- Published
Max Verstappen took his and Red Bull's first win of the year with a dominant drive in a dramatic Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia that started amid chaotic and unprecedented scenes.
asserted
that → publish → scenes
Verstappen led home the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who took a giant leap towards his first world title when team-mate George Russell retired from third place with a power unit failure with five laps to go.
asserted
Russell → lead → laps
Antonelli now leads Russell by 84 points with either six or seven races remaining.
asserted
races → lead → points
Lewis Hamilton drove an extraordinary race after dropping towards the back with an incorrect tyre choice for a wet start to fight back to pass Red Bull's Isack Hadjar for third place with three laps to go.
asserted
Hamilton → drive → laps
All that came after a delay of an hour and a half caused initially by heavy rain and then by a series of bizarre technical problems that left several cars crawling as they completed formation laps on the wet track behind the safety car.
asserted
they → come → car
After that problem, it took some time for governing body the FIA to decide the order in which the cars should take the start.
asserted
cars → take → start
The key stories of a madcap afternoon were:
Verstappen's dominant win in a revived Red Bull
The effective death knell for Russell's already faint title hopes
A stunning recovery by Hamilton
A series of questions over race organisation, particularly over the start
1 of 5
Once the race got under way, with the cars in their original order, Verstappen and Hamilton on the front row immediately lost ground and the Mercedes of Antonelli and Russell swept past them into first and second places.
asserted
Mercedes → revive → places
Verstappen and the Mercedes drivers took the start on intermediate tyres on the still-wet track after a torrential tropical downpour had delayed the start.
asserted
downpour → take → start
Hamilton chose soft-compound slicks and immediately regretted the decision as it became apparent that the track was still far too wet for that option.
asserted
track → choose → option
He and others who chose slicks immediately dropped to the back of the field, and lost nearly a minute to the leaders in the early laps.
asserted
who → choose → laps
Meanwhile, Verstappen repassed Russell for second place on lap six, and was on Antonelli's tail when a safety car was deployed to allow marshals to recover the Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas, who had spun off at Turn 13 on lap nine.
asserted
who → repasse → lap
The leaders took the opportunity of the safety car to pit for slick tyres, and when the race resumed four laps later, Verstappen immediately passed Antonelli at Turn Four, the Italian also losing out to Russell on the exit of the corner.
asserted
Italian → take → corner
From that moment on, Verstappen was total in control and he edged away into a race of his own.
asserted
he → edge → own
Behind him, Antonelli had pace on Russell and passed him on lap 21 at Turn Four, the move seemingly settling the top three positions.
asserted
move → have → positions
A late safety car caused by Alex Albon's stricken Williams led to everyone switching to fresh tyres for a four-lap dash to the flag, but again Verstappen was supreme and remained unchallenged.
asserted
Verstappen → cause → flag
Even then, there was drama, as Russell pulled off just before Turn One with five laps to go before the safety car had even ended.
asserted
car → be → laps
In the immediate aftermath, Lando Norris was apparently distracted by Russell's car and had to take to the gravel at Turn One to avoid running into the back of team-mate Oscar Piastri, dropping from eighth to 11th.
asserted
Norris → distract → 11th
He recovered to ninth by the end, immediately behind Fernando Alonso, who scored points for Aston Martin for only the third time this year after their strongest performance of the year.
asserted
who → recover → year
Strong recovery by Hamilton
Hamilton and the others who chose to use dry tyres at the start immediately lived to regret their decision, as they were passed by all the cars on intermediates.
Within a few laps, Hamilton was nearly a minute behind the leaders and down in 17th place, his race apparently over.
asserted
race → choose → place
But he stayed out during the safety car, sticking with the soft tyres he had chosen for the start, and when the race restarted he began to pick off the cars in front of him, driving an excellent race to get back into contention for serious points.
asserted
he → stay → points
Hamilton passed car after car until by lap 24 he was on the tail of Isack Hadjar's fourth-placed Red Bull.
asserted
he → pass → Bull
They pitted together on lap 31, Hadjar sticking to soft tyres, and Hamilton having no choice but to move to mediums.
asserted
Hamilton → pit → mediums
Hamilton trailed the Frenchman for lap after lap, right on his tail, but was never quite able to get close enough to pass, despite a number of attempts, before the late safety car.
asserted
Hamilton → trail → car
That gave Hamilton the chance to switch to the preferred soft tyres, and a lap after the restart he passed Hadjar into Turn One to take the final podium position.
asserted
he → give → position
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc also passed Hadjar in the closing laps, with Oscar Piastri taking sixth after a dispiriting weekend for McLaren, ahead of Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson and Alonso.
asserted
Piastri → pass → Lawson
Norris and the second Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.
asserted
Norris → complete → 10
What happened before the start?
asserted
What → happen → start
After the tropical downpour, the race was initially started with formation laps behind the safety car.
asserted
race → start → car
But immediately the problems stated.
asserted
problems → state → ?
Verstappen and Hamilton were the first of a number of cars that were afflicted by a software issue that left them unable to do more than crawl along.
asserted
that → afflict → more
Initial indications were that this was caused by a software update issued to teams by governing body the FIA during the start delay.
asserted
this → cause → delay
The FIA has yet to respond to requests for comment on the matter.
asserted
FIA → have → matter
Most teams who were afflicted managed eventually to get their cars going, but the field order was jumbled, and that led to a debate as to the positions in which the cars should take the restart.
asserted
cars → afflict → restart
The rules did not cover the situation, which was unprecedented.
asserted
which → cover → situation
And although they outline positional penalties for any driver who is not able to regain his position by a certain place on the track having lost it on a formation lap, this was ignored in restarting the race in its original order.
asserted
this → outline → order
A relentless triple-header beginning in Azerbaijan and stopping in Malaysia finally concludes in Singapore next Sunday, 11 Oct.
asserted
header → begin → Singapore
The night race is another undertaken in hot and humid conditions.
asserted
race → undertake → conditions
The Aporia
