Andrea Stella: "A very important result in Bahrain at our second home Grand Prix. It's a first victory for the team here, following on from a first Pole position yesterday. We are all extremely appreciative of the support we receive from our shareholders, now and always. When we were building the team and not achieving the results we are seeing now, they were patient and gave us the resources we needed to set out on our current trajectory.
"Oscar drove pretty much the perfect weekend. He was very solid in each session, every situation, and took the car to a deserved victory. Lando, starting P6, was always going to have to work hard this evening, and a five second penalty made his job even harder - but he put in a very strong performance and ensured we get to celebrate a double podium finish, which is important for both Championships.
"I want to take the opportunity once again to thank our fans for their support, and also the women and men at McLaren, here in Bahrain and back at the factory, who together with our partners, have done a fantastic job delivering this car and supporting the trackside operation. I hope everyone will be enjoying the victory this evening."
Christian Horner: "Nothing went our way from the start of the race. We've been struggling with two issues this weekend, one a braking issue, and secondly an imbalance issue. When you have these issues tyre degradation is also highlighted more. On top of that we've had just a horrible day where we had an issue in the pit gantry that caused a problem with the traffic light. The actual pit-stops were actually quite good, but the electric issues definitely impacted our race. For Max to come away with a P6 and to limit the deficit to Lando this weekend despite the challenges we've had is the best we could have hoped for. Yuki has had a very solid weekend. Qualifying in the top 10, finishing in the points today, he drove pretty well here in Bahrain. The Team are very much focused on developing the car and hopefully over the next few races there are some updates that are introduced that address the issues raised. This race has exposed some pitfalls that we very clearly have that we need to get on top of quickly, we understand where the issues are but introducing the solutions takes a bit longer. We have a strong technical team that has produced some of the best race cars in the world in the past few seasons so I am confident that we can turn things around. As a Team we are focused on analysing and sorting what is possible when we go again in Jeddah in five days' time."
Scuderia Ferrari HP leaves Bahrain with 22 points in the bag courtesy of a fourth place finish for Charles Leclerc and a fifth for Lewis Hamilton. There is also the awareness that progress has been made compared to the first three races of the season. In what was the most exciting of the four races run so far this year, Charles was in the hunt for a podium finish right up to the closing stages, fighting with Lando Norris. There is inevitably some disappointment that the arrival of the Safety Car at two thirds distance certainly didn't do him any favours. As for Lewis, he staged a great climb up the order, driving an attacking race for most of the 57 laps, pulling off some spectacular overtaking moves.
The team decided to start both drivers on new Medium tyres, unlike those around them that had all gone for used Softs. Starting from second, Charles paid the price for this, losing places to George Russell and Lando Norris. Lewis was running where he started in ninth place. When Oscar Piastri pitted for tyres on lap 14, Leclerc found himself in the lead with Hamilton second. The SF-25s made a double pit stop on lap 17, taking on another set of Mediums, with Charles rejoining fifth, before immediately passing Pierre Gasly for fourth. Lewis rejoined tenth and was immediately on the attack, catching and passing the group ahead, in the order Jack Doohan, Max Verstappen, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Esteban Ocon, getting as high as fifth when Gasly made his second stop. Nearer the front, Leclerc was now the fastest driver on track, to the extent he caught and passed Norris for third place. At this point, the Ferraris were on fresher rubber than those around them, which gave them a degree of flexibility when it came to how long to extend the second stint and regarding which compound to use for the final stint. However, a collision further down the order on lap 32 brought out the Safety Car, so that everyone dived into the pits for a pit stop that cost about half the usual time. At this point, there was no option but to pit for a final time, fitting Hards to both cars to go all the way to the chequered flag, having lost any advantage of being on fresher tyres. At the restart, Charles defended like a lion from Norris' advances to the extent that, for a brief moment, Hamilton managed to pass the McLaren. Lando got ahead again on lap 36 and from then on Lewis settled for bringing the car home in fifth place. There was more of a battle up ahead between Russell on Soft tyres, Charles and Norris, for the two podium places behind Piastri. In the closing stages, Leclerc began to struggle on his Hard tyres and Norris, in better shape on the Mediums overtook him with five laps remaining, so that Charles had to settle for fourth place, three seconds down.
The pace of the championship is relentless, with Formula 1 staying in the Middle East as next Sunday sees the fifth round, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix taking place on the very fast Jeddah Corniche circuit.
Fred Vasseur: We had the potential to do better today. The Safety Car did not come at the right time for us, at least for Charles, but this is not an excuse. We were in the middle of a good second stint and our strategy would have given us the chance to decide the tyre for the end of the race between Hard and Soft after having gone for two sets of Mediums in the first part of the race with both our drivers.
When the Safety Car came out, we had to take it but this spoilt our plans and maybe that's where we lost the best opportunities to bring home a podium finish. However, we scored good points with both Charles and Lewis who did well to come back after a tough qualifying, producing a strong race which is very encouraging.
