Bahrain Grand Prix: Weekend Recap
The 2025 Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix delivered a weekend of much-needed dramatics after a relatively uneventful Suzuka weekend. The second race of the triple-header saw strategic surprises and a dominant display from McLaren's Oscar Piastri. From the opening session of qualifying to the eventful conclusion of Sunday’s race, the desert played host to a thrilling mix of triumph for some and misfortune for others.
Q1
Qualifying began with pressure mounting early on the Red Bull garage. Max Verstappen had a dramatic moment on his flyer, running wide at the final corner and damaging the rear tire performance on his RB21, while teammate Yuki Tsunoda lost his best lap to track limits after pushing too hard in Sector 2. Verstappen voiced his concern over the radio, insisting something was “really wrong with the car,” citing brake inconsistencies and unstable rear grip. Nevertheless, he managed to scrape through in third place, two-tenths off session leader Lando Norris, who appeared in strong early form and looked like a serious pole contender.
Tsunoda also advanced, but others were not so fortunate. Alex Albon was a surprise elimination, failing to progress past Q1 for the first time in 2025, placing 16th in the Williams. He struggled with rear-end grip and traffic in Sector 3. Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls suffered a DRS failure on his final flying lap, leaving him in 17th. Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto placed 18th in the Sauber, lacking confidence under braking, while Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin and Haas’ Oliver Bearman rounded out the bottom five. Bearman had a particularly scrappy session, locking up into Turn 1 and suffering from mid-corner understeer in Sector 2.
Q2
The second segment of qualifying was promptly interrupted by a red flag following Esteban Ocon’s heavy crash exiting Turn 2. The Haas driver appeared to battle oversteer early in his lap before completely losing control over the exit kerbs, spinning violently into the barriers. Thankfully, he reported no injuries and climbed out under his own power, but the delay lasted nearly ten minutes as marshals cleared the debris and repaired the TecPro barriers.
McLaren set the tone immediately after the restart, with Oscar Piastri leading Norris by a tenth. Alpine emerged as a surprise contender with Pierre Gasly slotting into third ahead of both Mercedes drivers. Jack Doohan just missed out on Q3 by 0.063s after a late push lap was compromised by a snap of oversteer through Turn 10. Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar took 12th, continuing his consistent early-season form. Nico Hulkenberg ended 13th after struggling with rear locking under heavy braking, while Alonso’s lack of grip and inability to improve on his Q1 time left him a disappointing 14th. Kevin Magnussen, subbing for Valtteri Bottas this weekend, failed to make an impression and placed 15th.
Verstappen and Tsunoda once again just managed to hang on, finishing ninth and 10th respectively. The Red Bulls looked visibly difficult to drive, suffering from front axle instability and lack of traction on exits.
Q3
As Q3 unfolded, the pattern continued. Verstappen suffered from brake-by-wire inconsistencies and delivered a lackluster first lap, while Piastri laid down the benchmark with a 1m30.233s—enough to lead George Russell and Norris by a tenth. The top three were well ahead of the rest, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton completing the early top five. Hamilton’s first lap was particularly impressive given the evident instability of the W15 over the high-speed corners.
On the final runs, Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli briefly jumped to the top with a stunning lap, followed by Russell, but it was Piastri who delivered when it mattered most, reclaiming provisional pole with a flawless final lap. His car looked planted, especially in Sector 3 where many others struggled. Leclerc managed to slot between the Mercedes pair in third, while Antonelli salvaged fourth despite his first effort being deleted for track limits.
Gasly was a revelation for Alpine, securing fifth on the grid just 0.003s behind Antonelli—Alpine’s best starting position since Baku 2023. Norris and Verstappen both underdelivered when it counted, qualifying sixth and seventh respectively. Norris blamed traffic and understeer in the middle sector, while Verstappen was audibly frustrated with his RB21’s unpredictability.
Carlos Sainz placed eighth for Williams, while Hamilton took ninth after also losing a lap to track limits. Tsunoda completed the top 10, failing to stitch together a clean lap in Q3 but showing encouraging signs of progress.
