Piastri wins Bahrain GP as Russell holds off charging Norris

Oscar Piastri delivered a flawless performance to win the Bahrain Grand Prix by a commanding 15-second margin, asserting McLaren's dominance in the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Mercedes driver George Russell fought off a late charge from Lando Norris to claim second place, denying McLaren a perfect weekend.

The Australian’s victory, his second of the season, brings him within three points of teammate Norris in the drivers’ championship.

Reigning champion Max Verstappen could only manage sixth after a difficult evening for Red Bull.

Early lead

Piastri made a clean start from pole to lead into Turn 1, while Russell passed Leclerc on medium tyres to regain the second place lost to a grid penalty.

Norris made a blistering start from sixth on the grid to claim third, though it quickly became apparent he had been outside his grid box at the start, earning a five-second penalty.

The race developed into a contest of tire strategies, with most frontrunners opting for soft tires to start the race in the cooler evening conditions.

Ferrari chose a different approach with Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton starting on mediums, hoping to gain an advantage in the latter stages.

Strategies

Norris served his penalty during his first pitstop on lap 11, managing to stay in contention thanks to the powerful undercut effect.

Verstappen was hindered by the hard tyres in his middle stint, reporting grip issues as he dropped behind Esteban Ocon and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

The race was neutralized on lap 33 when the safety car was deployed to clear debris from Carlos Sainz's damaged Ferrari following contact with Yuki Tsunoda.

This prompted most of the field to make their final pitstops, with leader Piastri taking another set of mediums.

Mercedes made the bold decision to fit soft tires to Russell's car, a gamble the British driver described as "audacious."

Safety Car

After the restart, Piastri maintained his advantage while Russell defended valiantly against Hamilton, who had briefly moved ahead of Norris.

The McLaren driver soon reclaimed fourth place and set about hunting down Leclerc for the final podium position.

With 15 laps remaining, Norris finally made a decisive move around the outside of Turn 4 to pass Leclerc, before setting his sights on Russell.

Despite Russell suffering electronic issues affecting his dashboard and DRS, Norris couldn't find a way past the determined Mercedes driver.

Verstappen managed to salvage sixth place after passing Pierre Gasly on the final lap, but it was a sobering result for Red Bull after dominating much of the 2024 season.

Esteban Ocon secured eighth for Alpine ahead of Tsunoda, with Oliver Bearman taking the final point for Haas.

Mclaren

Oscar Piastri was simply perfect all weekend in Bahrain.

From practice through qualifying and into the race, there wasn't a single moment when it looked like anyone else would challenge for victory.

In just his third Formula 1 season, the Australian has firmly established himself as a genuine title contender, now sitting just three points behind teammate Norris in the championship standings.

The gap between McLaren and their rivals doesn't appear as substantial as the final margin might suggest.

Mercedes

While Piastri controlled the race masterfully, Russell's ability to hold second place demonstrates that Mercedes has closed the performance deficit significantly.

Their bold strategy to fit soft tires during the safety car period paid dividends, showing the team's willingness to take calculated risks.

Mercedes' consistency has been impressive, with Russell now securing his third podium in four races.

Despite flying somewhat under the radar in what has been a McLaren-dominated narrative, Russell remains firmly in the championship hunt, sitting just 14 points behind Norris heading to Saudi Arabia.

Ferrari strategy maybe too conservative

Ferrari may have missed a chance to maximise their result.

The safety car disrupted their initial medium-tire strategy, and the decision to switch Leclerc to hard tires for the final stint may have cost them a podium.

A gamble on soft tires similar to Mercedes might have yielded better results, particularly given the cooler track conditions that prevailed throughout the evening.

Verstappen's damage limitation

Max Verstappen extracted the maximum possible from an underperforming Red Bull package.

His candid admission that he's "just taking part in this championship" rather than competing for it speaks volumes about the team's current struggles.

With balance issues, lack of pace, and pitstop problems all hampering their performance, Red Bull faces a mountain to climb if they are to defend their titles.

Lewis Hamilton showed strong pace on the medium tires during the middle stint but struggled when switching to the hard compound.

His recovery to fifth from a disappointing qualifying was a solid result, though Mercedes will be hoping to have both cars challenging at the front in Saudi Arabia.

Next Race in Saudi Arabia

As the championship heads to Jeddah next weekend, McLaren carries the momentum, but the picture is far from settled.

With Piastri's confidence growing with each race and Norris still leading the standings despite his mishaps, McLaren appears to have the upper hand.

However, Mercedes has shown they can challenge at the sharp end, while Red Bull and Ferrari will be working frantically to close the gap.