Bahrain - Race

After the exciting qualifying session that ended with a pole position for McLaren's Oscar Piastri, the cars lined up on the grid to participate in the 57-lap Bahrain Grand Prix. Most of the top drivers decided to start the race on soft tires. The exception was the two Ferraris, both of whom began their day on mediums. 

The different compound didn't help Leclerc's start. As Piastri soared at the front of the field, he was overtaken by both Russell and Norris. Behind him, Antonelli tried to find a way past the Alpine of Gasly but went wide and ended up giving Sainz an opportunity to squeeze by and move up to 6th. Despite the good start, the Williams driver ended up quickly losing position not only to the drivers he took them from but also Hamilton and Tsunoda. A standout star of the opening laps was Oliver Bearman who managed to make up six places and move up to P14. 

As the drivers sunk deeper into their battles, it was revealed that the front wheels of Norris' McLaren crossed the line of his grid box before the race began. After a short investigation, he was handed a 5-second penalty, which he served during his pit stop on lap 11. Gasly and Verstappen also pitted on the same lap. It was a disastrous stop for the Red Bull driver who stood still for almost five seconds due to a malfunction in the LED light system that should inform him about the right time to drive off. The same issue extended Tsunoda's stop not long after. While it was resolved by the time Verstappen pitted for the second time, it didn't mean that his second stop was any better. In fact, a problem with his front right tire extended it to over 6 seconds and dropped the reigning champion to the very back of the grid.

Both Russell and Piastri pitted on lap 14. The Mercedes driver came out in front of Norris, his immediate rival, while Piastri emerged 3rd, behind only the two Ferraris who were extending their first stint. The Italian team decided to double-stack their drivers, calling them both in on lap 18. 

With fresher tires, Leclerc quickly set his sights on Norris. He managed to overtake him and move into a podium position on lap 25. At the same time, his teammate moved to 7th, having found a way past the young Antonelli. This wasn't the end of Hamilton's improvement. Only a lap later he moved up another spot, this time at the expense of Esteban Ocon. 

A few laps later two pairs of drivers, Sainz with Tsunoda and Stroll with Lawson, made contact. A full safety car was called in due to the debris on track, allowing virtually all cars to drive in for a change of tires. Interestingly enough, all three drivers exited the pits with different compounds on. Piastri bolted on a set of mediums, Russell opted for softs, while Leclerc chose hards. 

The safety car ended on lap 35. On restart, Norris was quick to begin putting pressure on Leclerc. With the Ferrari driver going wide, an overtake seemed inevitable. That was until Hamilton put himself in the mix and managed to overtake Norris, taking the pressure off of Leclerc's back. Norris took the lost position back but he did so off track and was advised to let Hamilton through in order to avoid a penalty. He overtook the Ferrari a lap later, this time in a non-controversial way. 

Meanwhile, a bit further down the grid, Sainz performed an aggressive overtake on Antonelli. The move pushed the Mercedes off track and made just enough space for the Williams of Albon to go through. Sainz was punished for the attempt and received a 10-second penalty. It didn't matter much in the end as his previous collision left a hole in the side of his car and, on lap 46, he was told to box and retire the car. He wasn't the only driver who received a penalty after the restart. Lawson was given two for causing two separate collisions. 

Norris spent a big part of the second half of the race trying to find a way past Leclerc. After a few failed attempts, he managed to overtake him on lap 52 and, with 5 laps to go, set his sights on the Mercedes of Russell. He got close enough to attack with 2 laps left, but couldn't make the final move before the race had run its course. That doesn't mean that the viewers were denied the pleasure of seeing a last-lap overtake. With less than a minute to go, Verstappen moved past Gasly and secured an impressive P6. 

The glory went to Piastri who won for the second time this season. The podium was completed by Russell and Norris. The Australian driver is now only 3 points away from the championship leader. Verstappen fell to the 3rd spot in the standings.

Order of the grid:

1. Oscar Piastri

2. George Russell

3. Lando Norris

4. Charles Leclerc

5. Lewis Hamilton

6. Max Verstappen

7. Pierre Gasly

8. Esteban Ocon

9. Yuki Tsunoda

10. Oliver Bearman

11. Kimi Antonelli

12. Alex Albon

13. Nico Hulkenberg

14. Isack Hadjar

15. Jack Doohan

16. Fernando Alonso

17. Liam Lawson

18. Lance Stroll

19. Gabriel Bortoleto

DNF: Carlos Sainz