Lewis Hamilton recovered to third in the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang on Sunday 4 October, after Ferrari's early tyre gamble sent him towards the back of the field. Max Verstappen won ahead of Kimi Antonelli, securing Red Bull's first victory of the 2026 season.

The FIA's final race classification, issued as Document 60 on 4 October, confirms Hamilton finished 4.919 seconds behind Verstappen after 55 laps. Antonelli was 2.307 seconds adrift in second, while Charles Leclerc brought the other Ferrari home fourth.

A difficult start becomes a podium

Hamilton had qualified on the front row but started the race on soft slick tyres as the surface remained partly wet. In his post-race account to Formula 1, he said he fell to 17th and a minute behind the leaders.

He explained that Ferrari proposed switching to intermediates, but he chose to continue with the softs in the hope that the gamble would work. His eventual recovery followed tyre changes and the team's work in the pits.

Hamilton credited his engineers and mechanics for improving the car over the weekend and said its race performance had been strong. Even with a podium secured, he felt the initial tyre decision had cost Ferrari an opportunity to achieve more.

Mixed conditions change the race

Formula 1's race report describes heavy rain delaying the start and the first starting procedure being suspended. When racing began, the Mercedes pair initially led on intermediate tyres while Ferrari's slick-tyre starters struggled.

A Safety Car following Valtteri Bottas's spin gave the intermediate runners a chance to change to slicks. Verstappen subsequently passed Antonelli for the lead on lap 13 and controlled the race through further interruptions.

Hamilton passed Isack Hadjar late in the race to reach third, with Leclerc following him through on the next lap. The FIA identifies the victory as the first for the Red Bull Ford Powertrains partnership.

George Russell retired late and scored no points. The final classification records Lando Norris ninth for McLaren and Arvid Lindblad tenth for Racing Bulls. Those positions describe the completed 4 October Grand Prix, with the FIA's final document confirming the finishing order.

Sources