2026 Bahrain F1 Grand Prix in Malaysia - Sunday Results -- Mercedes-Benz

Formula One - Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, 2026 Bahrain GP in Malaysia. Kimi Antonelli

 Toughest Sunday of the Season in Malaysia 

• Kimi Antonelli came home second with George Russell unfortunately failing to finish after a suspected power unit issue in Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.  
• After a delayed start due to heavy rain, and then a subsequent aborted start sequence as several cars faced issues on the formation lap, the race finally got underway in mixed conditions.
• Both Kimi and George started on the Intermediate tyre, whilst several other cars opted for a slick tyre start.
• The Inter proved the correct choice and after both our drivers made lightning starts, they vaulted into first and second.
• After a lap 9 Safety Car afforded both cars the chance to take the Medium compound as the track dried, it became clear that we didn’t have the pace to challenge the Red Bull of Max Verstappen for victory.
• Despite that, Kimi and George ran relatively untroubled in P2 and P3 and looked on course to secure a double podium.
• However, George suffered a suspected power unit issue which forced his retirement just five laps from the end.
• Kimi held on to P2 at the flag after a tough weekend for the team.
• Our lead in the Constructors’ Championship has been trimmed to 151 points as we head to Singapore and the final race in this triple-header 

Driver	Grid	Result	Fastest Lap	Start Tyre	Stop One	Stop Two	Stop Three
Kimi Antonelli	P3	P2	1:38.589	Intermediate	Medium (L9)	Soft (L33)	Soft (L44)
George Russell	P7	DNF	1:40.715	Intermediate	Medium (L9)	Soft (L32)	Soft (L44)

Kimi Antonelli

Overall, given our struggles this weekend, I think P2 was the maximum we could have achieved today. The conditions were really challenging, both with the difficult call on which tyre to start on, when to stop to take the slicks, and then when to stop and what compound to take to ensure we held on to second. The team did a good job with those calls, and I am pleased we were able to score solid points. 

Despite that, we leave Malaysia frustrated. Our pace hasn’t been where we wanted it to be and we weren’t able to fight for victory. It was also extremely disappointing to see George retire when we were so close to such a good result for the team, and a double podium at what is one of the most significant races in our season. We will work hard ahead of Singapore to understand how we can improve and make sure we perform more strongly next weekend.

George Russell

That was another tough and disappointing day for me amongst several we have had this season. It is pure bad luck, but it still hurts. It is particularly tough as we were on for a podium and a great result for the team. I made a great start on the Intermediate but struggled a little once we moved to the Medium tyre. I felt much better once we were on the Soft compound and, whilst we were never in the fight for the win, our pace was good.

It’s such a shame to retire from the race when we were looking comfortable in P3. It would have been important points in the Constructors’ for the team and a double podium would have been a lovely reward for our Title and Technical Partner PETRONAS as their home race. 

It’s not been an easy weekend, but our race pace was better than our qualifying performance on Saturday. That is encouraging but we will work hard as a team to understand why we have underperformed overall here in Malaysia and how we can make sure we are stronger in Singapore. It has been a tough season on my side of the garage, but we will keep fighting. 

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

This has been our worst weekend of the season. It hurts, and I feel incredibly sorry for George and everyone in the team. George drove an outstanding race and was on course for a very strong result, but we let him down. The reality is that has happened too often this year, and that is not acceptable.

We were not quick enough, and we were not reliable enough in Malaysia. That is the truth. Both drivers kept fighting, stayed focused, and got everything out of the car that was possible though. Whilst George lost out through no fault of his own, Kimi did a very good job and deserved his podium.

Now we need to understand exactly what happened this weekend. We underperformed compared to our nearest competitors and our form in recent races. We will do so with our usual focus, by working diligently and being led by the data. We don't have many days before we are on track again, but we are determined to put on a better showing next week in Singapore.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Today was a difficult race to manage, particularly in the opening stages when we had to make several important decisions around tyre choice and crossover points as the conditions evolved. The team made good calls throughout the afternoon and we were able to maximise Kimi's race, bringing home a well-deserved podium. He drove a mature and controlled race and extracted everything that was available to him.

For George, it's incredibly frustrating. He was driving a strong race, managing the conditions well, and looked on course for a comfortable podium before his retirement. Losing a result like that at any race is painful, but especially when he has suffered so much bad luck so far this season.

