Piastri reigns supreme in Bahrain GP – Norris on the podium
04/13/2025 01:02 PM
Oscar Piastri delivered a masterclass at the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix, storming to a commanding 15-second victory from pole and slashing Lando Norris's championship lead to just three points.
The McLaren star controlled the Sakhir night race with precision, navigating a two-stop strategy on soft and medium tyres to secure his second win of the season. Behind him, chaos reigned as cooler-than-expected conditions, a late Safety Car, and strategic gambles shuffled the pack, with six drivers scoring points for the first time that year.
George Russell's audacious soft-tyre stint in the final laps secured second for Mercedes, denying McLaren a 1-2 as he fended off a charging Norris, who settled for third after a five-second penalty for a grid slot violation.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, starting on mediums, finished fourth and fifth, while Max Verstappen endured a nightmare race for Red Bull, limping to sixth after tyre woes and sluggish pitstops.
Haas's Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman, along with Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda and Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, rounded out the points in a race that saw Carlos Sainz as the sole retirement after a clash with Tsunoda.
The 57-lap thriller under the desert floodlights showcased Formula 1's unpredictability, with tyre strategy and a debris-induced Safety Car shaking up the order.
A Fiery Start and Early Drama
Piastri nailed his start from pole, leading into Turn 1 as Russell, despite a grid penalty from qualifying, sliced past Leclerc to reclaim second. Norris, starting sixth, rocketed to third with a blistering launch—only to be slapped with a five-second penalty for being outside his grid slot.
The McLaren driver pitted early on lap 11 to serve his penalty, bolting on mediums and using the undercut to stay in contention, swiftly passing Pierre Gasly's Alpine.
Meanwhile, Verstappen, starting seventh, struggled to make headway, overtaking a faltering Sainz but falling behind Antonelli and Hamilton after a lackluster lap 11 stop onto hard tyres that offered no grip.
Ferrari's medium-tyre strategy initially showed promise, but both Leclerc and Hamilton pitted earlier than planned on lap 17, with Leclerc visibly frustrated over the radio.
By the halfway mark, Piastri held a six-second lead over Russell, with Leclerc, Norris, and Hamilton in pursuit.
Gasly clung to fifth, fending off Verstappen, whose race unraveled further with a second stop on lap 27 for used mediums after just 16 laps on the hards, compounded by two slow pitstops due to a sluggish front-right tyre change.
Safety Car Shakes Up the Field
The race's turning point came on lap 33 when a Safety Car was deployed for debris at Turn 3, caused by Sainz's floor damage after contact with Tsunoda.
Most drivers, including Piastri, seized the chance to make their final stop—Piastri opting for fresh mediums, while Mercedes boldly fitted softs on Russell and Antonelli. Ocon, Bearman, and Verstappen stayed out, banking on their existing tyres.
At the lap 34 restart, Piastri held firm, but Hamilton pounced on Norris for fourth, only for Norris to retaliate—veering off-track and wisely ceding the position to avoid further penalties.
Russell, now on the grippier but fragile softs, called the strategy "audacious" but was forced to manage his tyres, battling electronic glitches affecting his dashboard and DRS.
Norris, on mediums, capitalized, overtaking Hamilton and then Leclerc on lap 52 with a daring move around the outside of Turn 4. His late charge for second fell short as Russell defended stoutly, ensuring Mercedes a podium spot.
A Champion's Struggles and Rookie Resilience
Verstappen's woes were Red Bull's reality check. The Dutchman, stuck on ill-suited hards early on, reported "no grip" and never recovered, dropping to ninth before his second stop.
A final-lap pass on Gasly salvaged sixth, but he trailed Norris by 10 points in the standings. Gasly's brave defense earned Alpine a hard-fought seventh, while Ocon and Bearman secured Haas's first double points of 2025 in eighth and ninth.
Antonelli, despite a late fade, took 10th for Mercedes after a penalty for forcing Sainz off-track was overturned.
Sainz's race was a disaster, retiring after floor damage from the Tsunoda clash and a 10-second penalty for an earlier incident with Antonelli.
Piastri's imperious drive, however, set the tone for McLaren's campaign, with Russell's resilience and Norris's recovery keeping the championship battle razor-tight heading to Jeddah.
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