in serious trouble, but two safety-car periods, the pace of the SF-26 and the quality of the drivers’ recovery transformed the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia into one of Ferrari’s best team results in weeks.
It is difficult to imagine what Fred Vasseur must have been thinking when he watched one of his drivers, starting from the front row, lose around 30 seconds in only a handful of corners on dry tyres while the cars around him were still throwing huge amounts of water into the air. After all the criticism directed at the press, the calls for calm and the insistence that Ferrari needed to work without outside distractions, it was Ferrari’s own pit wall and strategists who appeared ready to throw the Grand Prix away with an extremely ambitious gamble.
Safety car gives Ferrari a second chance at Sepang
On a completely chaotic day, driven by the weather and much more besides, the racing gods did not turn their backs on Ferrari. The first safety car allowed Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, who had fallen a long way behind, to close back up to the field. From that moment, both Ferrari drivers were able to rebuild their races.
Lewis Hamilton was inspired, spectacular and relentless in one of his finest performances since joining Ferrari. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion completed one overtake after another and climbed back to fifth place during an outstanding stint on the soft tyre. Charles Leclerc was less spectacular but remained solid and consistent, following a few positions behind while also recovering into a much more competitive part of the order after the shocking opening phase.
Lewis Hamilton reaches the podium as Charles Leclerc takes fourth
A second safety car late in the race, combined with George Russell’s retirement, gave Lewis Hamilton the opportunity to finally clear Isack Hadjar after spending a long period behind him, while Charles Leclerc did the same. The outcome was a superb podium for Lewis Hamilton and an excellent fourth place for Charles Leclerc, both of them recovering after being placed in a difficult position at the start.
The drivers’ execution, the race pace of the SF-26 and a degree of good fortune allowed Ferrari to secure an excellent team result. The comeback also offered some relief after an opening strategy decision that will inevitably remain part of the discussion around Ferrari’s pit-stop and strategy performance.
There is still a strong sense of regret. After five difficult Grands Prix, some of them deeply disappointing, a month of expectations that repeatedly failed to materialise and weeks of internal controversy, tension and rumours of varying credibility, Ferrari appeared to have the race pace at Sepang to finish at least second and perhaps even challenge Max Verstappen for victory. It would have been difficult, but not impossible.
A result that gives Fred Vasseur breathing room
What will be remembered from this Bahrain Grand Prix held at Sepang is Lewis Hamilton’s outstanding race and Charles Leclerc’s excellent performance. Together, the two Ferrari drivers effectively “saved” Fred Vasseur. Had the initial strategy choice ended Ferrari’s race altogether, the reaction would have been fierce, particularly amid the continuing debate over Fred Vasseur’s Ferrari future.
A poor result after Ferrari’s attempt to close ranks, project unity and show complete confidence in the current management would have unleashed another storm over Maranello, comparable to the monsoon that hit Sepang.
The drivers’ long faces in recent weeks, Lewis Hamilton’s pointed remarks about internal management, tension between the drivers, development steps that have not transformed the competitive picture, Charles Leclerc’s repeated observation that rival teams have improved more, and the ADUO 2 introduced for Monza without changing the power-unit balance of performance are all objective elements. So too is Christian Horner putting himself forward. Together, those issues have helped fuel the wider debate around Ferrari’s communication and leadership situation.
Yet in recent days, Ferrari has been described as more united and happier than ever. Fred Vasseur even sheltered behind a press release “that had to be issued to restore calm to the team”. In the view of this writer, professionals of the calibre of those working at Maranello should not be distracted by a few newspaper articles. That, however, is purely a personal opinion.
The objective fact is that a regrouped and apparently united Ferrari, with senior management and the drivers expressing maximum confidence in the current leadership, left Sepang with an excellent result and returned to the podium after a long absence. And what a podium it was. The hope now is that the skies over Maranello really have cleared and that the storms are finally over. Ferrari should still keep an eye on the asphalt, though: when it is wet, the right tyres remain preferable, regardless of newspaper stories or rumours.
Ollie Bearman tells Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc about Malaysia spider scare
Ollie Bearman left Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc stunned after revealing that a large spider beside his head prompted him to abandon his hotel during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend in Malaysia. The Haas driver recounted the unexpected 2am encounter during a fan event, explaining that the experience was enough for him to immediately contact his travel team and arrange somewhere else to stay.
Bearman may be accustomed to the extreme speeds and pressures of Formula 1, but the young British driver, who has also been regarded as a possible future Ferrari option, admitted that spiders are a very different matter. Standing alongside Haas team-mate Esteban Ocon and Ferrari drivers Hamilton and Leclerc, he explained how his night in Malaysia had taken an alarming turn.
Ollie Bearman explains why he abandoned his Malaysia hotel
Bearman recalled being woken at around 2am by a spider positioned next to his head. He told the other drivers that he immediately contacted his travel team and made it clear that he wanted to move because he was not prepared to remain in the room.
