RACE REPORT | F1 Bahrain 2025

Oscar Piastri stayed calm and focused as he converted pole position into a well-earned win for McLaren at the Bahrain Grand Prix. George Russell claimed second and Lando Norris third place.

Most of the grid started the race on soft tyres, but a few drivers including Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto chose the medium compound instead. That made Leclerc’s position on the front row next to polesitter Oscar Piastri even more interesting, as he was on a different strategy.

When the lights went out, Piastri made a perfect start and kept the lead into Turn 1. George Russell tried to challenge him in his Mercedes, but Piastri stayed ahead. Lando Norris had a lightning start from sixth on the grid and was already up to third by the first corner, making it a great start for McLaren. Behind them, Leclerc and Pierre Gasly followed, while Max Verstappen dropped to eighth, stuck between Kimi Antonelli and Hamilton. Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top ten.

By Lap 5, Carlos Sainz came under pressure. Antonelli made a move at Turn 1 and Verstappen followed closely, completing his own overtake through the next corners. Verstappen quickly defended himself over the radio, saying that Sainz had not left him enough space. The stewards decided not to investigate further.

On Lap 7, Isack Hadjar was the first to stop for fresh tyres, switching from softs to mediums. Up front, Piastri was controlling the race well and had built a 2.5 second gap over Russell. Then came the news that Norris was handed a five second penalty for his false start.

Hamilton then made a move on Sainz at Turn 11 and Tsunoda followed him through, pushing Sainz down to tenth. Antonelli passed Gasly for fifth place and Verstappen was right behind the Alpine driver, ready to attack. But soon after, Verstappen pitted. On Lap 11, both he and Norris came into the pits. Norris served his five second penalty and switched to mediums. Verstappen went for hard tyres, but a slow stop due to a red light delay in the pit box cost him time. He was not happy and let the team know over the radio. Tsunoda also had a pit stop issue with the lights and was frustrated too.

Russell pitted on Lap 14, putting on mediums to cover Norris and stay ahead. To protect Piastri’s lead, McLaren brought him in on the next lap also for mediums. That handed the lead to Leclerc, with Hamilton right behind, making it a temporary Ferrari one two.

Ferrari wanted to switch Leclerc to Plan B, but he preferred Plan D. In the end, they called him in on Lap 18 and double stacked both Ferraris for mediums. Leclerc was not happy, but he rejoined in fifth place and soon passed Gasly. Hamilton, who had briefly dropped out of the top ten, also made up places, passing Tsunoda.

Verstappen, still on the hard tyres, was not happy. Antonelli passed him out of Turn 4 and Verstappen reported over the radio that everything in the car was overheating. Hamilton, now on mediums, caught up and overtook him at Turn 11 with DRS. Verstappen, struggling badly, fell to ninth and continued to complain over the radio, saying he could not even brake anymore and that it was just ridiculous.

As Verstappen struggled, McLaren looked strong in first and third, but Leclerc was still chasing Norris. On Lap 24, Leclerc got close and tried to pass Norris into Turn 1 but ran wide. Norris held the position, but only for one more lap. Leclerc got ahead at Turn 3. At the same time, Hamilton passed Antonelli into Turn 1 and then moved into sixth by overtaking Ocon on the next lap.

Verstappen finally gave up on the hard tyres on Lap 27 and came in for mediums, but again he had a slow stop. It took 6.2 seconds due to trouble with the front right tyre. His evening continued to go from bad to worse.

At the same time, Norris reported a red light warning in his cockpit that would not go off. McLaren looked into it and the light eventually disappeared. Meanwhile, Tsunoda and Sainz made contact coming out of Turn 1, leaving the Williams car with a big hole in the sidepod.

Piastri had pulled out a gap of over seven seconds on Russell when the Safety Car came out. Tsunoda had hit Sainz again at Turn 1, leaving debris on the track. Lawson also made contact with Stroll, earning himself a five second penalty. Piastri took the opportunity to pit, along with the rest of the field. Tyre choices varied across the grid. Piastri chose mediums, Russell went for softs and Leclerc picked hards.

Verstappen stayed out and moved up to eighth, but he knew the cars behind would have more grip and would likely overtake him. Hamilton found himself in fifth and praised Ferrari for a great job over the radio.

The race restarted on Lap 36 and Piastri got away cleanly. Norris and Hamilton both went after Leclerc, but the positions stayed the same. Hamilton complained that Norris had passed him off track at Turn 4 and McLaren told Norris to give the place back, which he did. But on the next lap, Norris re took the place at Turn 4. Verstappen, meanwhile, made progress and was up to sixth.

Norris looked ready to challenge Leclerc for third and with Russell facing problems with his DRS and dashboard, there was still a chance for McLaren to get a one two. Russell even joked that as long as the steering wheel did not fall off, referring to Fernando Alonso’s issue in practice, he would be fine.

Sainz received a ten second penalty for a late lunge on Antonelli that damaged his own car badly. With a hole in his sidepod and little pace, he retired from the race and asked for Tsunoda to be investigated, but no investigation came.

Back at the front, Norris was still chasing Leclerc. He locked up badly at Turn 1 but kept going. On Lap 49, he tried again at Turn 4, but Leclerc forced him wide. Norris believed he had been pushed off. As Leclerc lost DRS, Norris finally got the move done at Turn 4 and began to close in on Russell.

On the final lap, Norris made one last attempt to take second place, going around the outside at Turn 1. But a poor exit from the corner meant he could not complete the move.

Piastri crossed the line to take a well earned victory. Russell held on for second although under investigation for a DRS issue and Norris finished third, completing a great day for McLaren.

Hamilton finished fifth behind Leclerc, a strong result after his tough qualifying. Verstappen, after a long and frustrating race, managed to pass Gasly right at the end to finish sixth. Gasly came home in seventh.

Haas had a great day with both cars in the points. Ocon finished eighth and rookie Oliver Bearman took tenth. Tsunoda scored his first points of the season in ninth despite his messy race.