Oscar Piastri took a commanding victory on the Bahrain Grand Prix to place himself three factors off the world championship lead.
Piastri launched cleanly from pole and was solely briefly challenged initially by George Russell, who used the Australian’s slipstream from third on the grid to aim an formidable around-the-outside transfer on the first flip.
Piastri leads Russell away from the beginning as Leclerc and Norris duel. Andy Hone/Getty Photographs
However the Mercedes driver locked up when he hit the brakes, blunting his assault and stopping him from squeezing the McLaren off the racing line into Flip 2, permitting Piastri to carry the lead. He wasn’t headed once more, ceding the lead solely briefly by way of the sequence of the primary pit stops whereas constructing a snug 7s lead by lap 32, when a security automotive reset the order.
Piastri mastered the restart, firing early regardless of the chance of a slipstream down the lengthy entrance straight, however at first struggled to interrupt away.
Russell, who had run second all through the race, had switched to a set of soppy tires in the course of the security automotive, conserving the Mercedes in contact with the medium-shod McLaren within the lead. It took 10 laps for the softs to start to wilt and for Russell’s problem to fade, leaving Piastri to skip off to a 15s victory, his second of the season and McLaren’s first ever in Bahrain.
“It’s been an unimaginable weekend,” he mentioned. “To complete the job as we speak in model is good.
“I can’t thank the crew sufficient for the automotive they’ve given us. It was fairly helpful on the market. It’s been a fantastic weekend — and I’m pleased with what I’ve finished this weekend as nicely.”
Russell did nicely to complete second after a cascade of technical points befall his automotive following the protection automotive.
A transponder failure was the primary situation to manifest, and shortly his automotive couldn’t robotically detect when it was in a DRS zone, requiring a handbook override. The stewards later famous him for a DRS infringement, which can be investigated after the race.
Russell was then warned that his sprint — the display on his steering wheel — may shut down and that he must drive to the end with out it. He additionally suffered a brake-by-wire failure.
With round 5 laps to go Russell reported issues shifting gears, and immediately he was within the clutches of Lando Norris on the ultimate lap of the race. Norris tried round his exterior on the first flip, however Russell was smart to the transfer, taking the widest line to run Norris out of highway and disrupt his momentum and safe the place.
“I didn’t know what was happening,” he mentioned. “It was actually exhausting to maintain Lando behind. Nonetheless, actually happy with P2.
“Oscar was in a league of his personal, so congratulations to him and McLaren.”
The security automotive was excellent news for Norris, who salvaged the ultimate place on the rostrum, up from sixth on the grid, regardless of serving a 5s penalty at his first cease.
The penalty, for beginning the race too far ahead of his grid field, counted him out of the battle for second regardless of a scorching begin that put him into third initially of the race. He was later handed by Charles Leclerc after the Ferrari driver earned a seven-lap tire offset with a later pit cease.
However the security automotive introduced the Briton again into the combination, and when Leclerc was placed on the exhausting tire to complete the race, Norris noticed a chance to pounce. He made his first try on lap 46, however a lock-up whereas pondering of an around-the-outside transfer into the primary flip price him momentum, and it took him one other three laps to strive once more.
Leclerc was inch-perfect in protection subsequent time round, positioning his automotive to balk the quicker McLaren on the apex for Flip 2 to sluggish Norris’s run as much as Flip 4, the place he crowded the orange automotive off the monitor to carry place.
However by lap 52 Norris’s momentum was overwhelming. A lot nearer out of the primary three turns, he swept round Leclerc’s exterior into Flip 4, the place a giant snap of oversteer ensured Leclerc couldn’t struggle again.
LAP 52/57
Complete dedication at Flip 4! 💪
Norris goes across the exterior to grab P3 away from Leclerc #F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/iUUfQgan4F
— Formulation 1 (@F1) April 13, 2025
Out of time to stress Russell for greater than a lap, Norris collected 15 factors for third to carry his title lead.
“A tricky race,” he mentioned. “I made too many errors with the overtakes, out of place [on the grid] — it was a messy race for me. I’m dissatisfied to not carry residence a one-two for McLaren.”
Leclerc completed fourth forward of teammate Lewis Hamilton in fifth, each struggling on the exhausting tire within the ultimate stint, a call compelled upon them by beginning on the medium tire relatively than the smooth.
Max Verstappen completed sixth after a last-lap overtake on the finish of a troublesome evening, slowed by a center stint on the exhausting tire and by a sluggish sequence of pit stops by Crimson Bull Racing, which suffered malfunctions with its pit gantry gear.
Pierre Gasly impressively held onto seventh for Alpine forward of a high-rising Esteban Ocon, who crashed out of qualifying in 14th however gained massively by way of an early pit cease simply eight laps into the race to undercut his manner ahead.
Yuki Tsunoda scored his first factors as a Crimson Bull Racing driver — and the primary factors for the second Crimson Bull Racing automotive — from ninth, whereas Oliver Bearman accomplished the highest 10, up 10 locations after capitalizing on the timing of the protection automotive. Bearman’s rating moved Haas previous Williams into fifth on the groups’ title desk.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, inversely, was penalized by the protection automotive timing, having simply made his second pit cease. He fell to 14th on the restart and recovered to eleventh on the flag.
Alex Albon completed twelfth forward of Nico Hulkenberg, Isack Hadjar, Jack Doohan and Fernando Alonso.
Liam Lawson picked up two penalties for inflicting collisions on his technique to seventeenth forward of Lance Stroll and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Carlos Sainz was the race’s solely retirement after his Williams picked up terminal sidepod harm involved with Tsunoda’s Crimson Bull.
