Verstappen takes first win of 2026 in rain-hit Bahrain Grand Prix as Hamilton storms to podium
Max Verstappen won a rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday, 4 Oct, his first victory of the 2026 season. He beat Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, with Lewis Hamilton third for Ferrari in a race shaped by heavy rain, safety cars and costly gambles. Formula 1
It was also Red Bull's first win of the year. For Verstappen, control at the front turned into relief at the flag. For Antonelli, second place still moved the championship maths firmly in his favour.
Antonelli now leads team-mate George Russell by 84 points. Russell retired while running third with a power unit failure, the engine and hybrid system that drives a modern Formula 1 car, and watched a bad day get worse. BBC Sport
The weekend had started with Verstappen in command. He was fastest through every part of qualifying and took his first pole of the season with a lap of 1 minute 35.130 seconds, 0.298 seconds clear of Hamilton. Mercedes then grabbed the early advantage in the race, with Antonelli and Russell holding first and second off the start. Formula 1
Then came the rain. The race in Sepang was delayed and interrupted, and teams faced the classic wet-weather call: stay on treaded tyres that clear water, or risk slicks, the smooth dry-weather tyres that offer more grip if the track dries.
Ferrari rolled the dice with Hamilton. Starting from the front row, he began on slicks and tumbled to 18th. Hamilton later said his “heart sank” as the gamble backfired. Reuters
What followed was the drive of the day. Hamilton climbed back through the field and passed Isack Hadjar after the final safety car, the period when the pack bunches up behind a pace car while a hazard is cleared, to snatch the final podium place.
That recovery set the tone for the BBC Sport driver ratings, compiled by BBC Radio 5 Live commentator Harry Benjamin. Verstappen and Hamilton both scored 9.5 out of 10, with Antonelli on 9 after another calm run to second.
Behind them, Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari and earned 8.5. Oscar Piastri recovered to sixth and was rated 7.5, while Lando Norris managed only ninth after running through gravel behind the safety car and scored 5.5.
The midfield delivered plenty of movement. Hadjar was third fastest in qualifying before an engine penalty dropped him to eighth on the grid, and he was rated 8.5 for the weekend. Liam Lawson finished seventh and also scored 8.5, while Fernando Alonso turned 12th on the grid into eighth and earned 8.
Further back, Arvid Lindblad started at the back with a power unit penalty and fought to the final point in tenth, rated 8.5. Nico Hulkenberg climbed from 15th to finish just outside the points and scored 7, the same mark as Franco Colapinto, who rose from 21st to 13th after grid penalties. Lance Stroll was 12th for 6.5, and Oliver Bearman scored 5.
What makes this stand out is how much changed in one afternoon. Verstappen finally has a win. Hamilton has a podium that looked impossible at one stage. And Antonelli, still only just ahead on the road, is pulling clear where it counts.