When pressed for more details, the Haas driver explained that he had actually heard the spider moving towards him before opening his eyes and discovering it beside him. His description immediately surprised Charles Leclerc, whose reaction made clear just how uncomfortable he found the thought of the encounter.
The story became even more dramatic when Bearman demonstrated the spider’s approximate size with his hand, indicating that it was roughly as large as his palm. He explained that he knocked it away before switching on a light, only to discover that he could no longer find it.
That disappearance created another problem. Bearman admitted that after moving to his new hotel, he had still not opened his suitcase because he was worried that the spider might somehow have ended up inside his luggage.
Bearman’s Ferrari connections have made his development particularly interesting to followers of the Maranello team. The British driver has previously discussed his Ferrari debut and his ambition to race in red again, although his immediate concern in Malaysia was considerably less related to Formula 1.
Lewis Hamilton surprised after almost 20 years of Malaysia visits
Lewis Hamilton was equally taken aback by Bearman’s account. Despite having raced and travelled to Malaysia for almost two decades, the seven-time world champion admitted that he had not realised spiders of that size could be found there.
Hamilton joked that, in Bearman’s situation, he would have preferred to sleep in his car. The revelation appeared to change the Briton’s perception of the country, as he reflected on the fact that he had been visiting Malaysia for around 20 years without previously being aware of such spiders.
The reaction offered a lighter moment during the race weekend for Hamilton, whose latest Ferrari news and developments can be followed in the Lewis Hamilton section. Charles Leclerc’s reaction was similarly memorable, with the Monegasque clearly surprised by the size Bearman described; the latest updates on him are available in the Charles Leclerc section.
What type of spider did Ollie Bearman encounter?
The spider Bearman encountered may have been a huntsman, a type that can be found in houses and hotels around Malaysia. Huntsman spiders use venom to subdue small prey but are generally considered harmless to humans.
Unlike spiders that rely on webs to catch their prey, huntsman spiders are fast-moving hunters that can travel rapidly across trees, walls and ceilings. For the Ferrari junior, however, simply losing sight of the spider after finding it beside his head was enough to bring his stay at that hotel to an immediate end.
Max Verstappen questions slick tyre start as Lewis Hamilton confirms Bahrain concern
Max Verstappen revealed that he had doubts when he saw Lewis Hamilton starting the Bahrain race on slick tyres, with the two Formula 1 drivers later comparing their impressions of the difficult track conditions. Tyre choice was one of the key talking points of the race, particularly as the circuit appeared to be drying while a considerable amount of water remained on the asphalt.
The discussion took place in the post-podium area, where Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton exchanged views on the state of the track and the decision to use slick tyres. For Ferrari and the other teams, judging the crossover point between wet-weather rubber and slicks was particularly delicate in those conditions.
Max Verstappen explains his doubts over Lewis Hamilton’s slick tyres
Max Verstappen explained to Lewis Hamilton why the decision initially raised concerns for him: “When I saw you starting on slicks, I had some doubts. The track looked like it had dried, but there was still quite a lot of water in the asphalt.”
Lewis Hamilton immediately confirmed that he had experienced a similar feeling from the cockpit: “Yes, that’s exactly what I was saying.”
The exchange highlighted how difficult the tyre decision had been despite the increasingly dry appearance of the circuit. Readers can explore compound choices and stint trends in the F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis, while further updates on the seven-time world champion are available in the Lewis Hamilton section.
For both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the visual appearance of the track did not fully reflect the amount of water still present, making the decision to switch to slick tyres far less straightforward than it might have appeared.
Charles Leclerc defends Fred Vasseur after Bahrain P4: “Ferrari is very united”
Charles Leclerc limited Ferrari’s losses at the Bahrain Grand Prix by recovering to fourth place after a difficult opening phase marked by problems on slick tyres, a puncture and front-wing damage. After fighting his way back through the race, the Ferrari driver also delivered a firm defence of Fred Vasseur and stressed that the team remains united amid the rumours that have surrounded the Scuderia in recent days.
Considering everything that happened during the race, Charles Leclerc felt there was little more Ferrari could realistically have achieved. His fourth-place finish completed another significant Ferrari recovery in the Bahrain Grand Prix after an opening part of the race in which several setbacks compromised his chances.
Charles Leclerc says fourth place was Ferrari’s maximum
“I don’t think we could have achieved much more. At the beginning, practically everything went wrong for us, while in the second part the incidents finally started going our way. Considering what happened, I think fourth place was the maximum possible,” Charles Leclerc explained to F1 TV.
The Ferrari driver did not hide the difficulties he experienced with the car either. The combination of inconsistent behaviour, the puncture and damage to the front wing prevented Charles Leclerc from exploiting the full potential available to him during the race.
“I didn’t have a good feeling with the car, the behaviour wasn’t always consistent and I struggled to extract all of its potential. With the puncture and the damage to the front wing, we mainly had to focus on recovering whatever we could,” Charles Leclerc said.
The result ultimately left Charles Leclerc fourth after a challenging afternoon, with Ferrari forced to recover from several early setbacks. The wider difficulties of the opening phase were also central to Ferrari’s Bahrain Grand Prix fightback.
