Verstappen ends winless run with victory in rain-hit Malaysia race

Max Verstappen won his first Formula 1 race of the year at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on October 4, prevailing after a rain-delayed start and two safety-car periods. Kimi Antonelli finished second for Mercedes, while Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton took third place.¹³⁴⁵

A disrupted start

Heavy rain and standing water delayed proceedings at Sepang before Race Control suspended the starting procedure when throttle inputs became ineffective. The Japan Times reported that the interruption lasted one hour and 33 minutes, while ABC Australia attributed the delay to the weather and apparent software problems.¹³⁴⁵

According to Formula 1, Verstappen started on intermediates but lost places to the two Mercedes drivers when the race began from a standing start. Valtteri Bottas later became stranded in the gravel, bringing out the first safety car and allowing drivers who had started on intermediate tyres to switch to slicks.⁴⁵

Red Bull moved Verstappen onto soft tyres during that safety-car period. Formula 1 said he passed George Russell and Antonelli after the restart, then established a lead. The FIA account said Verstappen overtook Antonelli to regain first place and ultimately finished 2.307 seconds ahead.⁴⁵

Russell’s retirement reshapes the standings

A gearbox problem stopped Alexander Albon and led first to a virtual safety car and then a full safety car. During that intervention, Russell’s Mercedes stopped on the start-finish straight while he was running third. Mercedes suspected a power-unit problem, according to Formula 1, which described the retirement as his third non-finish of the campaign.⁴⁵

Formula 1 reported that Antonelli scored 18 points and left Malaysia with an 84-point lead in the drivers’ championship after Russell failed to score. ABC Australia also placed the lead at 84 points but reported that it had risen from 66; the dossier identifies the size of that increase as disputed.³⁵

Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, who started on slick tyres, recovered to finish third and fourth for Ferrari. ABC Australia reported that Hamilton’s result ended a sequence of five races without a Ferrari podium. Oscar Piastri finished sixth, Liam Lawson seventh, Fernando Alonso eighth, Lando Norris ninth and Arvid Lindblad tenth.³⁵

A landmark for Red Bull’s new power unit

The result was also the first victory for Red Bull-Ford Powertrains as a power-unit manufacturer, according to Formula 1. Sky Sports reported that the operation had performed above expectations in its first campaign and that an FIA review had judged its engine the grid’s benchmark.²⁵

Sky Sports said Red Bull’s earlier upgrades reduced excess weight and altered the car’s aerodynamics. The outlet also reported that Verstappen had managed only one podium in the opening seven races and, for the first time since 2020, was not able to challenge for the championship.²

Sky Sports reported that Verstappen, whom The Japan Times calls a four-time champion, has taken a win in each year of his Red Bull stint, which began in 2016. His Malaysia victory was the 72nd of his career, with seven rounds remaining in the season.¹²