Oscar Piastri controlled and dominated in F1 Bahrain GP win as George Russell fended off Lando Norris to round out the podium places.
It was a clean start in F1 Bahrain GP as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri led the way comfortably but Mercedes’ George Russell made the move on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to take second. The Monegasque – on the medium tyre – then lost to a fast starter Lando Norris in the McLaren.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was fifth as Williams’ Carlos Sainz jumped up to sixth from Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda in the Top 10, as Alpine’s Jack Doohan was not far off from the points places.
It was noted that Norris was out of position on his grid. Replays showed that he stopped at the right place, but potentially left the clutch which pushed him forward. This was enough to hand him a 5s time penalty, which he was forced to serve during his first pit top on Lap 12.
While it was steady in the front, it was Antonelli, Verstappen, Hamilton and Tsunoda, who cleared Sainz for track position. While the Italian made a lunge at Turn 1, the Dutchman had to make an aggressive move on the Spaniard, which included a run-off moment before it settled down.
The Brit too did not have it easy either as they went back and forth for the couple of corners before getting through at Turn 11. The pit stop saga kicked-off after Antonelli cleared Gasly for fifth. Both the Ferrari cars wanted to go for one-stop, but it wasn’t to be as they were forced to pit on Lap 19.
Piastri, meanwhile, maintained his F1 Bahrain GP lead from Russell. Amid this, Norris served his penalty and still managed to hold onto third ahead of Leclerc, who kept track position over Gasly. The biggest to gain was Haas’ Esteban Ocon in sixth after stopping early and undercutting several cars.
Verstappen – on the hard tyre – struggled to pass Ocon for sixth which allowed Antonelli to hustle the Dutchman. He got through him despite the defence. The Red Bull driver then had Doohan to defend from, who had Hamilton on his tail after the Brit managed to clear Tsunoda for the last point.
The Japanese driver was pushed outside the points ahead of Sainz, who pitted and recovered some positions, as did Haas’ Oliver Bearman in 13th from 20th. Both the Ferrari cars started to come alive. While Leclerc hustled Norris for third, Hamilton passed Verstappen to slot behind Antonelli.
Leclerc tried a lunge at Turn 1 on Norris but it didn’t work. He came back around to clear the Brit at Turn 4 on the outside to take fourth. On the same lap, Hamilton made an easy pass Antonelli at Turn 1. He came around on the next lap to clear Ocon for sixth, as Verstappen decided to pit the second early.
His front right wheel didn’t come off which slowed his stop and he dropped to last for a brief moment. The second string of pit stops started where Mercedes made a bold call of pitting Antonelli on the soft compound, when the likes of Gasly and Doohan elected to use the hard compound.
The fight for track position continued as Sainz pushed Tsunoda and made it stick. But it wasn’t before minor contact between the two which seemingly shed debris on track. They had a tap on another lap at Turn 1, when Antonelli cleared Ocon for track position.
The full safety car was deployed as replays showed tap between Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll but both managed to continue. The safety car saw pit stops for most where Piastri led the way from Russell, Norris, Hamilton, Gasly, Ocon, Verstappen, Doohan and Sainz in Top 10.
The tyre gamble was on with Russell on the soft tyre and the Ferrari pair on the hard. The re-start was delayed from Piastri but he managed to stay put along with Russell. But Leclerc went slightly wide which allowed Norris to get alongside him. Hamilton took the chance to pass the Brit at Turn 1 on the outside.
Norris passed him again at Turn 4 but it was off track and he was forced to give back the place. Norris eventually managed to clear Hamilton again for fourth but couldn’t press Leclerc. Gasly was sixth from Verstappen, who managed to pass Ocon on the re-start, as Doohan was ninth in the order.
Tsunoda rounded the Top 10 after Antonelli went wide at Turn 8 to drop outside the points behind the Williams pair and Bearman. While Piastri led the way, the transponder was not working for Russell, who ran second from Leclerc, Norris and Hamilton in the Top 5 places.
Gasly was sixth from Verstappen, Ocon and Doohan, who had Tsunoda, Bearman, Antonelli, Albon and Sainz in a scrabble for positions. Lawson, meanwhile, was handed a 5s time penalty for contact with Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg at Turn 1 towards the back of the field.
There was a 10s time penalty for Sainz for forcing another car off at the re-start when he pushed Antonelli off. Replays showed the Spaniard’s sidepod broken and floor scrubbed, which eventually forced him to retire from the grand prix, while teammate Albon tried to fight for points.
It was Tsunoda who cleared Doohan for ninth, which dropped the Australian to 13th after he was passed by Bearman, Antonelli and Albon in the process. While Russell was second but he was under investigation for DRS infringement. He was to be investigated after the race.
Norris was close behind Russell after finally managing to clear Leclerc after two attempts. He went around the outside at Turn 4 and made the move stick. Hamilton was a lonely fifth but Gasly came under pressure from Verstappen, who hustled the Frenchman for sixth position.
At the front, Piastri dominated it to win F1 Bahrain GP by 15.499s over Russell, who managed to fend off Norris to secured second. He’s under investigation, though. Leclerc was fourth from Hamilton, who gained four places to fifth ahead of Verstappen, who managed to clear Gasly for sixth on the final lap.
The Frenchman was seventh from Ocon, who held off Tsunoda, Bearman, Antonelli and Albon in the train, as both the Haas cars scored where Bearman managed to hold off Antonelli for the final point. It was Lawson in 13th but had a penalty added to drop back, as did Doohan who took 13th but dropped.
Hulkenberg took it from Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar, Doohan, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, Lawson, Stroll and Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, to round out the 19 finishers.
UPDATE: The FIA shared the explanations of double penalties to Lawson and one for Sainz and Doohan. They also summoned Hulkenberg for skid wear infringement which was found to be 8.4 mm (LHS), 8.5 mm (car centerline) and 8.4 mm (RHS). This fell below the 9 mm that is required for it to be deemed as a legal car. As a result of failing this requirement, the FIA disqualified Hulkenberg from the Bahrain GP after the team accepted the error.
Russell, meanwhile, has kept second place after DRS issues. The stewards noted that the Brit was facing electric issues and also brake-by-wire troubles which limited his working. They had to use manual radio and DRS button and accidentally opened the DRS for 37m where he gained 0.02s, but he compensated by losing 0.28s in the next corner. The stewards sees no advantage was gained, which means no sporting penalty is required.
With Hulkenberg’s disqualification, Hadjar ended up 13th ahead of Doohan, Alonso, Lawson, Stroll and Bortoleto.
36 lap deletions: https://x.com/fiadocsbot/status/1911474784690381237
Lawson: https://x.com/fiadocsbot/status/1911476714791674174
https://x.com/fiadocsbot/status/1911480593424011616
Sainz: https://x.com/fiadocsbot/status/1911479297916690795
Hulkenberg: https://x.com/fia/status/1911496258969035061
Russell: https://x.com/fiadocsbot/status/1911494314921722149