Oscar Piastri closed to within three points of the championship lead by comfortably winning the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir.
The McLaren driver finished 15 seconds clear of Mercedes driver George Russell who overcame car gremlins to hold Piastri’s team-mate Lando Norris for second.
Piastri lined up from pole ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc but it was Russell, who started from third after being awarded a one-place penalty following qualifying, who made the best getaway to challenge Piastri for the lead into turn one. Piastri used the inside line to remain ahead, while Norris climbed from sixth to wrestle third away from Leclerc into turn four.
Norris, however, was soon handed a five-second penalty for starting outside of his grid box, and spent the first stint following in the wheeltracks of Russell while Piastri built a 3s lead. The front three eventually pitted to switch from soft to medium compound tyres, with Norris dropping away from Russell after serving his penalty during his stop.
Piastri extended his advantage over Russell to 5s, while Norris slipped into the clutches of Leclerc who swept around the outside of turn four into third approaching the halfway stage.
The safety car was eventually deployed for debris on track, leading to most of the field pitting for a second time. Piastri continued to lead after emerging from the pits on another set of mediums, while Russell made a more bold choice by switching to the soft tyre.
Piastri continued to lead Russell when racing resumed with 22 laps remaining while Norris, also on mediums, lost out in a battle with Ferrari’s hard-tyre-shod duo Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Norris recovered past Hamilton at turn four but, having appeared to go off track while completing the overtake, was instructed by his team to hand the place back. Having done so, he soon swept past his fellow countryman once more. Having broken clear of Hamilton, Leclerc and Norris ran nose-to-tail for third until six laps remaining, when Norris swept past into turn four.
Russell, meanwhile, was experiencing unusual gremlins with his car in the latter stages. Not only was the circuit live timing not picking up his transponder, but his DRS was not working properly and he also complained about gearshift problems. He resisted a late charge from Norris to remain second and, despite a post-race investigation for his DRS incorrectly activating, avoided a penalty
Having pulled well clear, Piastri cruised to his second victory of the season. Leclerc came home 3s behind Russell and Norris in fourth, with Hamilton a further 8s back in fifth.
Reigning champion Max Verstappen struggled throughout. The lack of pace with his Red Bull car was compounded further by issues during his pitstops, and he finished a distant sixth after passing Alpine’s Pierre Gasly on the final lap.
Verstappen’s team-mate Yuki Tsunoda scored his first points for Red Bull in ninth, with Haas duo Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman both also finishing in the points in eighth and 10th respectively.
Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli ran strongly early on but missed out on the points in 11th, with Williams’ Alex Albon 12th. Albon’s team-mate Carlos Sainz was the only retirement, having ran in the top-10 before suffering race-ending sidepod damage in a colliison.
Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was subsequently disqualified after his car failed post-race scrutineering.
Featured image credit: F1 on X
