Max Verstappen won the extremely dramatic and rainy Bahrain Grand Prix race held at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. The race was delayed by around an hour and a half due to a tropical storm and a subsequent software problem in the FIA's car tracking system. Although the four-time world champion did not make a good start, he read a great strategy during the race and dominated after the opening laps to win easily from Kimi Antonelli in Mercedes. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton finished third in Ferrari after a disastrous start and a remarkable attack.
The start was given behind a safety car on the treacherously wet track. On the first lap, Pierre Gasly lost control of his car and went off the track, but managed to continue. The big failure at the beginning befell Ferrari - Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton opted for dry track tires (slicks), which turned out to be a fatal mistake. Without any traction, the two crashed in the standings and had to be forced into the pits. The Mercedes drivers took advantage of this - Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, who led the column, and Esteban Ocon gained 10 positions to seventh place.
On the 6th lap, Verstappen overtook Russell on the straight, and on the 13th, after a series of attacks from the inside and outside in three consecutive corners, he overtook the leader Antonelli, taking full control of the race.
At the same time, Lewis Hamilton began an impressive climb from 15th position. The Briton successively overtook Arvid Lindblad and Esteban Ocon, making his way forward together with Oscar Piastre and Charles Leclerc, while Fernando Alonso entered the top 10 after overtaking Nico Hulkenberg. Although Hamilton at one point declared on the radio: “I can't go any faster than this”, he continued his fierce pressure.
An incident with Valtteri Bottas, who got his Cadillac stuck in the gravel on lap 10, brought out the first safety car. On lap 22, Antonelli regained second place from teammate Russell, but the real chaos returned on lap 43 when Alex Albon crashed his Williams into the wall. A virtual safety car followed, and shortly after a real safety car, which wiped out Verstappen's 8-second lead.
With five laps to go, George Russell retired from the race and Lando Norris went off the track, narrowly avoiding a collision with teammate Oscar Piastre. The safety car came out on lap 51, and in the remaining time, Max Verstappen held off the attacks for victory #72 of his career, while Hamilton snatched third place with a late overtake of Isaac Hajjar.