Race Highlights | 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

The drivers are ready for what could be, what is expected to be, multiple formation laps behind the safety car. I can't accelerate. It's not working guys. He's not waiting for the safety car to disappear. That was not intentional. Max Verstappen nursing an issue. Is he the only one? No, Hamilton's completely stopped now. I'm just pressing the throttle, nothing's happening. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton having the same issue at the same part of the racetrack. So the restricted speed has had a massive knock on and the driver's entering a mode where they are crawling around and this is impacting half the field and the starting procedure is suspended. There is a big divide here between slick tyres. As you can see perfectly in your picture, Hamilton is on a shiny set of softs as well as he leaves the pits. If the grip is there for the slick tyres, that will be a race changer for them. We launch off the line. Slick tyres. Kimi Antonelli to the lead. Kimi Antonelli getting the launch and he's brought George Russell with him as well. Antonelli and Russell 1-2. Mercedes on fast forward. Max Verstappen down to third place. Lawson up seven positions. Is that really Liam Lawson? You know it is. He's found himself into fourth place all over the back. It's our first race running and it's very tight for P3 with Lawson all over the back of Max Verstappen. Totally different. Russell in the wheel tracks. Top two in the World Championship. First and second. Verstappen hanging on. Is his tyre the right one to be on? It's the Inter tyres, the top nine in the Grand Prix. Yeah, this is clearly working for the Inter runners right now. Hamilton lost 12 seconds to Antonelli just in the middle sector on lap one. It's an A-tier race and a B-tier race at the moment. Tyre fired up for Max Verstappen. That's second place in the Grand Prix. He was a soaring away at George Russell time and time again and now it's Kimi Antonelli ahead that he will go chasing after. Pass Williams. Racing Bulls clearly in great contention for big points. Isaac Hadjar moves up to fourth position with a move at the hairpin. Last corner of the racetrack Mercedes are stirring. Red Bull are stirring. They know this is the opportunity. Off goes the Cadillac. Valtteri Bottas into the gravel. Yellow flag out. If he can't get out, he was on the slick tyres. Safety car deployed and that will allow everyone to come in. The full safety car comes out. Pit stop race between Mercedes and Red Bull now with the Grand Prix lead on the line. Double stack for Mercedes. Brilliant work to get Antonelli into the fast lane. That is the definition of high pressure and they pass the test. The time is now to put your foot to the floor and Max Verstappen has stayed with the championship leader. George Russell hoping for drama from the top two. Antonelli maintaining the lead. Verstappen trying the long way round. Trying to turn that outside line into the inside line into the race lead for Max Verstappen who did the hard work immediately. Now Antonelli tries to fight back. A four-time world champion and the driver trying to take the crown and will they make it a three-way battle for the lead here? It's Max Verstappen P1. Antonelli is now fighting. He's nearest rival in the championship. Signs is dropping down the timing page and George Russell is trying to go all the way around the outside to take second place and it's first place on the restart to third for Kimi Antonelli as Max Verstappen now leads George Russell. Gabriel Bortoletto. Carlos Sainz is the driver ahead. We saw Sainz dropping down. There's the contact. Hey, what the **** does that give me space there? Race control disagreed. 10-second penalty for Gabriel Bortoletto. This is what it looked like on board with Carlos Sainz. Good job you left him all the space in the world. Lewis Hamilton getting by Oscar Piastri. Piastri on the hard compound of tyre. P7 then for Hamilton who had a miserable start of this Grand Prix but it improves now with another overtake. Hamilton the last of the late breakers to take P6. You are looking at the battle for the Formula One World Championship. It currently stands at 66 points but to the inside and taking the place is Kimi Antonelli immediately getting by and Antonelli claims P2 back. The one-man highlight reel today. Lewis Hamilton. So much action going on. 27 seconds between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. P1 to P5. Here's the Australian driver going past the Kiwi but locking up and that will reopen the door. Lawson will take back P6 and they will run very close. Pass pitting in the background is Esteban Ocon. Still they run side by side. Mainframe and you've got Oscar Piastri finally with the inside line and finally with the place. Alonso Sainz to the inside. He's got the apex but you need to leave racing room on the outside. Alonso up to P10 but he knows it. He anticipates that. Look at the race craft there. Oh masterpiece stuff. Waited for the launch of the inside and he is up to 10th position. Alex Albon parking up fairly sensibly. The full safety car is out to bunch the pack up. It's going to be a mini shootout to decide things. Russell is veering off the racetrack and stopping. George Russell is pulling out of the Grand Prix. That is a defining moment and Lando Norris is off. Lando Norris is in the gravel as the driver second in the points comes to a halt. Russell pulling out on the right hand side. Oh they were all backed up. He's taking his eye off the ball hasn't he? Verstappen takes us back to green flag racing once again. Verstappen looking for his first win of the season. These two are battling again. Lawson versus Piastri. Soft tyres versus medium tyres and position gained on the apex. Can he keep it? Lawson moves ahead into P6. Piastri will fight back now as we climb the hill to turn four. That's great aggression from Lawson and he gets ahead to cover the inside up to Ford. Can Piastri do anything here? Oh Piastri brave with it and Ford back to P6 and it's Hamilton who's looking racy now and the driver who was a minute away nowhere on the wrong tyre at the start will surely finish on the podium at the end. Oh it's close in the background there and Charles Leclerc improves to fourth position. Max Verstappen takes victory and wins the Grand Prix. Verstappen with his first win of the season. Antonelli with 18 points to take him closer to the World Championship. Hamilton from a minute back to the podium and then it's Leclerc, Hadjar, Piastri, Lawson. A season's best for Fernando Alonso. Chased all the way to the flag by Lando Norris and the points are completed by Arvid Lindblad. Max Verstappen has waited until October for this feeling. Climbing to the top step and celebrating victory. Hard fought and well earned for Red Bull. What looks to be a decisive moment in the Championship for Kimi Antonelli.