Oscar Piastri celebrated his 50th career in Formula 1 with a flawless performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix 2025. The Australian McLaren driver led the race from start to finish, scoring his first hat trick in the category: pole position, fastest lap and victory. The win marks the first time McLaren has won at the Sakhir circuit and consolidates McLaren’s position at the top of the constructors’ championship with 151 points.
George Russell (Mercedes) finished second, overcoming technical issues with his car, including brake and DRS system failures. Lando Norris completed the podium in third, after a comeback from sixth and despite a five-second penalty for overtaking at the start.
With these results, Norris leads the drivers’ championship with 77 points, closely followed by Piastri with 74 and Verstappen with 69.
Grey day for Verstappen, mistakes and frustrations at Sakhir
The 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix proved to be a nightmare for Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver faced multiple setbacks that saw him finish a disappointing sixth, a disappointing result for the reigning champion. From the start of the weekend, Verstappen reported problems with his Red Bull’s brakes, a situation that worsened during the race. Over the radio, he expressed his frustration: ‘I can’t even brake, it’s ridiculous‘.
Qualifying was no better, with only seventh place. In the race, a faulty pit stop, with a tyre change that took longer than expected, lost him valuable seconds. In addition, the tyre strategy did not work as expected, forcing him to make a second stop which left him in the last positions. To make matters worse, the appearance of the safety car benefited his rivals, who were able to make stops without losing time.
In the end, Verstappen managed to move up to sixth, overtaking Pierre Gasly on the final lap, but it was not enough to maintain his championship position, dropping to third. However, the result was not enough to maintain his championship position, dropping him to third. The situation has raised concerns at Red Bull, which called an emergency meeting after the race to discuss the technical and strategic issues that affected his performance.
Penalties and surprises
The race in Sakhir was marked by multiple penalties and unexpected spins. Carlos Sainz, who had managed to climb to sixth position, was forced to retire on lap 46 after contact with Yuki Tsunoda seriously damaged his car. He also received a 10-second penalty for a risky manoeuvre on Antonelli at the restart.
Fernando Alonso did not have an outstanding day either. The Aston Martin driver finished in 16th position, far from the points, with a car that failed to show a competitive pace at any point of the weekend. Not even an alternative strategy allowed him to move up positions.
Rookie Oliver Bearman (Haas) surprised by scoring his first Formula 1 point by finishing tenth. In addition, drivers such as Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Esteban Ocon (Haas) scored valuable points for their teams.
