Verstappen beats Antonelli to win F1's Bahrain GP in Malaysia as Russell retires
SEPANG, Malaysia (AP) — Max Verstappen took his first win of the year but a retirement for George Russell handed a huge title boost to Kimi Antonelli at Formula 1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday.
Verstappen was leading from Antonelli and Russell behind the safety car with five laps to go when Russell suddenly pulled over in his Mercedes. That means Antonelli further stretches his big standings lead over his teammate Russell from 66 points to 84.
Mercedes told Antonelli over the radio it appeared Russell had suffered a power unit problem.
Antonelli finished second and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton passed Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar for third.
Four-time champion Verstappen hadn’t won since the final race of last season, but upgrades to his Red Bull car made him competitive again in Malaysia this week.
“Good job guys, wow," he told the team over the radio.
The first wet-weather race for F1 in 2026 started more than 90 minutes later than planned. The start was first delayed 40 minutes for heavy rain, then suspended again when cars had apparent software problems on the formation lap.
When it finally did get under way, Verstappen was slow off the line and lost places to Antonelli and Russell. He chased down Russell and then got past Antonelli in a side-by-side fight after a safety-car restart.
The race was relocated because of the Iran war, becoming F1's first event at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia since 2017.
Hamilton's third place capped a remarkable recovery for the seven-time champion and ends a run of five races without a podium finish for the Italian team.
It seemed almost impossible early in the race as Hamilton, and his teammate Charles Leclerc, were near the back of the pack. Ferrari had gambled on sending them to the start on dry-weather tires as the track began to dry after rain, causing Hamilton to drop from second to near the back.
Leclerc also overtook Hadjar late on to follow Hamilton with fourth place, as Hadjar ended up fifth. Oscar Piastri was sixth for McLaren after a punchy late battle with Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls, who was seventh after racing near the front at the start.
Fernando Alonso was eighth in Aston Martin's best result of the season, Lando Norris ninth after going off-track and losing places, with Lawson's teammate Arvid Lindblad 10th.
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