In case it’s not obvious from this post’s title, the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix is being held in Malaysia. The Bahrain GP organisers have brought all their advertising and even sections of the paddock look like the Bahrain circuit, but there’s also the huge Malaysian flag on a hill overlooking the track. Interesting times! As I mentioned in last week’s notes, the last two races of this season are still uncertain.
Mercedes have a new livery for their main sponsor’s home race. Aston Martin have re-signed ALO and STR for next season, leaving just RB2 and Haas yet to confirm their 2027 line-up.
It’s been declared a “heat hazard” as “the Heat Index will be greater than 31.0°C at some time during the Race”, so any drivers not wearing the cooling gear will instead have an extra 5kg of ballast in their car.
Reminder: COL has a 5-place grid penalty carried over from Azerbaijan, for causing the collision with NOR and teammate GAS.
Free Practice
- FP1: VER (1:37.520), RUS, HAD, LEC, ANT
RUS ran wide in Turn 4; teammate ANT did the same, going even deeper
GAS kicked up some dust when he ran over the kerb in Turn 3
LAW reported having “no brakes” in the final corner
HUL was on a slow lap but when he touched the brakes his Audi had a big twitch, causing him to throw his hand up in surprise
OCO ran wide when SAI passed him - FP2: LEC (1:37.528), HAD, NOR, VER, HAM
VER complained about feeling uncomfortable with his seating position
NOR nearly rear-ended PER as they entered the pit lane
PIA locked up into Turn 9
ANT ran wide in Turn 14, and teammate RUS went wide in T11
LEC slid deep into Turn 15 and almost hit the bollard that marks the start of the pit entrance
Yet again HAM was in the way; BOR caught the Ferrari and (fairly) felt blocked – I wonder if this is a problem with Ferrari’s pit wall/engineer letting HAM know
BOR ran wide in Turn 3, across the grass, having just tried to pass LIN
ALO locked up into Turn 1; STR had a huge lock-up approaching the speed limit line entering the pit lane - FP3: ANT (1:36.302), VER, HAD, RUS, LEC
It was HAM’s turn to be blocked rather than the blocker
NOR ran wide in Turn 4, kicking up some dust
LIN went deep into Turn 7; teammate LAW saved a spin in Turn 11
Penalties
LIN, HAD and COL have grid penalties for new power unit components – 30, 5, and 10 places respectively
Ferrari were fined €10,000 for HAM impeding BOR in FP2
Qualifying
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
VER 1:36.477
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are OCO, ALB, BEA, STR, BOT, PER
OCO P17
STR P11(!), HUL P17
PER P20
BOT P19
BEA P15, SAI P17
SAI P11, BOR P17
ALB P20
HUL P16, BEA P17
BOR P8, HUL P17
Back of the grid: HUL, BEA, OCO, ALB, BOT, PER
Qualifying session 2
VER 1:35.696
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are LAW, STR, SAI, COL, ALO, LIN
LIN gives LAW a tow; he goes P10, relegating BOR to P11
STR P12
ALO P12
SAI P13
BOR P10, LAW P11
Middle of the grid: LAW, ALO, SAI, STR, COL, LIN
Qualifying session 3
RUS 1:36.032
HAD 1:35.558
LEC P2
HAM P2
GAS P5
NOR P4
PIA P3
VER 1:35.250
BOR P9
ANT P3
Chequered flag; order is VER, HAD, ANT, HAM, PIA, LEC, NOR, RUS, BOR, GAS
HAD P2
VER 1:35.130
LEC P4
HAM P2
GAS P9
BOR P10
PIA P6
RUS P7
NOR P6
Front of the grid: VER, HAM, HAD, ANT, LEC, NOR, PIA, RUS, GAS, BOR
Provisional grid: VER, HAM, HAD, ANT, LEC, NOR, PIA, RUS, GAS, BOR, LAW, ALO, SAI, STR, COL, LIN, HUL, BEA, OCO, ALB, BOT, PER
Penalties
STR was given a warning being too slow… and then another warning for doing it again
Remember there are grid penalties for COL, HAD and LIN
Race
It’s starting to rain as the drivers begin their parade
Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
Grid: VER, HAM, ANT, LEC, NOR, PIA, RUS, HAD, GAS, BOR, LAW, ALO, SAI, STR, HUL, BEA, OCO, ALB, BOT, PER, COL, LIN
The rain is really coming down! Everyone looks drenched, and I’ve never seen so few people in the way of Martin’s grid walk
Start of the race has been delayed due to the rain, and now there’s lightning – the big constraint is whether it’s safe for the medical helicopter
Formation lap will start 15:40 local time
VER leads everyone away on the formation lap
Everyone on inters, unsurprisingly
LAW seems to be stuck on the grid
HAD is off, across the gravel, but rejoins ahead of ALO so he can pass and retake P8
HAM seems to have a throttle problem; he’s coasting, and no-one’s sure if they can pass him without incurring a penalty
Radio for HAM, “it’s a software issue – we’re trying to solve”, but he’s stopped at the side of the track
BOT and OCO also seem to have stopped at the side of the main straight
Starting procedure suspended
SC leads everyone into the pits… well, there are some cars ahead of the SC do it’s not leading everyone!
