Verstappen wins chaotic rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix held at Sepang

Max Verstappen won the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix on October 4 at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor, Malaysia, taking his first victory of the season for Red Bull after a race disrupted by heavy rain, a red flag and a technical fault that affected several cars at the start, according to Motorsport.com and Sky Sports.

The Bahrain Grand Prix was moved to Sepang after the 2026 Iran war led organisers to cancel the April double-header originally planned in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, according to Wikipedia. Formula One, the FIA and both governments agreed the event would keep the Bahrain Grand Prix name and that Bahrain would retain ticket-pricing rights and race proceeds even though it was run in Malaysia. Sepang last held a Formula One race in 2017, meaning the circuit returned to the calendar after a nine-year gap.

A 93-minute delay and a throttle failure

According to Motorsport.com, the start was pushed back roughly 90 minutes after torrential rain hit the circuit. The field was sent out behind the safety car for two formation laps, but a red flag was then shown after several cars — including front-row starters Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton — suffered a software glitch that left throttle inputs unresponsive. Ferrari said Hamilton's loss of power was traced to a software issue that the team fixed with a reset, Motorsport.com reported.

The race eventually got under way at 16:33 local time, with the distance cut from the scheduled 56 laps to 55 because of the delays, according to Wikipedia.

Tyre gamble sends Hamilton to 18th, then back to the podium

Nine drivers started on intermediate tyres while others, including Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, fitted slicks in a bet that the track would dry quickly, Motorsport.com reported. The gamble backfired for Ferrari: Hamilton dropped as low as 18th place after starting on slicks on a track that was still too wet, according to Sky Sports and RacingNews365.

A safety car period on lap 9, triggered when Valtteri Bottas spun at Turn 13, let the drivers who had started on intermediates switch to slicks under less time pressure, Motorsport.com said. At the restart, Verstappen passed Kimi Antonelli into Turn 1 while George Russell moved past into third at Turn 5. Hamilton continued to climb through the field, passing Isack Hadjar on a later restart, and ultimately crossed the line third, his first podium since the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, according to Motorsport.com.

Russell retires from third place, Verstappen controls the finish

A second safety car was deployed five laps from the end after George Russell retired his Mercedes with a suspected power-unit failure while running third, according to Sky Sports and RacingNews365. Verstappen was unchallenged at the front for the remainder of the race.

Championship impact

Antonelli's second place and Russell's retirement reshaped the title fight between the two Mercedes drivers, according to RacingNews365. Had Russell finished third as he was running, Antonelli's lead would have grown by three points to 69; instead, Russell's retirement widened the gap to 84 points. After the race, RacingNews365 listed Antonelli on 320 points, Russell on 236, Hamilton on 214 and Verstappen on 188, with the next round scheduled in Singapore.

RacingNews365 also noted the win was Verstappen's 72nd Formula One victory and gave him back-to-back wins at Sepang, separated by nine years since his previous visit to the circuit.