The post-qualifying drama wasn’t over. On Saturday evening, both Russell and Antonelli were handed one-place grid penalties for entering the pitlane before an official restart time had been issued following Ocon’s Q2 crash. Mercedes admitted to misreading the timing screen, believing an “estimated restart time” was definitive. The stewards, recognizing the mistake as unintentional and non-performance related, opted for a minor sporting penalty. As a result, Leclerc was promoted to the front row and Gasly to fourth—both benefiting from Mercedes' costly oversight.
Race
Sunday’s race unfolded under cooler evening skies, with most cars starting on soft tires except for Leclerc and Hamilton, who opted for mediums. Piastri made a clean getaway from pole and led the early laps, with Russell recovering quickly from his penalty by jumping Leclerc for second. Norris, starting sixth, launched himself to third in an impressive getaway—but it came at a cost, as he was later penalized five seconds for being out of position in his grid box, likely a slight front-wheel overstep past the line.
As the opening stint progressed, Norris struggled to pass Russell, while Leclerc, Gasly, Sainz, and Antonelli followed closely. Verstappen failed to gain early ground but gradually made his way up, following Antonelli past a fading Sainz, with Hamilton and Tsunoda in tow. Norris pitted on lap 11, serving his penalty and switching to mediums. Verstappen, lacking new mediums, took on hards—an ultimately poor choice. He immediately complained of poor grip and was soon passed by Ocon, Antonelli, and Hamilton, falling out of contention.
Piastri and Russell pitted a couple of laps later, maintaining their positions. The Ferraris hoped to extend their stints on mediums, but both had to pit after 17 laps, to Leclerc’s frustration. He made his feelings known over team radio, frustrated by the lack of grip and lack of undercut potential. Leclerc used his fresher tires to pass Norris after the stops, and Hamilton also gained ground. At halfway, Piastri had a six-second lead over Russell, with Leclerc, Norris, and Gasly following.
Verstappen ditched the hards on lap 27 for used mediums, but a series of slow pitstops, particularly a troublesome front-right change, left him even further adrift. Then, on lap 33, a piece of Sainz’s sidepod flying off after contact with Tsunoda brought out a safety car. Most drivers pitted again, including Piastri, who took fresh mediums for the run to the flag. Ocon and Doohan stayed out, along with Verstappen, while Mercedes gambled with soft tires.
Piastri retained the lead on the restart, followed by Russell, Leclerc, Norris, and Hamilton. Norris briefly passed Hamilton before yielding the position after going off-track. Russell's charge was hampered by electronic issues affecting his dashboard and DRS, forcing him into a defensive mode as Piastri extended his lead. Norris reclaimed fourth from Hamilton and went on to pass Leclerc around the outside of Turn 4 in a stunning move.
In the closing laps, Norris attacked Russell for second, but the Mercedes driver defended brilliantly, using battery deployment tactically and positioning his car well under braking. Piastri, meanwhile, remained unchallenged, winning by over 15 seconds and collecting his second victory of the season.
Leclerc took fourth ahead of Hamilton, who recovered well from a tough qualifying. Verstappen salvaged sixth after finally getting past Gasly on the final lap in a wheel-to-wheel duel through Turns 6 and 7. Ocon held off Tsunoda for eighth, while Bearman grabbed 10th for Haas, ensuring a double points finish for the American team. Antonelli and Albon narrowly missed out.
Carlos Sainz retired, having endured a miserable race that included damage from the Tsunoda clash and a 10-second penalty for forcing Antonelli off the track. His pace had been erratic all weekend, and the Bahrain GP will be one to forget for the Spaniard.
The final twist came hours after the checkered flag when Haas driver Nico Hülkenberg was disqualified from the Bahrain Grand Prix. Scrutineering revealed that the floor plank on his VF-24 had worn beyond the allowed thickness, a breach of Article 3.5.9.e of the Technical Regulations. Though Hülkenberg had finished outside the points, the disqualification underlined the strict nature of technical compliance in F1 this year that struck the Ferrars and Gasly in China.
With the results, Norris kept his championship lead, but Piastri’s win narrowed the gap to just three points. Verstappen dropped to third in the standings, now trailing by 10, while Russell sits fourth as the paddock prepares for the high-speed challenge of Jeddah at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