Charles Leclerc strongly defends Fred Vasseur amid Ferrari rumours
Beyond the sporting result, Charles Leclerc also addressed the speculation that has surrounded Fred Vasseur and Ferrari over the past few days. The Monegasque offered an emphatic defence of the team principal and underlined the unity within Maranello, reinforcing the message already delivered as Fred Vasseur called for an end to the rumours surrounding Ferrari.
“As a team, we have several things to analyse and improve when we find ourselves in similar conditions. But we are very united. Fred is doing everything possible to bring Ferrari back to the front and we are working together with him. Reading certain rumours over the last few days hasn’t been pleasant. I hope this result can also help put some of them to rest. Now we want to get back onto the top step of the podium as soon as possible.”
Charles Leclerc’s message was therefore clear after the Bahrain Grand Prix: Ferrari still has areas to analyse and improve when similar difficulties arise, but the team remains united behind Fred Vasseur and focused on returning to victory as quickly as possible.
Lewis Hamilton reveals how unusual Sepang formation lap turned into Ferrari panic
Lewis Hamilton has talked about the extraordinary formation-lap chaos at Sepang, where several Formula 1 cars were reduced to almost identical crawling speeds before his Ferrari lost power completely and stopped on the start-finish straight. What initially looked almost comical quickly became a serious problem as an FIA software bug forced another delay to the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The disruption followed a thunderstorm and torrential rain that had already delayed proceedings by around 40 minutes at the Sepang International Circuit. When the field was finally sent out behind the Safety Car, the attempt to begin the race soon unravelled as multiple drivers encountered power-delivery problems.
Lewis Hamilton compares Sepang chaos to Formula 1 Lego racing
Max Verstappen had secured pole position, with Lewis Hamilton alongside him on the front row, but the Red Bull driver was the first to encounter trouble. Verstappen slowed dramatically and came close to stopping, creating a concertina effect as the cars behind were forced to reduce their speed in the difficult conditions.
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis later confirmed that a software bug was responsible. With the cars travelling unusually slowly because of the wet track, the problem prevented power from being redeployed correctly and caused several drivers to crawl around the circuit.
The unusual conditions followed an already disrupted build-up to the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, where heavy rain had completely altered the expected start procedure.
Hamilton later compared the sight of the cars moving at almost the same slow speed to Formula 1’s Lego racing demonstrations. The reference was to the Lego F1 cars used ahead of the 2025 Miami Grand Prix and the Lego go-karts that featured before this year’s British Grand Prix.
The mood changed rapidly, however, when the seven-time world champion lost all power. His Ferrari eventually ground to a halt on the start-finish straight, forcing him to stop the engine and restart the car while still on the circuit.
Lewis Hamilton forced to restart Ferrari on track
Hamilton explained afterwards that he had never previously experienced a situation in which he had needed to stop the car on track, shut down the engine and restart it in that manner. The incident prompted another lengthy delay while the FIA worked to resolve the software problem before allowing the Bahrain Grand Prix to continue.
More developments involving the seven-time world champion throughout his second Ferrari season can be followed in the dedicated Lewis Hamilton news section.
The unusual formation lap also left the other leading drivers confused. Kimi Antonelli, who went on to finish second for Mercedes, recalled that at one stage as many as five cars were running side by side on the straight because nobody fully understood what was happening.
Max Verstappen also described the confusion from his perspective. After initially triggering the problem himself, the Red Bull driver looked in his mirrors and saw the unusual situation developing behind. On a subsequent lap, he encountered another group of cars still crawling, including Lewis Hamilton struggling independently with his Ferrari.
FIA software bug forces emergency intervention at Sepang
Nikolas Tombazis attributed the incident to the complexity of the software systems being used in the wet conditions. The failure occurred while cars were travelling at particularly low speeds and ultimately required the FIA to make changes before the field could continue.
The episode highlighted how closely modern Formula 1 power-unit behaviour is linked to software and energy-management systems, particularly under unusual operating conditions. Further technical coverage of Ferrari’s SF-26 and related systems is available in the Ferrari technical analysis section.
Once the necessary update had been completed, the race was able to proceed. Verstappen and Hamilton eventually finished first and third respectively, with the chequered flag falling three hours and 20 minutes after the Grand Prix had originally been scheduled to begin.
By that stage, the drivers were able to look back at the formation-lap scenes with some humour, but Verstappen also stressed that such a situation was not desirable for Formula 1. The four-time world champion hoped the episode would provide lessons for the future, particularly given the complexity of the current power units and the amount of software involved in their operation.
For Hamilton, what began as an almost surreal procession at identical speed quickly became a genuine technical concern when his Ferrari lost power altogether. The incident ultimately did not prevent him from reaching the podium, but it added another extraordinary chapter to a Bahrain Grand Prix weekend shaped by rain, software problems and repeated delays. The remaining rounds of the season can be followed through the 2026 Formula 1 calendar.
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