Oscar Piastri delivered a commanding performance under the floodlights in Bahrain on Sunday, claiming victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of George Russell and McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
The Australian’s triumph marks McLaren’s first ever win at the Sakhir circuit after 21 attempts and further establishes Piastri as a rising force in this season’s championship, with the 23-year-old now sitting second in the standings behind Norris.
Pole-sitter Piastri controlled the race from start to finish, despite a chaotic contest unfolding behind him. His second win of the season—after his success in China—came on the occasion of his 50th Formula 1 start.
“That was pretty damn fun,” said a jubilant Piastri over the team radio. “Mega weekend everyone. That should be one hell of a party tonight.”
Russell, who crossed the line 15.499 seconds behind the winner, was under post-race investigation due to a potential DRS (drag reduction system) infringement that could cost him a five-second penalty. Charles Leclerc finished fourth in his Ferrari, with teammate Lewis Hamilton fifth and an out-of-sorts Max Verstappen down in sixth.
Verstappen, visibly frustrated throughout the weekend, vented over the radio during the race: “I can’t even brake anymore, it’s ridiculous.”
Pierre Gasly earned Alpine their first points of the season with a seventh-place finish. Esteban Ocon recovered from a dramatic crash in qualifying to take eighth for Haas, followed by Yuki Tsunoda in the Red Bull and Haas rookie Oliver Bearman rounding out the top ten.
The race began under warm evening skies in the Gulf kingdom, with Piastri fending off an aggressive Russell into the opening corner. Norris, who had started sixth, leapt into third after a brilliant getaway, though he was soon handed a five-second penalty for being out of position at the start.
After serving his penalty, Norris dropped back to 14th but staged a determined fightback through the field. Meanwhile, Piastri built a healthy lead at the front, even after briefly falling behind the Ferraris following a pit stop.
When the safety car was deployed to clear debris at turn three, Piastri used the opportunity to make a strategic pit stop, rejoining ahead of his closest rivals. The restart saw more drama, including Norris overtaking Hamilton off-track—only to hand the position back before swiftly reclaiming it.
As the race entered its final stages, Piastri pulled away from Russell while Norris executed a clean overtake on Leclerc to complete a double podium for McLaren—much to the delight of Bahrain’s monarch, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, whose sovereign wealth fund owns the team.
With the result, Norris remains top of the drivers’ standings on 77 points, with Piastri now ahead of Verstappen going into next weekend’s race in Jeddah.
