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F1 Review: Oscar Piastri Rules From The Pole, Flawless In Gulf Air Bahrain GP Victory

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Oscar Piastri took the pole in Bahrain on Saturday (April 12th) and ran away from the field with it to win the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday (April 13th), pulling to within two points of McLaren teammate Lando Norris’ lead in the drivers championship in the process. The victory was Piastri’s second of the season and McLaren’s first in Bahrain. George Russell finished second, overcoming a number of power and systems issues, while Norris battled back from an early five-second penalty to take third. 

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and fifth, respectively, while Max Verstappen snatched sixth with a last-lap pass of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who finished seventh. 

“It’s been an incredible weekend,” Piastri said. “To finish the job today in style is nice.

“I can’t thank the team enough for the car they’ve given us. It was pretty handy out there. It’s been a great weekend — and I’m proud of what I’ve done this weekend as well.”

The Haas Racing duo of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman were eighth and 10th, respectively, with Bearman charging hard from 20th on the grid to score points. Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda split the Haas cars to take ninth, scoring his first points for Red Bull.

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Oscar Piastri Cruises to 2nd Win of 2025 in Bahrain

In the driver standings, Norris leads Piastri by two points, 77 to 75, with Verstappen third with 69 points, six ahead of Russell. 

In the constructor standings, McLaren added 23 points to their growing cushion over Mercedes, and lead 154 to 93. Red Bull stands third with 71 points.

The Race

Piastri held off the charging Russell down the long run into Turn 1, while a great start by Norris moved him up from sixth to third. Russell got by Leclerc for second ahead of Norris. Verstappen, meanwhile, lost a spot and ran eighth, with the Dutchman launching with an uncharacteristically poor start. 

Bad news for Norris came on lap 3, when he was told he was being investigated for a false start for his tires being out of his starting box. And you can be sure Red Bull’s Christian Horner lobbied hard for a penalty for the McLaren driver. 

Up front, Piastri was distancing himself from Russell, as Norris sweated the stewards’ upcoming decision. Piastri’s lead was nearing three seconds by lap eight and was clearly the dominant car. 

Norris’s punishment came down, and he was issued a five-second penalty. Norris’ target suddenly went from racing for the win to salvaging as many points as possible. That meant, for now, that it was imperative for Norris to clear Russell. 

The bad news for Norris was good news for Piastri, who now knew he had an extra five seconds on the car most likely to challenge him for the win. 

The Ferraris finally pitted on lap 18, both taking medium tires, and Piastri was back in the lead, ahead of Russell and Norris, who were now just two seconds back. Despite his disastrous penalty, Norris knew a second-place finish would mean a result well ahead of Verstappen, and a huge boost to his championship hopes. Given his poor qualifying effort and race penalty, Norris had to be thrilled with his current position.

Verstappen, stuck in ninth after being passed by Kimi Andrea Antonelli and Hamilton, began to whine more than an old V10 engine, complaining about brakes, tire wear, and everything” overheating. To add insult to injury, Verstappen now had to deal with the indignity of being stalked by Alpine’s Jack Doohan. Verstappen did eventually run away from Doohan.

Piastri’s lead was seven seconds at lap 30, and the Australian was well on his way to his second victory of the season, and the lead in the drivers standings (if Norris’ finished fourth or worse). Norris ran fourth, but his tire strategy allowed him to make a late run on LeClerc (in third) and Russell (in second).

Then, Piastri faced the worst-case scenario for a driver leading a race by nearly 10 seconds: a safety car being deployed on lap 33 for debris resulting from contact between Tsunoda and Sainz in Turn 1. Piastri’s lousy luck was tempered by his timely positioning just as the safety car signal was given: he was approaching the pit lane entrance and tucked in for service, taking medium tires. 

