Verstappen wins chaotic Sepang race but Antonelli still smiling

Berlin [Germany], October 5: Red Bull's Max Verstappen won a turbulent Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia on Sunday, withstanding bad weather, technical issues and being overtaken off the grid to record his first victory of the Formula One season.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes finished second and was boosted in the overall standings by team-mate George Russell having to retire from the race late on when sitting third. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton took third instead.
Antonelli now leads nearest rival Russell by 84 points.
Seven scheduled races remain, although the season-ending Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix in November and December are under threat from the continuing situation in the Middle East and one of them could be dropped.
The Bahrain event, already postponed from April and then moved to Malaysia because of conflict in the Middle East, started over 90 minutes late due to heavy rain and software issues in Sepang.
Verstappen was on pole for the only time so far this season and his hopes of a first win since Abu Dhabi in December last year initially looked like they had evaporated - just like the rain on the drying track. But the Dutchman had other ideas. "I'm incredibly proud of everyone. It was very hectic, with a lot of different things," Verstappen said after his 72nd career win in F1.
"We kept it all under control." The race began in the pits due to the weather and there were two laps behind the safety car before a standing start from the grid.
Verstappen had a bad restart, allowing Antonelli and Russell to get past the four-time champion, who later retook second from the Briton.
The safety car came out again on lap 9 after an accident for Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas. The top cars pitted to remove intermediate tyres with the track no longer wet and Verstappen soon took the chance to overtake Antonelli and seize the lead again.
Russell - winner last time out in Baku - passed Antonelli too as the Italian, looking for a maiden championship aged 20, suddenly looked exposed.
The Mercedes duo later switched places again though when Antonelli pounced halfway through the race.
Further twist There was a further twist 10 laps from the end when Verstappen pitted during a virtual safety car phase after Williams' Alex Albon went off.Antonelli was briefly in the lead, but Mercedes decided he had to pit too before the full safety car was brought out. Russell's Mercedes came to a halt before full racing was again permitted. With the field bunched, Verstappen clung on with Antonelli just behind.
Antonelli said: "I think today was the maximum we could have done, massive congrats to Max and Red Bull for their incredible weekend. On our side, work to do but happy to come away with P2."
Red Bull have struggled all season, but the updates brought to Malaysia have done the trick. Verstappen's improvement comes too late for his world title hopes but adds another dynamic to the final months of the season.
The software problems which affected teams during the formation lap appeared to be linked to faulty wet weather settings given races this year in radically rebuilt cars have mainly been dry.
Ferrari seemed to be affected more than others and there was initial confusion about the starting places given cars were mixed up on the formation lap as some came to a crawl.
Officials agreed the original starting spots should count and Hamilton eventually profited, but only after recovering from a wrong tyre choice at the start. He charged up the field to finish third ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc, who also battled back from way down the field after early problems and a collision to place fourth.
Isack Hadjar was fifth in the second Red Bull and McLaren's Oscar Piastri sixth. Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls, Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin, McLaren's world champion Lando Norris and Arvid Lindblad in the other Racing Bulls car rounded out the top 10.
Bahrain sent the trophy to Malaysia and its own marshals, one of whom entertained the crowd during the long rain delay by impersonating Harry Potter with his sweeping broom. The Singapore Grand Prix is next weekend.
Source: Qatar Tribune