The start
At lights out, Oscar Piastri gets a great launch and holds the lead, followed by Russell who attempts a move on the Australian into Turn 1. Lando Norris has an excellent start as well, taking fourth place by Turn 1 and overtaking Charles Leclerc at Turn 2. Charles Leclerc, along with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, are the only ones on medium tyres.
Sainz also gets off the line well, gaining two positions to move up to sixth. On lap 5 of 57, Norris comes under investigation for a false start – the Brit had positioned his car too far forward in his grid slot: a possible penalty? Meanwhile, Verstappen overtakes Sainz for seventh. On lap 8, Norris is officially handed a five-second penalty. At this point, the running order is: Piastri, Russell, Norris, Leclerc, Gasly, Antonelli, Verstappen, Sainz, Hamilton and Tsunoda.
Big battles
The opening laps are full of action: Carlos Sainz is overtaken by both Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda in a single lap (lap 9). Antonelli impresses too, battling with Gasly for fifth and successfully passing him at Turn 4.
Soft tyre degradation is high, prompting many drivers to pit as early as lap 10. Norris (who serves his penalty), Verstappen, and Gasly all stop. Of the three, only Verstappen switches to hard tyres, while the others opt for mediums. In the following laps, more drivers pit, including both Mercedes cars, temporarily losing second and fourth place. Piastri also pits for mediums, handing the lead to Leclerc, followed by Hamilton. The two Ferraris lead the race from laps 14 to 18, then box for a double pit stop on lap 18 for another set of medium tyres.
Verstappen struggles, Ferrari breathes
Hard tyres do not work at all for Verstappen, who struggles massively. The four-time world champion loses several places and complains to his team about brake issues. On lap 26, Verstappen pits for mediums and drops from ninth to 19th. Antonelli also pits, switching to softs and committing to a three-stop strategy.
Meanwhile, on fresh mediums, Ferrari stages a comeback. Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton make significant gains, aided by improved grip. Charles Leclerc pulls off some brilliant overtakes, including one on Norris, moving up to third temporarily. Hamilton rises to fifth.
Lap 33/57: Safety Car changes everything
A midfield battle involving Sainz, Tsunoda, and Albon causes debris on track, prompting the FIA to deploy the Safety Car to clean up Turns 1 and 2. The top five (Piastri, Russell, Leclerc, Norris, and Hamilton) all pit for their second stops. The two Papayas take mediums, Russell takes softs, and the two Ferraris go for hards. Many drivers in the back also pit under the Safety Car, which ends on lap 35.
At the restart, Norris battles both Ferraris: he tries to pass Leclerc, who fends him off, then Lewis Hamilton overtakes him. A fierce fight follows as Norris reclaims the position off-track. McLaren instructs Norris to give the place back, which he does the next lap. But the strong pace of the MCL39 allows Norris to retake the place from Hamilton at the start of lap 37, climbing back to fourth behind Leclerc.
All 20 drivers are locked in tight battles. On lap 41, the provisional order is: Piastri leading, followed by Russell and Leclerc. Then Norris, Hamilton, Gasly, Verstappen, Ocon, Doohan, and Tsunoda. Norris, seemingly the fastest of the bunch, attempts a move on Leclerc at Turn 1 but runs wide and locks the rear tyres.
He eventually passes Charles Leclerc cleanly on lap 52 to take third place. Meanwhile, George Russell is told he will be investigated post-race for illegal DRS usage. The Mercedes driver holds off Norris in the final laps to keep second place.
In the midfield, there’s a heated scrap from P8 to P13: Ocon leads a train of cars, with Haas securing valuable points thanks to Oliver Bearman in tenth. Williams is left disappointed after Carlos Sainz retires due to heavy damage; Albon finishes 12th.
Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri begins his final lap and secures a well-deserved victory at the Bahrain GP. Russell holds off Norris, who settles for P3. Leclerc finishes fourth, Hamilton fifth – both limited by the hard tyre, which deprived the SF-25 of the potential shown earlier on mediums. Verstappen, uncharacteristically quiet, edges past Gasly on the final straight to take sixth. Below is the full classification of the Bahrain GP, but track limits and post-race investigations could still shake things up.
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