Verstappen wins a rain-hit Bahrain Grand Prix run at Sepang

Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday at the Sepang International Circuit, the first race of the 2026 Formula 1 season and the first grand prix at Sepang since 2017. The Red Bull driver started from pole, stopped three times, and finished in 1:47:14.808. His fastest lap, 1:38.220, was the quickest of the race. Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes was second, 2.307 seconds behind, from third on the grid. Lewis Hamilton, now at Ferrari, was third, 4.919 seconds back, after starting second and stopping only twice.

The race was delayed twice by rain. Sky Sports described it as chaotic. The result sheet still reads like a normal points table, which is the useful part. Charles Leclerc took fourth for Ferrari, 7.258 behind, from fourth on the grid, with four stops. Isack Hadjar was fifth for Red Bull, 8.571 back, from eighth. Oscar Piastri finished sixth for McLaren, 9.454 behind. Liam Lawson was seventh for Racing Bulls. Fernando Alonso was eighth for Aston Martin. Lando Norris, starting fifth in the McLaren, finished ninth, 13.993 behind, and scored two points. Arvid Lindblad, starting 22nd for Racing Bulls, finished tenth and took the last point, 15.928 behind.

Three cars did not finish, all recorded on lap 55. George Russell started seventh for Mercedes and stopped zero times before retiring, so Antonelli's second place is the Mercedes result, not a team one-two. Alexander Albon of Williams and Valtteri Bottas of Cadillac also failed to finish on lap 55. Sergio Perez, in a Cadillac, was classified 19th after seven stops, 29.310 behind. Nico Hulkenberg was 11th for Audi. The top ten points run 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1.

Sepang's return is a calendar fact, not a one-off exhibition. The Bahrain Grand Prix, backed by Gulf Air, was run in Malaysia because the season opener was placed at a circuit that last held Formula 1 in 2017. The Star reported more than 100,000 people on the final day. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim visited ticket holders and said cost would be among the factors before any decision to bring a race back on a regular basis. Mokhzani Mahathir, speaking for the circuit, said Sepang had the experience to host again. The same weekend also closed the Tour de Langkawi in Putrajaya and ran the Kuala Lumpur marathon, with more than 30,000 entries. The grand prix was the event that filled the circuit.

The championship read from one wet race is limited, and it is still the only read available. Verstappen leaves Malaysia with 25 points. Antonelli has 18 and a faster path to a title conversation than his teammate, who has none. Hamilton's third place, from a two-stop, is his first podium of the year in Ferrari red. Norris, the driver carrying number 1, scored two points from fifth on the grid. Hadjar's fifth place puts a second Red Bull in the top five on the opening Sunday.

Russell's retirement is the result that changes the Mercedes picture. He started seventh and did not pit. Antonelli started third, did three stops, and finished 2.3 seconds behind the winner. A dry race next weekend would test whether that gap was rain or pace. The open question for the circuit is narrower. Anwar has not committed to a second Sepang race. Sunday showed the track can run a full grand prix in heavy rain, nine years after the last one, with a six-figure crowd on the gates.