F1 2025: Piastri takes commanding Bahrain GP win to join title fight

Oscar Piastri cruised to victory at the Bahrain GP, becoming the first repeat winner this season and handing McLaren its first-ever triumph at the Bahrain International Circuit. With this, Piastri has also eaten away at teammate Lando Norris’ title lead, and is now just three points adrift.

Mercedes’ George Russell fended off Norris in the closing laps to finish second.

1. Piastri wins, 15.499 seconds ahead of Russell
2. Norris still leads standings but just by 3 points
3. Ferrari’s Leclerc P4, Hamilton P5

Piastri wins Bahrain GP

Making a strong start from pole position, Piastri remained in control out at front, only briefly losing the lead once during the first stint of pit stops. He crossed the chequered flag a comfortable 15.499 secs ahead of Russell.

“It’s been an incredible weekend, starting off with Qualifying yesterday. To finish the job today in style was nice. I can’t thank the team enough for the car they’ve given us – it’s pretty handy out there,” said Piastri.

“I’m very proud of what I've done this weekend and proud to do it here in Bahrain as well. It's obviously a very important race for us, given our ownership. It’s never been a track that’s been kind to us, so it’s great to finally get the first win for the team in Bahrain.” 

Russell fends off Norris

On paper, it should have been a clear 1-2 finish for McLaren, But Norris struggled far more than his teammate. He was initially handed a five-second time penalty for being out of position in his grid box at the start.  McLaren pitted him early to make full use of the undercut. While did this work, it also left him vulnerable in the second stint and he was passed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Following the Safety Car period, he had a scrap with Lewis Hamilton, where he was forced to give the position back for overtaking off the track. Norris swiftly retook that position, and after several failed attempts to pass Leclerc, he finally made a move stick on Lap 52.

He then started closing the gap to Russell, who was dealing with a host of electrical glitches. But Russell held on to finish second.

After showing some promise in the middle stages, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton settled for P4 and P5, respectively. They were followed by Max Verstappen, who, at one point, had dropped to the back of the field after two slow pit stops – one due to a faulty exit light and another due to an issue with his front right tyre.

Pierre Gasly scored a strong P7 finish, handing Alpine its first points this season. Both the Haas drivers finished in the top 10, with Esteban Ocon taking P8 and Oliver Bearman taking P10. Splitting them was Red Bull Racing’s Yuki Tsunoda in P9.

2025 F1 championship standings

Norris still leads the drivers’ championship, but his advantage has been slashed to just three points over his teammate Piastri. Max Verstappen is third overall, eight points behind Norris.

In the constructors’ standings, McLaren has already built a 58-point lead over second-placed Mercedes. Red Bull Racing is next, 80 points off the lead.

F1 will now head to Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian GP on April 18-20.

2025 Bahrain GP results

Also see:

F1 2025: Piastri wins Chinese GP, Ferrari disqualified