Some cars completed 2 laps but some only managed 1, so I guess they’ll have to send some cars out to do the missing lap
Race will start at 16:33 local time; order will be the original grid order
OK, but how will they resolve the inconsistent number of laps they’ve driven?
At least the rain has stopped and it’s drying up quickly because it’s so hot
VER is on inters but HMA is on softs – it’s a mix all the way down the pit lane
01/57[SC]: SC and VER leads everyone out of the pit lane
It’s inters for VER, ANT, RUS, HAD, LAW, SAI, OCO, ALB, LIN; softs for HAM, LEC, GAS, BOR, HUL, BEA, BOT, PER, COL; mediums for NOR, PIA, ALO, STR
Radio from VER reporting it’s still damp
GAS is off, backwards across the grass, but rejoins
PER pits for inters
02[SC]: Brief yellow flag – marshall on track at Turn 11 presumably to clear some debris
Race control confirm it will be a standing start
PIA pits, as does BOR and PER
Grid forms up
03: VER is slow off the mark – ANT and RUS pass him
VER slams LAW to defend P3
Top 10 places are all on inters – HAM down to P13
04: ANT, RUS, VER, LAW, HAD, SAI, ALB, OCO, LIN, PIA
OCO takes P7 from ALB
LEC pits; inters go on; rejoins P22
The official timing now shows it’s lap 4/55, but they started on 1/57
05/55: ANT, RUS, VER, LAW, HAD, SAI, OCO, ALB, LIN, PIA
Radio for HAM telling him to pit but he argues it’s improving and wants to stay on softs; he stays out
Radio from RUS saying he still inters
06: VER closing on RUS and takes P2
Yellow flag – marshals on track at Turn 3 – cleared
HAD inside LAW to take P4
07: Radio from BOR reporting a fire but unsure if it’s coming from his car
Replay of LEC clipping HUL’s rear as the Audio cut across after passing the Ferrari
08: Yellow flag; cleared
PIA takes P10 from BOR
VER closing on ANT
09: ANT runs a little wide; VER closes onto the Mercedes rear wing
HUL pits; softs go on; rejoins P14
BOT is off, beached in the gravel at Turn 13
SC deployed
10/55[SC]: ANT pits, followed by VER and all the others on inters – in fact, only HAM and BEA have yet to pit
ALB slowed a lot as he headed into the pit entry and PIA nearly rear-ended him
11[SC]: BEA pits
ANT, VER, RUS, HAD, LAW, OCO, LIN, SAI, BOR, PIA, STR, ALB, HUL, PER, HAM, NOR, LEC, ALO, GAS, BEA, COL; out: BOT
12[SC]: SC ending
13: VER around ANT into Turn 1; takes P1 but ANT fights back; VER claims P1
Yellow flag; clears
RUS takes P2 from teammate ANT
Was that yellow for a collision between SAI and BOR?
