Bahrain's Highlights

Credit: Red Bull Content Pool

Oscar Piastri took his second win of the 2025 season under the Bahrain lights, keeping his 100% pole-to-win conversion. After a fantastic start and quick getaway, the Australian managed to keep all the fights behind him, building a strong gap between him and Russell.

During Saturday qualifying, we saw Piastri on pole, followed by Leclerc, after Russell and fellow teammate Antonelli received a 1-place grid drop due to being released too early in qualifying. Gasly followed after in a spectacular P4, leaving Antonelli to close off the top 5.

When the lights went out at 6pm in Bahrain, Norris snuck up into P3 from P6 but was soon noted for a false start by lap 3 once Verstappen pointed out that his front tyres were clearly over the guidelines. Bearman also soared through from P20 to P15 in just his 4th race for the American team, proving to be one of the most promising rookies this season.

After his 5-second penalty during a pit stop, Norris came out in P14 in front of Verstappen, who had pitted simultaneously. Both Red Bull drivers suffered from a confusing delay during their stops, with the light signalling whether they could drive off remaining on red—which was only the start of the evening's technical issues.

An incident between Tsunoda and Sainz on lap 30 saw a small amount of debris scatter along the track at turns 3-4, causing a full safety car to be deployed. 5 laps later, Piastri took off instantly once the SC had pulled back into the pits, fighting with Russell before clearing the Brit and building up a gap again.

Sainz snagged a 10-second penalty for forcing Antonelli off of the track, also sustaining substantial damage on the right side of his Williams chassis, causing him to retire during lap 46.

Russell saw a warning for a DRS infringement to be reviewed post-race, which was thought to have likely resulted in a 5-second penalty. Sergio Perez had almost exactly the same situation with his DRS in the 2018 Azerbaijan GP, and no penalty was given to him, which was possibly used as a precedent.

A 6-lap battle later, Norris was able to battle his way past Leclerc up into P3, despite a close call of contact.

Already being given a 5-second penalty, Lawson was given another 10-second one in lap 54 for causing a collision with another driver—as well as seeing Norris get his 3rd strike for track limits the lap prior.

Piastri truly proved his worth as a future world champion by winning in his 50th F1 Grand Prix and securing McLaren’s first-ever win in Bahrain. His teammate also joined him on the 3rd step of the podium following a close battle for P2 with Russell up until the last corner, a few slip-ups earlier from Norris unfortunately denying McLaren their second 1-2 finish so far this season.

Credit: Mclaren Racing

Cover photo: Red Bull Content Pool