Formula 1: Max Verstappen wins the Bahrain GP in Sepang

Max Verstappen won the Bahrain GP, ​​the 16th round of the Formula 1 World Championship. On the Malaysian Sepang circuit, where the race was moved, the Red Bull driver achieved his first success of the season, preceding Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari, second and third. Fourth place Charles Leclerc. George Russell with the other Mercedes retired, allowing Antonelli to further extend his lead in the world championship standings.

George Russell's retirement in the Bahrain GP allowed Kimi Antonelli, second at the finish line behind Max Verstappen, to extend his Mercedes teammate to +84 in the standings. The twist, in the final laps of the race in Sepang, also allowed Ferrari to return to the podium, where it had been missing since July, with Lewis Hamilton, and to take fourth place with Charles Leclerc. In the final classification of the race, Isack Hadjar's Red Bull placed fifth. Oscar Piastri (McLaren, sixth), Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls, seventh), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin, eighth), Lando Norris (McLaren, ninth) and Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls, tenth) also scored points.

It's really very nice to win here after the many problems at the beginning of the season and the progress we've made during the World Championship: I'm happy and proud for myself and for all of us." Words from Max Verstappen after the triumph in the Bahrain GP in Sepang in Malaysia: "Many things happened today. At the start I lost power, then at the start I made the right choice regarding the tyres, I reassembled the Mercedes and from then on I was able to make my pace. Even after the last Safety Car I always had everything under control."

"Today we achieved the best possible result." This is how Kimi Antonelli summarizes his race in Sepang with a very important second place in terms of the World Championship. "Congratulations to Max and Red Bull on their weekend. For us - adds the Mercedes driver - there is still some work to do. We suffered more than usual, so I'm happy with second place. Sepang is a fantastic track and the fans are equally fantastic. We hope to be able to return in the future."

Bahrain GP, rankings

Finishing order of the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia:

1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)

2 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +2,307

3 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +4,919

4 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +7,258

5 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull Racing) +8.571

6 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +9,454

7 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +12,753

8 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +13,372

9 Lando Norris (McLaren) +13,993

10 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +15,928

11 Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +17,404

12 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +18,052

13 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +18,997

14 Oliver Bearman (Haas F1 Team) +22.305

15 Esteban Ocon (Haas F1 Team) +22.532

16 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +23.315

17 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +25,431

18 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) +28,233

19 Sergio Perez (Cadillac) +29.310

Drivers' world ranking:

1 Kimi Antonelli (Italy, Mercedes) 320

2 George Russell (UK, Mercedes) 236

3 Lewis Hamilton (UK, Ferrari) 214

4 Charles Leclerc (Monaco, Ferrari) 191

5 Max Verstappen (Netherlands, Red Bull) 188

6 Lando Norris (UK, McLaren) 188

7 Oscar Piastri (Australia, McLaren) 128

8 Isack Hadjar (France, Red Bull) 96

9 Liam Lawson (New Zealand, Racing Bulls) 65

10 Pierre Gasly (France, Alpine) 41

11 Arvid Lindblad (UK, Racing Bulls) 38

12 Franco Colapinto (Argentina, Alpine) 27

13 Oliver Bearman (UK, Haas) 20

14 Gabriel Bortoleto (Brazil, Audi) 10

15 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany, Audi) 7

16 Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spain, Williams) 7

17 Esteban Ocon (France, Haas) 7

18 Fernando Alonso (Spain, Aston Martin) 7

19 Alexander Albon (Thailand, Williams) 5

20 Yuki Tsunoda (Japan, Racing Bulls) 1

World constructors' ranking:

1 Mercedes 556

2 Ferrari 405

3 McLaren 316

4 Red Bull Racing 298

5 Racing Bulls 90

6 Alpine 68

7 Haas F1 Team 27

8 Audi 17

9 Williams 12

10 Aston Martin 7

THE RACE

On lap 54: Verstappen in the lead ahead of Antonelli and Hamilton, Leclerc fourth

The safety car is over

On lap 50, Russell retires due to a technical problem. Verstappen in the lead, ahead of Antonelli and Hadjarl. Hamilton fourth, Leclerc fifth

On lap 45 the safety car comes in, there will be a restart. Verstappen in the lead, ahead of Antonelli and Russell. Hamilton fifth, Leclerc sixth

Virtual safety car due to Albon going off the road, pit stop for Verstappen who returns behind Antonelli. Hamilton also comes out and rejoins in sixth place, pit stop Leclerc rejoins in ninth

Lap 43: Verstappen in the lead, ahead of Antonelli and Russell. Hamilton fifth, Leclerc sixth.

Lap 35: Verstappen in the lead, ahead of Antonelli and Russell. Hamilton fifth, Leclerc sixth

Lap 31: Verstappen in the lead, ahead of Antonelli and Russell. Hamilton fifth, Leclerc 11th

Lap 26: Verstappen in the lead, ahead of Antonelli and Russell. Hamilton fifth, Leclerc 9th

Lap 22: Verstappen in the lead, ahead of Antonelli and Russell. Hamilton fifth, Leclerc 10th

Lap 20: Verstappen in the lead, ahead of Russell and Antonelli. Hamilton seventh, Leclerc 12th

Lap 17: Verstappen in the lead, ahead of Russell and Antonelli. Hamilton ninth, Leclerc 12th

Once the safety car ran out on lap 13, Verstappen took advantage and overtook Antonelli, who was also overtaken by Russell. Hamilton 11th, Leclerc 14th

Safety car on lap 10 due to Bottas' exit, drivers take advantage of changing tires except Hamilton and Norris

On lap Antonelli rejects Verstappen's attack and keeps the lead. Third Russell The track is still wet Leclerc, forced to immediately pit stop to change tyres, moves up to 16th place, Hamilton on slicks is 18th

On lap six Verstappen overtakes Russell and chases Antonelli

Ferrari disaster at the start with Leclerc immediately forced to pit stop in 22nd position while Hamilton on slicks was 17th.

Super start for those who have fitted rain tyres. The GP starts from the 3rd lap after the two to test the tires behind the safety car after the postponement due to rain and technical problems on the formation lap

First the monsoon made the track impassable for a long time, then sudden problems with the software of several single-seaters forced the start of the Bahrain Formula 1 GP which takes place on the Sepang circuit in Malaysia to be postponed by over an hour and a half. Especially Verstappen and Hamilton, who started on the front row, but also Leclerc, were affected by the technical problem, probably due to the very low speeds behind the safety car during the first start with the rain still pouring down. The race restarted at 10.40 Italian time, with the immediate carousel for changing the tires from wet to slick.