The Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia turned out to be one of the most chaotic events I have witnessed in modern Formula 1. What began as a daring partnership that resurrected a beloved circuit after a nine‑year absence ultimately delivered a memorable race, but the weekend was far from smooth.
First, I must acknowledge the fans who endured extremely long queues leaving the venue and trying to return to their hotels. Road networks were completely clogged, and shuttle buses were forced to stop in traffic jams.
Although the whole programme was assembled on a very tight timetable, the logistical hiccups were disappointing. My personal thanks go out to the Malaysian supporters who, despite the inconvenience, still managed to enjoy the spectacle – many of them got as drenched as I did while walking on the grid. As the cars lined up, a sudden rain cell burst over the circuit.
Water began to pool around the track, and the temporary shelters that had been erected over the cars could not keep the standing water at bay. The start procedure was therefore halted. When the downpour eased, officials announced that two formation laps behind the Safety Car would be run before a proper standing start could be attempted. The plan seemed reasonable until several cars began to crawl at a crawl and then stop altogether, while the Safety Car continued at its normal pace, quickly pulling away from the field.
Drivers were reluctant to overtake the almost‑stationary cars for fear of breaking the regulations. A noticeable number of the six Ferrari‑powered entries were affected, as were a few Red Bull Powertrains machines and a McLaren‑Mercedes. Because this was the first wet outing for many of the brand‑new 2026 cars, an unexpected technical problem surfaced. It turned out to be a software issue within the FIA’s standard control unit – the so‑called "brain" that governs essential power‑unit functions to guarantee parity.
The code was not designed to cope with cars travelling at extremely low speeds, and it began to cut power as the speed dropped below a certain threshold. Consequently, many drivers were forced to hit the control‑alt‑delete combination to reboot their power units, creating a scene of pure disorder. The Safety Car was about to lap cars that should have been following it, and the only viable solution was to abandon the start and bring the field back to the pits.
Once in the pit lane the Safety Car was oddly positioned in the middle of the pack rather than at the front. The stewards then faced a regulatory dilemma: should drivers who had come to a complete stop – such as Lewis Hamilton in his Ferrari – be required to restart from the position they occupied when they re‑joined the fast lane? After a forty‑minute pause, which conveniently allowed the rain to clear, the officials decided that the grid order would be restored to its original configuration.
At the same time, the FIA engineers identified the software flaw, rewrote the relevant sections of code to adjust power‑unit parameters for speeds below 50 km/h, and pushed the patch to every car on the grid, even to those that had not yet experienced the problem, like the Aston Martins. The patch worked, and the race could finally resume. However, the conditions had changed dramatically.
The pit lane was dry, the pit straight and several other sectors were also dry, but the track surface remained damp in places, especially around turns three and five. Teams now faced a crucial tyre choice for the delayed standing start.
Most of the front‑running squads – Ferrari, McLaren, Audi and Aston Martin – opted for slick dry tyres, assuming the circuit would dry quickly enough. When the cars peeled away from the Safety Car, it became obvious that a significant amount of spray lingered and that the middle sections of the track were still wet. Drivers such as Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and the Audi duo immediately switched to intermediate tyres, recognising that the light water grooves would provide the necessary grip.
Hamilton, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc elected to stay on slicks, hoping the track would improve rapidly. Leclerc’s gamble backfired on the first racing lap when contact damaged his front wing, forcing an early pit stop for intermediates.
After that stop he quickly caught up to Hamilton’s Ferrari and passed it, demonstrating just how sluggish the dry tyres were on a still‑wet surface. The circuit’s ageing asphalt contributed to the difficulty. Years of exposure to extreme heat – often exceeding 60 °C – and the occasional cloudburst have left the surface heavily worn, with countless microscopic pores that retain water like a sponge. Because the event was a one‑off, there was no opportunity to resurface the track, and the old tarmac continued to degrade the dry compounds, reducing their performance.
The battle at the front soon crystallised into a three‑way fight between the two Mercedes‑powered entries – Kimi Antonelli and George Russell – and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, all of which were on intermediates. Verstappen entered the weekend as the clear favourite, and his pace reflected that expectation. It took nine laps for Lando Norris, who had stayed on slicks, to finally become faster than the intermediate‑shod cars, by which point the slick runners were a full minute behind the leaders.
A pivotal moment arrived when Valtteri Bottas spun off at turn 13, prompting the deployment of the full Safety Car. This timing proved advantageous for the leaders, allowing them to pit for fresh tyres without losing the typical 26‑second pit‑stop penalty; the Safety Car reduced the loss to roughly 18 seconds. The full Safety Car stayed out for an extended period, enabling the slick‑tyre runners to close the gap to the intermediate cars and effectively reset the race.
Hamilton elected to stay out on his original soft‑compound dry tyres, prioritising track position over fresh rubber. He managed to run those tyres for 31 laps, a decision that ultimately paid off. Meanwhile, Antonelli continued to lead, exchanging overtakes with his teammate Russell, while Verstappen, on intermediates, gradually re‑established a comfortable lead that would prove unassailable.
Further drama unfolded when Alex Albon’s Williams stalled at the exit of turn three on lap 42, requiring marshals to extract the car and triggering another Safety Car. The field bunched up once more, and several drivers pitted for used but still‑grippy tyres to maximise grip for the final stint. In the closing stages, Russell suffered a power‑unit failure even at Safety Car speed, forcing his retirement and handing Antonelli a larger points haul.
Lando Norris, unaware of the slowing pack ahead, nearly collided with his teammate Oscar Piastri but managed to avoid contact, losing a few positions in the process. The race concluded with Verstappen taking his first victory of the season, marking the debut win for the all‑new Red Bull‑Ford power unit, while Antonelli extended his championship lead to 84 points over his main rivals. The event wrapped up just twelve minutes before the three‑hour time limit, after a total duration of three hours and twenty minutes from the original start. The next challenge now awaits in Singapore, where the final sprint weekend of the season will test teams and drivers under completely different conditions.