Nearly everyone else followed Piastri’s lead and pitted, except for Verstappen, who opted to grab some easy track position. Piastri’s huge lead was now gone, and everyone chasing the McLaren had fresh tires (Russell was on a used set of soft tires, Leclerc was on hard, and Piastri and Norris were on the medium compound). 

After acing the start at lights out, Piastri was not about to give his competitors any hope, and dusted Russell when green flag racing resumed on lap 36. Piastri raced off into the distance, with the only thing left in doubt being which two drivers would occupy the podium below Piastri.

Norris had the speed to challenge Russell, but had to clear the two Ferrari’s before he could begin that pursuit. Norris soon dispatched Hamilton, but not without difficulty, then needed 10 laps to successfully pass Leclerc. 

That left Norris little time to chase Russell, and with all eyes on the Russell-Norris battle, Piastri was quietly extending his massive lead into a more massive lead.

Piastri took the checkered flag with a commanding 15 second cushion over Russell, who deftly defended to hold on to second.

The Good

Haas’ Oliver Bearman started last on the grid (he was the slowest driver in Q1 in Saturday’s (April 12th) qualifying), and drove a remarkable race to finish 10th. The rookie has scored points in three straight races. What can you say about Bearman, except “You’re well on your way……to getting out of a Haas car and into a real one.” 

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly qualified fourth and finished seventh, just one day after Alpine technical director Flavio Briatore’s 75th birthday. I don’t know what Flavio’s 75th birthday celebration looked like, but it would have been pretty cool if Nelson Piquet, Jr. had “crashed” that party. It would have been even more on brand if Flavio had asked Piquet to crash his party.    

The Bad

It was a tough day, and it’s been a tough season for Aston Martin. In Bahrain, Fernando Alonso finished 16th and teammate Lance Stroll was 18th. Alonso is scoreless this year, which is shocking for the two-time world champion. And made that much more shocking when you realize Stroll has scored points this year. If that doesn’t make Alonso contemplate retirement, I don’t know what will.   

There was a time in Fernando Alonso’s legendary career when he could drive the wheels off a car. At this point in his career, he’s unable to do that, because in his Aston Martin, you can’t drive the wheels off without a steering wheel. 

It was an all-around tough day for Red Bull as well, and their performance in the pits didn’t help matters. Both Verstappen and Tsunoda were slow during their first pit stops when the pit light (that should show green to let the driver know it is safe to release), was stuck on red. 

Then, on Verstappen’s second visit, difficulty removing the right-front tire resulted in a 6.2-second stop. It was all very uncharacteristic for the Red Bull team, who are often the fastest and almost always error-free. Surprisingly, Verstappen wasn’t as agitated as he would normally be in similar situations, when he would fly off the handle and go off on the radio. That’s probably because Verstappen knew that he didn’t have the car to challenge for the win, even with good or even great pit stops, and was resigned to finishing well off the podium.  

Red Bull No. 2 Driver Situation Update

Yuki Tsunoda finished ninth at Bahrain, and that’s probably enough to keep him in Red Bull’s No. 2 seat. All indications are that Tsunoda will remain in Red Bull’s No. 2 car and maintain his job description as Verstappen’s emotional support, highly inferior No. 2 driver.

Random Hairstyle Commentary

Lewis Hamilton finally unleashed his hair from the confines of cornrows, and the results are pretty cool. Hamilton has a scalp full of natural curls, and if they’re not contained, they’ll have a mind of their own, much like a Ferrari. 

Hamilton is now combining the looks of an F1 driver and a founding member of the hip-hop band Cypress Hill. 

Grid Walk Moments

Martin Brundle’s Bahrain Grid Walk was a veritable “Who’s Who Of Who’s That?” His first chat was with a man named James Martin, a man who seemed so uninteresting and named so generically, I didn’t even bother Googling who he was. I’m surprised Brundle didn’t end the conversation with his catchphrase, “Good stuff,” which translates into “You bore me.” (Editor’s note: James Martin is a British chef and TV personality.)

