After a rather dull race in Japan, action resumed in Bahrain for the FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX 2025. A circuit that had a history of good overtakes and entertaining races, paired with some drivers qualifying out of order was a recipe for excitement under the lights.
Oscar Piastri had a strong start from pole position, but still found himself alongside George Russell at the first corner. Russell battled with Charles Leclerc on the run down to the first corner, the Mercedes locking up under braking but still maintaining P2.
Lando Norris had an excellent start, slicing his way up to P3 from his P6 grid slot on the opening lap. However, he had rolled forward in his grid box, putting his car too far forward. This earned him a five-second penalty for starting out of position. He served this during his pit stop on lap 11.
This showcased the superior advantage of the undercut around the Bahrain International Circuit. When Russell pitted three laps later, he rejoined just ahead of Norris, who had effectively not lost any time from the penalty.
Ferrari had been bold with their strategy, starting the race on the medium tyres. Although they struggled for grip in the opening stages, their tyres came to life after other drivers made their pit stops. While Lewis Hamilton made progress in the midfield, Leclerc applied pressure to Norris in P3. After a failed lunge into the first corner, Leclerc was able to make a move stick at turn four on lap 25.
Although it looked as though Ferrari was going to gamble on a one-stop strategy, they changed their mind to take a second set of medium tyres, solidifying a two-stop strategy. This was potentially because of the difficulty Max Verstappen seemed to have on the hard tyres.
Verstappen appeared to be struggling during the race. He failed to make inroads from his P7 starting position. He pitted on the same lap as Norris, but Red Bull had issues with their pit release lights that caused slow stops for both of their cars. The team gambled on the hard tyres, which did not offer the pace of the mediums. Verstappen got stuck behind Esteban Ocon, dropping down the order. He pitted again on lap 27 for medium tyres, coming out in last place after a slow stop for an issue on the front right tyre.
A surprise safety car threw a wrench into the race on lap 36. It was to clear some debris on the circuit from the side of Carlos Sainz’s Williams, which had been hit by Yuki Tsunoda a few laps earlier. This triggered chaos in the pit lane as most cars dove into the pit lane for a final pit stop. This caused a variety of strategies. Russell took the soft tyres while both Ferraris left the pit lane with sets of hard tyres. The other top drivers opted for the medium tyres.
Leclerc had a poor restart out of the final corner, falling under pressure from Norris behind. Leclerc did a good job defending into the first corner, while Hamilton overtook Norris around the outside of turn one. Norris retook the position on the outside of turn four, but gave back the position the following lap because he had overtaken outside of track limits. He reclaimed the position from Hamilton a few laps later.
As the laps ticked down, Norris looked quicker than Leclerc in the closing laps, but some good defensive driving from the Ferrari driver made things difficult for the World Championship leader. Norris tried to overtake around the outside of turn four, but was forced wide on exit. He complained over the team radio, but he was not far enough alongside to justify any attention from the stewards. Norris made a second attempt two laps later. This time, he was further alongside and was able to hang on to the outside to take P3.
Norris’ overtake unleashed him to chase down Russell in the final few laps. Russell was struggling with some kind of technical issue. His transponder stopped working shortly after the race restart, making his car invisible to other drivers. Norris was warned to only use DRS on Russell when he was certain he was within one second of the Mercedes. Norris tried to get around the Mercedes in the first corner on the final lap, but Russell opened the steering to keep P2. Not close enough to launch a second attempt in P4, Norris had to settle with P3.
Oscar Piastri crossed the line in first position to take his second win of the season. Lando Norris stood on the bottom step of the podium alongside George Russell. But this result may still be decided off the track, with the stewards set to investigate a potential DRS violation for Russell.
The action is not over just yet, as the first triple header of the season continues next weekend in Saudi Arabia. The race will be held under the flood lights in Jeddah on April 20.
UPDATE: After reviewing George Russell’s DRS breach, the FIA stewards opted not to penalize the Mercedes driver. Due to a timing system issue, the FIA authorized Mercedes to change the DRS system to manual control, meaning the driver would be responsible for only activating the DRS when within range. On the back straight, Russell accidentally triggered the DRS when attempting to activate the team radio. The DRS was open for 37 meters, gaining him roughly 0.02 seconds. However, the FIA determined this advantage was insufficient to justify a penalty.
UPDATE: Nico Hulkenberg was disqualified from the race for a skid block infringement. Post-race scrutineering revealed the skid block on his Sauber was below the minimum thickness. Since Hulkenberg finished the race in P13, this penalty had no impact on the championship points.
| Pos. | Driver | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 57 | 1:35:39.435 | 25 |  | |
| 2 | 57 | +15.499 | 18 | ||
| 3 | 57 | +16.273 | 15 | ||
| 4 | 57 | +19.679 | 12 | ||
| 5 | 57 | +27.993 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 57 | +34.395 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 57 | +36.002 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 57 | +44.244 | 4 | ||
| 9 | 57 | +45.061 | 2 | ||
| 10 | 57 | +47.594 | 1 | ||
| 11 | 57 | +48.016 | |||
| 12 | 57 | +48.839 | |||
| DSQ | 57 | +53.472 | |||
| 13 | 57 | +56.314 | |||
| 14 | 57 | +57.806 | |||
| 15 | 57 | +60.340 | |||
| 16 | 57 | +64.435 | |||
| 17 | 57 | +65.489 | |||
| 18 | 57 | +66.872 | |||
| DNF | 45 |
| 1 | L. Norris | 77 |  | |
| 2 | O. Piastri | 74 | -3 |  |
| 3 | M. Verstappen | 69 | -8 |  |
| 4 | G. Russell | 63 | -14 | |
| 5 | C. Leclerc | 32 | -45 | |
| 1 | McLaren | 151 | | |
| 2 | Mercedes | 93 | -58 | |
| 3 | Red Bull | 71 | -80 | |
| 4 | Ferrari | 57 | -94 | |
| 5 | Haas | 20 | -131 | |