15/55: VER, RUS, ANT, HAD, LAW, OCO, LIN, PIA, BOR, HUL
NOR takes P12 from STR
Race control: overtake enabled
16: BOR pits; new front wing; hards; P21
HAM looks inside HUL into Turn 1; takes P9
17: ALB pits; hards; P20
BOR/SAI incident under investigation
19: Radio from ANT telling his team he “has more pace” and closes on RUS
HAM steals P8 from PIA
20/55: VER, RUS, ANT, HAD, LAW, OCO, HAM, LIN, PIA, HUL, NOR, LEC, STR, ALO, SAI, GAS, BEA, COL, ALB, BOR, PER
ANT now under 0.5sec behind teammate RUS
21: ANT takes P2
BOR gets 10sec penalty for causing collision with SAI
HAM reports his rear tyres are going off
22: HAM up to P5, past LAW
23: LEC takes P10 from HUL, and then NOR passes the Audi too
24: PIA past LIN for P8
25/55: VER, RUS, ANT, HAD, LAW, OCO, HAM, PIA, LIN, LEC
ANT deep into the final turn, knocks down the bollard that marks the start of the pit lane
LEC and NOR past LIN
26: VER almost 8sec clear of ANT
GAS pits; hards; P19
27: PIA inside OCO for P7
SAI pits; hards; P20
28: LEC takes P8 from OCO
29: NOR inside OCO for P9
LEC pits; softs; P13
LIN pits; hards; P14
30/55: VER, ANT, RUS, HAD, HAM, LAW, PIA, NOR, OCO, HUL, ALO, COL, LEC, LIN, STR, ALB, BEA, BOR, GAS, SAI, PER; out: BOT
PIA takes P6 from LAW
OCO pits; runs over the grass at pit entry; hards; P14
31: LAW pits; hards; P12
32: OCO harrying LIN for P13
HAD pits; softs; P6
HAM pits; mediums; P7
33: RUS pits; softs; P3
34: VER pits; softs; P1
ANT pits; softs; P2
PIA pits; hards; P9
Radio from HAM, “this tyre feels terrible”
35/55: NOR pits; softs; P9
HUL noted for unsafe release
36: VER 10.5sec clear of ANT
ALO steals P11 from OCO
38: VER laps PER (P20)
GAS pits again; softs; P19
39: NOR past LAW for P8
ALO closing on LIN
40/55: VER, ANT, RUS, HAD, HAM, LEC, PIA, NOR, LAW, LIN
HAM looks around the outside of HAD but the Red Bull hangs on to P4
ALO takes P10 but LIN defended aggressively – was there contact?
42: HAM still under 1sec behind HAD
43: Yellow flag – ALB pulls off track and parks
VSC deployed
44[VSC]: VER pits; softs; P2
HAM pits; softs; P5
LEC pits; softs; P9
45/55[VSC]: ANT pits; softs; P2
RUS pits; softs; P3
HAD pits; softs; P4
46[VSC]: SC deployed
PIA pits; P7
NOR pits; softs; P8
LAW pits; P9
47[SC]: They’re going to wait for the pack to close up and then let the lapped cars pass the SC, so it’ll be 3-4 more laps behind SC
48[SC]: SAI and BOR pass the SC; PER still hasn’t caught the pack
49[SC]: PER finally catches up and passes the SC
50/55[SC]: VER, ANT, RUS, HAD, HAM, LEC, PIA, NOR, LAW, ALO, HUL, LIN, STR, BEA, COL, OCO, GAS, SAI, BOR, PER; out: ALB, BOT
RUS pulls over at the end of the main straight; parks the Mercedes and gets out
NOR off, across the gravel in Turn 1, rejoins 11
Replay shows NOR went into the gravel to avoid running into PIA – looks like the pack had slowed because RUS had parked
51[SC]: SC ending
VER slows to back up the pack before the restart
52: LAW around the outside of PIA to take P6
PIA fights back, reclaims P6
Overtake enabled
53: HAM takes P3 from HAD
NOR past HUL for P9
54: LEC past HAD for P4
PIA closing on HAD
55/55: VER, ANT, HAM, LEC, HAD, PIA, LAW, ALO, NOR, HUL, LIN, STR, COL, BEA, OCO, GAS, SAI, BOR, PER
LIN takes P10 from HUL
VER takes the chequered flag
NOR has a look at ALO but the Aston Martin hangs on to P8
Provisional result: VER, ANT, HAM, LEC, HAD, PIA, LAW, ALO, NOR, LIN; HUL, STR, COL, BEA, OCO, GAS, SAI, BOR, PER
DNF: RUS, ALB, BOT
Penalties
Williams fined €100 for SAI speeding in the pit lane of the reconnaissance lap
Audi fined €30,000 (of which €20,000 is suspended for 12 months) for the unsafe release of HUL
NOR got a reprimand for driving erratically under Safety Car conditions
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