Verstappen Wins Rain-Hit Bahrain GP at Sepang in Front of 261,000 Fans

Max Verstappen won the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit on 4 October 2026, on F1’s first visit to the track since 2017. He beat Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli by 2.307 seconds, with Lewis Hamilton third for Ferrari, in a race that thunderstorms and a power-unit glitch held up for well over an hour. It was Verstappen’s first win of the season and Red Bull’s first since Abu Dhabi last year, per Sky Sports and Al Jazeera.

The result

The official Formula 1 classification has Verstappen completing the 55 laps in 1:47:14.808 after starting from pole. Behind the podium came Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Lando Norris (McLaren) and Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls), who took the final point. George Russell, Alex Albon and Valtteri Bottas all retired.

Verstappen, speaking to Sky Sports, said: “To win our first race in our first year with our own power unit is pretty impressive.”

How a wild afternoon unfolded

Heavy rain and lightning pushed the start back by about 40 minutes, according to both Formula 1 and Sky Sports. When the cars finally went out, several hit trouble on the formation laps: Hamilton stopped on track and Verstappen reported a loss of power. The start was suspended and the cars returned to the pit lane while the FIA applied a fix for what Sky Sports said the governing body called an “unprecedented” software glitch. Sky Sports put the finish almost three and a half hours after the scheduled start.

The race began on intermediate tyres, and both Mercedes passed Verstappen off the line, per Sky Sports and Al Jazeera. A Safety Car on lap 9, after Bottas spun his Cadillac, let most of the field switch to slicks. Verstappen took the lead back at the restart and pulled away.

Hamilton’s podium was the comeback of the day. Ferrari started him on slick tyres on a track that was still wet, and he dropped to around 18th, according to Sky Sports. He stayed out as the circuit dried, and the bunched-up field behind the Safety Car helped him climb back to third.

The late drama came from Albon’s stranded Williams, which brought out a Virtual Safety Car and then a full Safety Car. Russell, running third, stopped on track behind it with what Sky Sports and Al Jazeera both described as a suspected power-unit failure. Moments later Norris ran through the gravel at Turn 1 and fell to ninth. Antonelli now leads Russell by 84 points with seven rounds left, per Formula 1 and Sky Sports.

A record crowd, and a rough commute

Sepang International Circuit and Bahrain International Circuit report 261,000 spectators over the weekend and 103,000 on race day. Free Malaysia Today notes that this beat the previous Malaysian Grand Prix record of 126,690, set in 2008. Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bahrain International Circuit’s chief executive, called it “the biggest event ever held at Sepang International Circuit”.

Getting there was harder. After Friday practice, hundreds of fans walked several kilometres along a highway because buses were stuck in traffic and taxis were barred from the venue, Reuters reported in The Star. Rapid KL promised better pick-up arrangements, and ESPN also documented the transport problems across the weekend. If you’re comparing ways to watch a future race from closer up, our guide to the F1 paddock and the Sepang hospitality options covers what each level of access gets you.

How the Bahrain race ended up in Malaysia

F1 cancelled its April rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in March because of the conflict in the Middle East, Raceweek and Al Jazeera report. On 26 July, Formula 1 and the FIA confirmed a deal with the governments of Bahrain and Malaysia to run the Bahrain race at Sepang from 2 to 4 October, keeping the Bahrain name and Gulf Air title sponsor. ESPN reported that Bahrain’s organisers ran the event and that Bahrain paid most, if not all, of a reported US$50 million hosting fee.

Does this bring back the Malaysian Grand Prix?

Not on its own. Malaysia hosted the Malaysian Grand Prix from 1999 to 2017 and dropped it over costs, Free Malaysia Today notes. After the race, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he had discussed a permanent return with F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali. He told Bernama “it’s too early”, and said the matter will go to the Cabinet after weighing costs and national benefit. ESPN reported that a well-placed paddock source sees 2030 as the earliest realistic return under existing contracts. Sepang officials would not confirm that on the record.

Bahrain, meanwhile, returns to Sakhir. Formula 1’s 2027 calendar, announced on 16 September, opens with the Bahrain Grand Prix on 12 to 14 March, its first Sprint weekend, per Formula 1 and Motor Sport. Malaysia is not on the 24-race calendar.

Why this matters if you bet on F1

The Sepang race shows how far weather and reliability can move a result. The pole-sitter lost the lead at the start, a driver who dropped to around 18th finished on the podium, and the third-placed car broke down with a handful of laps left. Race markets priced on dry-weather form could not have reflected much of that.

The championship picture is clearer, but only on paper. An 84-point lead with seven rounds to go is large, yet one retirement like Russell’s shows how quickly a gap can swing. Before backing any title price, convert it with our implied probability calculator to see what chance the market is charging you for. Nothing here is a prediction. And if betting stops feeling like entertainment, our responsible gambling page lists free support services.

We’ll update this piece if the stewards revise the classification or if there is firm news on Malaysia’s F1 future, and we’ll flag any correction openly.