2026 Bahrain GP in Malaysia: Championship standings after the F1 race at Sepang International Circuit

By Pranay

October 4, 2026 3 Min Read

Max Verstappen won the 2026 Bahrain GP at Sepang International Circuit, with Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton finishing in the podium. To those looking at the Top 10 race results, it may seem like not much happened, but it was the complete opposite.

The Bahrain GP race start was delayed following the pouring showers in Malaysia. It was the first time the new generation cars raced in wet conditions. Even before the cars could line up on the grid, a handful of drama happened during the formation lap.

Max Verstappen suffered a temporary issue with the power unit, along with Lewis Hamilton and the two Haas drivers. Hamilton had to park up and restart the car. All this while, the field split up into three groups, and F1 had to abandon the start.

Once the race started, the rain showers had stopped, and the track looked dry enough for slick tires. However, that was not the case. This resulted in the field splitting between intermediate and slick tires.

Soon after the race started, the field split in two again, with those on the intermediates leaving the slick tires running behind by nearly a minute. But with Bottas crashing after just a few laps, a safety car was brought out, which neutralized the Bahrain GP.

It still left the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri outside the Top 10.

Apart from this, the first 40 laps of the race had normal racing, before Alex Albon’s gearbox blew up, and the intervention of a safety car was necessary. The field was again bunched up, and just as the drivers were on the last lap under the safety car, George Russell suffered a power unit failure and parked up at the exit of the pit lane.

Russell’s DNF had the biggest championship implications, with Antonelli finishing in P2. The hopes for the Briton to win the championship are now slim with just seven rounds left.

Max Verstappen won his first race of the season, which also was the first win for the Red Bull PowerTrains. Lewis Hamilton made a miraculous comeback after the tire strategy blunder and finished P3. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso scored the team’s best result of the season, finishing P8 after suffering the same fate as McLaren and Ferrari with the tire strategy blunder.