Much of Brundle’s Grid Walk was spent searching for Jackie Stewart’s crash helmet, which Stewart wore when he drove his 1973 F1 championship-winning car around the Sakhir circuit earlier. Alas, Brundle’s quest was unsuccessful, but had he succeeded, you have to wonder what Brundle interviewing an inanimate object would look and sound like. I guess it would have been a lot like the first time he did it, when he interviewed Machine Gun Kelly at the Miami Grand Prix in 2023.

While Brundle was dodging business dignitaries on a grid dripping with the affluence of the petroleum industry, he was running into people like South Korean DJ Peggy Gou, filmmaker Guy Ritchie, and some guy who was having a documentary made about him by some other guy. All were intellectually stimulating interviews, but I would have much rather found out who Jackie Stewart’s crash helmet was pulling for in the race.   

Brundle also chatted with safety car driver and Formula 1 grid staple Bernd Maylander, who may have the coolest job in F1. Maylander may be the only “F1 driver” who can go everywhere in the world and not be recognized.

Rest Of Season Keys To Winning The World Championship

So far this season, it’s pretty simple what a driver needs to do to win the championship: win the pole. All four races this season have been won by the pole sitter. And if you don’t win the pole, you’d better make sure you finish in the top 3. 

Right now, you can consider four drivers as championship contenders: Norris, Piastri, Verstappen, and Russell. Russell hasn’t won a race, but has been able to stay close because three different drivers have won races (and it didn’t hurt that Piastri finished ninth in the season opener at Australia). For Russell, this doesn’t seem sustainable. Russell’s best finish was his second in Bahrain, but was a distant 15 seconds behind Piastri. It seems unlikely that Russell could consistently beat one McLaren, much less two.

Verstappen has won this year, and despite his performance (or lack thereof) in Bahrain, will win again. And Red Bull is bound to close the performance gap (not completely, but somewhat) to McLaren. And that’s all Verstappen needs to put the pressure on Norris and Piastri. In addition, Verstappen doesn’t have a teammate with whom he has to play nice with; he has a teammate he barely has to acknowledge.

In short, it points to a three-driver battle for the championship, and after years of a one-driver battle, it will be very welcome.

The Driver

Piastri was untouchable in Sunday’s race, and was also flawless. Piastri won the pole by a solid .168 seconds over Russell on Saturday, then closed the deal emphatically on Sunday by dominating the entire race. 

And as big as the win was for Piastri, it was important for McLaren as a team to respond after Verstappen’s win in Japan. And they did, with Norris taking third while the best Verstappen could do was sixth. As the kids would say today, Piastri “clapped back.”

The Results (Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, Bahrain International Circuit)

PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/retiredPts
181Oscar PiastriMcLaren Mercedes571:35:39.43525
263George RussellMercedes57+15.499s18
34Lando NorrisMcLaren Mercedes57+16.273s15
416Charles LeclercFerrari57+19.679s12
544Lewis HamiltonFerrari57+27.993s10
61Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT57+34.395s8
710Pierre GaslyAlpine Renault57+36.002s6
831Esteban OconHaas Ferrari57+44.244s4
922Yuki TsunodaRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT57+45.061s2
1087Oliver BearmanHaas Ferrari57+47.594s1
1112Kimi AntonelliMercedes57+48.016s0
1223Alexander AlbonWilliams Mercedes57+48.839s0
1327Nico HulkenbergKick Sauber Ferrari57+53.472s0
146Isack HadjarRacing Bulls Honda RBPT57+56.314s0
157Jack DoohanAlpine Renault57+57.806s0
1614Fernando AlonsoAston Martin Aramco Mercedes57+60.340s0
1730Liam LawsonRacing Bulls Honda RBPT57+64.435s0
1818Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco Mercedes57+65.489s0
195Gabriel BortoletoKick Sauber Ferrari57+66.872s0
NC55Carlos SainzWilliams Mercedes45DNF0