Bahrain GP Race Report
After losing out to Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing in Japan McLaren bounced back with victory in an entertaining Bahrain GP, although Mercedes spoiled the party by splitting the papaya cars.
Oscar Piastri became the first repeat winner of the 2025 season, while in contrast it was a difficult weekend for Lando Norris. He had a poor qualifying session and had to settle for third in the race, losing some title momentum in the process. Piastri is now just three points behind him.
All the teams were much better prepared for Bahrain than other races thus far this year thanks to the three-day test session back in February. However conditions were much hotter this time around, and in addition cars have changed and been developed since then.
It was to be an intriguing race that saw all three of Pirelli’s tyre compounds in play at some stages, and teams trying different strategies.
McLaren set the pace from the start of the weekend, and it was Piastri who put things together perfectly to take pole position. Norris was fastest in the Q1 session but when it mattered in Q3 he didn’t quite get it right, and slid back to sixth. After the session he did some soul-searching as he openly admitted that he wasn’t feeling comfortable in the car, and hadn’t done a good job.
Piastri led away at the start and the Australian put in a faultless performance, surviving losing the advantage he’d built up when a safety car was dispatched to allow debris to be picked up. After the restart he opened up a lead again on nearest pursuer George Russell to log his fourth career win in what was only his 50th race.
Norris made amends for his poor qualifying session by jumping three places at the start. However the FIA noted that he’d parked a few centimetres ahead of his grid box, and he duly picked up a 5-second penalty that he served at his first stop.
That dropped him a few places. He fought his way back, passing the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in the closing laps, but he just failed to find a way by the Mercedes of Russell. Third place represented a blow to his title hopes as he lost 10 points to Piastri.
Russell’s second place was his third podium of the season and another sign that he has stepped up in the absence of former team mate Lewis Hamilton. He qualified second, lost a spot to a grid penalty, but then regained it at the start. He held on to that position for the duration, despite some major challenges with electronic issues that compromised him. His team mate Kimi Antonelli had his best qualifying result so far in fifth, but the youngster’s strategy didn’t play out in the race, and he missed the points for the first time in 11th place.
Ferrari had the third fastest car in Bahrain, with Leclerc taking that spot in qualifying before gaining a front row slot from Russell’s penalty. It was wasted when he dropped to fourth at the start, and ultimately that was where he finished after a couple of battles with Norris along the way.
Hamilton meanwhile was left frustrated after qualifying only ninth. However he had a much stronger race, moving up to fifth by the flag and finding the car much more to his liking at some stages of the race. He was encouraged by the performance, saying that it was the most valuable weekend to date in terms of learning.
After the high of Suzuka it was a dire weekend for Max Verstappen and Red Bull. He struggled throughout with balance and brake issues, and could manage only seventh in qualifying. After a tough race he finished sixth, gaining a spot from Pierre Gasly on the very last lap. Meanwhile his team mate Yuki Tsunoda scored his first points for Red Bull in ninth.
Against the run of form the midfield pack was led by Alpine. Gasly qualified fifth and moved up a place on the grid thanks to a penalty for Antonelli. He had a strong race, but pitting just before the safety car gave others a free stop didn’t help, while losing a place to Verstappen at the flag was also frustrating. Nevertheless the team’s first points of 2025 were welcome. Rookie Jack Doohan showed good form as he ran in the top 10, but slipped back to 14th at the flag.
Haas had another strong weekend as the revised floor introduced in Japan paid off. Estaban Ocon had a huge qualifying crash, but the Frenchman moved up from 14th to eighth in the race, while Oliver Bearman made even better progress, rising from 20th after a poor qualifying session to claim 10th.
New Williams recruit Carlos Sainz made Q3 for the first time in P8, but after a race that saw him in several fights he retired with damage following contact with Tsunoda. Edged out by his team mate for the first time, Alex Albon finished 12th.
It was a tough race for the remaining three teams. Isack Hadjar tumbled down the order with a bad start, while his Racing Bulls team mate Liam Lawson received two penalties for contact with other cars. Both Sauber and Aston Martin struggle for speed and finished well out of the points, with the latter enduring perhaps its worst weekend of the season so far.
Action now moves on to Jeddah, a full night race but with a very different layout to Bahrain that is dominated by fast, sweeping corners rather than the slower turns, and without the tyre-chewing rough tarmac. Last year Red Bull dominated with a one-two finish, but this time around is set to be very different at the front as Piastri looks to overtake Norris in the title battle.
About Adam Cooper
Adam Cooper logs his 40th season as a motor racing journalist in 2024. Motor racing journalist, author, historian and copywriter. Started writing career in 1985 while still at university, and has been at every Formula One Grand Prix since Japan 1994 without missing one. He contributed to Autosport for nearly 40 years, while other clients have included Motor Sport, Autoweek, Racer, Road and Track, F1 Racing and The Sun.