Whilst there are positives we can take from today's race execution, we weren’t quick enough to fight for the win. We have a lot of data to review and very little time before we are back on track in Singapore. Our focus now is on understanding the factors that have contributed to this weekend's performance and identifying where we can improve. Singapore presents a very different challenge, and our job over the next few days is to make sure we arrive there better prepared and in a position to be more competitive.
 

Tomorrow’s 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Update from Mercedes-Benz

 

Toughest Qualifying of the Season in Malaysia

• Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth, and will start third, with team-mate George Russell eighth and starting seventh, for tomorrow’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
• After a Friday where it was tricky to get a true performance read, the team ended practice on the front foot this morning with Kimi topping the times in FP3 with George in P4.
• Despite facing relatively similar conditions come qualifying, the team couldn’t match that performance when it mattered later in the day though.
• Whilst finding themselves in the picture near the front, neither Kimi nor George threatened to take pole position with the Red Bull’s being particularly fast.
• Kimi was forced to use an extra set of Soft tires in Q2 after a track limits violation saw his initial time deleted; his one and only effort in Q3 put him P4 which will become P3 by virtue of Isack Hadjar’s engine penalty.
• George meanwhile used two sets of Soft tyre in Q3 and his final effort put him P8; he gains one starting position due to the Red Bull’s penalty.

Driver	FP3	Q1		Q2		Q3
Kimi Antonelli	P1	3 Laps	P6	6 Laps	P2	3 Laps	P4
		1:37.041	Soft	1:35.959	Soft, Soft	1:35.631	Soft
George Russell	P4	3 Laps	P11	3 Laps	P8	6 Laps	P8
		1:37.264	Soft	1:36.245	Soft	1:35.871	Soft, Soft

Kimi Antonelli

We were strong in FP3, so it was a shame that we dropped back in terms of competitiveness come qualifying. It is a unique circuit here with a very aggressive tarmac and in incredibly hot conditions; that makes it difficult to deliver the same performance consistently. We will go around the loop tonight to see what we could have done differently and to make sure we understand exactly where we went wrong. 

I put myself under quite a lot of pressure with only one new set of Soft tires in Q3 but I did what I could. If we had a second set, I think we could have fought for the front-row, but I don’t think we could have challenged Max (Verstappen) for pole. He has looked like the quickest car all weekend and so it proved today. 

P3 is not a bad place to be starting from all things considered. The tire degradation is likely to be very high and, in all probability, it will be a multi-stop race. That will hopefully open up opportunities for us if we have good race pace. There is still the possibility of rain too which could make things even more exciting so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

George Russell

We’ve struggled today and that is reflected by what was our toughest Saturday of the year. It is so hot here and the tarmac is very aggressive, with the low grip making lap times several seconds slower than when we last raced here in 2017. That may have impacted our performance comparatively to what we have seen at other circuits, but it is true to say that we have clearly suffered more than our closest competitors this weekend. We didn’t expect to struggle this much here in Malaysia, and we will work hard to understand why.

Whilst we are frustrated by our performance today, tomorrow will be a very different challenge. The race is likely to be dominated by high tire degradation and keeping the tyres in good shape across a full stint will be the key to a good Grand Prix. Whilst we have ground to make up, we know it should be possible to overtake if you have the speed so we will be giving it our all to make up ground.

Toto Wolff, CEO & Team Principal

That was our toughest Saturday of the season, and we need to dig deep to understand exactly why that was. We have plenty to analyze from the two days of running here in Sepang to get to the heart of why we have struggled so much. There are many factors we will need to take into consideration, and we can’t rule anything out at this stage. 

Tomorrow is another day. With the levels of degradation we saw in practice, we are heading a little bit into the unknown in terms of both race pace and strategy. It will likely be a Grand Prix where we see multiple stops for each car and that could provide opportunities. Equally, we know that our race pace on Friday wasn’t the strongest, so we hope the changes we have made to the car since then have helped with that, even if they didn’t benefit us on our single laps today.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Today was clearly a disappointing result relative to our expectations coming into the weekend. We showed encouraging pace in FP3, but couldn’t extract the same performance when we needed come qualifying. We will spend time this evening, and in the coming days, analysing the data to understand why we fell away compared to our competitors and what lessons we can take forward. 

The focus now turns to tomorrow. This circuit is placing huge demands on the tires and degradation is expected to be very high, which means strategy, tire management and operational execution will all be critical. Whilst we would have preferred to be starting further forward, both drivers are in positions where they can fight for solid results. With a race that looks likely to feature multiple pit stops and plenty of strategic variation, there will be opportunities to make progress if we have decent pace.