Piastri storms to victory, Norris recovers to P3 in an action-packed Bahrain Grand Prix

Meghana Sree
1 day ago
4 min read

Written by Meghana Sree

Oscar Piastri converts his second pole into a fourth win, leading George Russell in second by 15 seconds, as Lando Norris clinches the final podium place charging from sixth at the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri is the first multi-race winner of 2025 | Credit: Formula One

It was always bound to be a dramatic race with championship-contending drivers like Lando Norris and Max Verstappen further down the grid, and other teams contemplating exciting opportunities for strategy gambles — and the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix certainly did deliver.

Oscar Piastri controlled the race from the get-go, executing a flawless victory from pole and capitalising on Norris, his teammate and closest rival so far, starting sixth. After a dismal qualifying session, Norris seemed pessimistic about a podium. Yet a bold start saw the British driver gain three places, only to be marred by a false start, lending him a five-second penalty.

In the vicinity of the McLarens, Charles Leclerc had opted for an alternate strategy, starting on the medium compound amidst the majority of the field on softs. Lewis Hamilton shared his teammate’s strategy, and managed to recover from ninth to fifth, slotting right behind Leclerc who finished fourth in a more positive weekend for the Scuderia in recent times.

Leclerc fought hard to fend off Norris over the closing laps but ultimately, Norris’ medium tyres gave him a strong edge over Leclerc’s hards, which were giving both him and Hamilton a tough time on the last stint. Norris’ chase continued as he attempted to beat Russell, but the McLaren driver ran out of laps and had to settle for third.

Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc provided some tense racing action | Credit: Formula One

Russell meanwhile was nursing a slew of electronic issues on his car, including a brake-by-wire problem and a defective transponder. The Mercedes driver still managed to push on till the flag on his used soft tyres, despite initially deeming the strategy “audacious.” Russell also had a mishap with his DRS button, accidentally enabling it when attempting to push the radio button. The FIA noted the incident and reviewed it post-race, which ultimately did not earn a penalty.

Further down, it was a bitter race for Red Bull, with Verstappen attempting to salvage slow stops and braking issues. Both Red Bull drivers were hampered by a barrage of slow pit stops owing to a problem with their pit signal. Their latest driver, Yuki Tsunoda, found himself caught up in a dicey battle with Williams’ Carlos Sainz, which led to contact between the two.

A sizeable chunk of Sainz’s sidepod was ripped off as a result, bringing out the Safety Car on Lap 32 to clear the debris while Sainz eventually retired the car in what could’ve been a points-finishing race. Tsunoda meanwhile went on to score his first points for Red Bull, placing ninth.

The Safety Car restart saw an array of different compounds on cars up and down the grid, and the race came back to life as Hamilton attempted to dive around the outside of Norris, gaining a place. Norris then retaliated, but had to relinquish the position to Hamilton after he overtook off the track.

Similarly, elsewhere down the grid, it was more overtakes galore as the likes of Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman had swiftly climbed up the field, converting a disappointing Saturday into a stunning double-points finish for Haas with Ocon in eighth and Bearman clinching the last point.

Just ahead of them, Pierre Gasly delivered Alpine’s best weekend of the season, securing seventh after Verstappen pipped him on the final lap for sixth. Gasly comes away with Alpine’s first points of 2025, and while his rookie teammate Jack Doohan tried to make that a double-points for the team, he was offset by Haas’ undercut and failed to optimise the race.

Another driver who’s sure to be disappointed with a missed opportunity is Kimi Antonelli, who dropped from fourth to 11th after he got unlucky with the Safety Car timing.

Rounding out the finishing drivers were the Racing Bulls, Aston Martins and Saubers, who provided some brilliant racing action throughout the Grand Prix in a track that rewards confident and innovative overtakes.

The Drivers’ Championship sees Piastri leap up to second, three points behind his teammate Norris. Over in the Teams’ standings, the top four remain intact, while Haas have nicked Williams’ fourth place and now lead them by one point.

Reacting to McLaren’s first victory in Bahrain, Piastri shared: “It’s been a great weekend, and I’m very proud of what I’ve done this weekend as well. I’m very proud to do it here in Bahrain as well, it’s obviously a very important race for us given our owners. It’s never been a track that’s been kind to us, so it’s nice to finally have that first win for the team here.”

Formula One heads to Jeddah next week to conclude this triple header.

Bahrain Grand Prix Results

1. Oscar Piastri – McLaren

2. George Russell – Mercedes (+15.499)

3. Lando Norris – McLaren (+16.273)

4. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari (+19.679)

5. Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari (+27.993)

6. Max Verstappen – Red Bull (+34.395)

7. Pierre Gasly – Alpine (+36.002)

8. Esteban Ocon – Haas (+44.244)

9. Yuki Tsunoda – Red Bull (+45.061)

10. Oliver Bearman – Haas (+47.594)