We are where we are: McLaren is still a step ahead but we were fighting with them in the second stint and we have been able to fight with both Mercedes and Red Bulls. We'll keep working to be more competitive in the next races, starting in Saudi Arabia next week.
A superb drive from George Russell saw him finish second in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix. Kimi Antonelli was 11th on a challenging evening for the 18-year-old Italian, in only his fourth ever F1 race.
George, starting P3 following a one-place grid penalty, made that position back almost immediately by passing the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc into turn one. Kimi meanwhile dropped two positions on the opening lap but fought back after his first stop on lap 13 as he battled for the top six.
The team opted to switch Kimi to a three-stop strategy, aiming to use the Soft tyre to make up positions but this opportunity was negated somewhat shortly after with the Safety Car being deployed on lap 32.
Both drivers took new Soft tyres as the race was neutralised, with George taking the restart in P2 and Kimi having dropped outside the top-10. Both George and Kimi fought hard in the closing stages, with George holding off a hard-charging Lando Norris whilst battling electrical issues to take P2, his third podium in four races to start 2025.
Kimi meanwhile battled his way to the outskirts of the points but fell agonisingly short in P11.
The team now returns to Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix next week, the final installment in this triple-header.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO: Today's race was a challenging one to manage. You could see how quickly it was possible to go from a very good result to a bad one. For George, he did a tremendous job. He definitely saved the podium for the team. He suffered a brake-by-wire failure and was having to manage brake pedal pressure that was changing from corner to corner. To do that without losing any time was amazing. He also nurtured the Soft tyres well in that final stint, was fast when it mattered and defended in all the right places to maximise the result.
For Kimi, today's race was one of learning. We opted to take a risk with the strategy but in hindsight, we may have been better putting him on the Hard tyre. He also lost positions in his opening two stints which caused him to push the tyres harder than he would have liked. That is all part of the normal learning trajectory though and he will bounce back next week in Saudi Arabia. We therefore leave Bahrain with mixed feelings. With its abrasive asphalt and high track temperatures, we didn't come into the weekend with high hopes. To be taking away a podium in P2 is therefore encouraging. There is more work to do to be in the fight for victory at each race though and we will continue to push hard.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director: We were slightly disadvantaged with our tyre choice going into the race. The Medium was the best long run tyre and Ferrari and McLaren had two of them to our one. George's race was quite straightforward until he started to have systems failing during the final stint. He was missing a lot of information from the dash, but the biggest problem was that the brake-by-wire system kept failing which made the car very inconsistent. He drove a brilliantly managed stint at the end on the Soft and got through to the finish with enough pace to hold Norris off. We were concerned coming here as McLaren has looked so quick during winter testing at this track. George therefore did a great job to bring home a podium in P2, amongst the other issues he was having to fight.
Kimi meanwhile had a tough day. His first lap wasn't great as he suffered a few oversteer snaps in the first few corners, was squeezed off track into turn five and lost a couple of positions. That put him in the pack where he was struggling to make progress which resulted in more overheating for the tyres. We took a risk with his strategy but sadly that didn't work out. It is all part of the learning for Kimi. His long run pace on Friday was just as good as George's so a better result was possible. He will be striving to deliver that next weekend.
We have a few days now to prepare for Jeddah. It's great to be back on the podium in Bahrain and, whilst we need to bring a bit of speed to be able to challenge for wins, it's really exciting to have shown such strong pace on a track that is so challenging for the tyres, and we didn't expect to be particularly competitive at.
Mike Krack, Chief Trackside Officer: "A tough weekend and an uneventful race, which did not present much of an opportunity to progress up the field. We lacked outright pace today - on all the tyre compounds - and we were not in the fight for points. The Safety Car did not help our cause either with most drivers able to pit and maintain position. We will continue to reflect on how we can improve across all areas ahead of Jeddah."
Pierre started from P4 on Used Softs, finished P7: Pit-Stops on Lap 10 for New Mediums and Lap 28 for New Hards. Fastest Lap: 1min 36.531secs
Jack started from P11 on New Softs, finished P15: Pit-Stops on Lap 9 for New Mediums and Lap 28 for New Hards. Fastest Lap: 1min 36.682secs
Oliver Oakes, Team Principal: "As a team we should be satisfied leaving Bahrain with our first points of the season. It's nice to get off the mark and credit to the effort across Enstone and Viry. The timing of the Safety Car certainly did not help, leaving both cars a bit exposed towards the end with us having pitted before the Safety Car. Pierre gave it everything to try and keep Max behind. It's always tough to lose a position on the last lap, but he drove a great race and brought home some much needed points for the team. Jack showed promising pace early in the race and across the weekend. In the race, he struggled managing the Hard tyres, dropping back there unfortunately in that last stint. We come away from the weekend with points knowing we have to keep improving in certain areas into Jeddah next week."
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team secured a double points finish, with Esteban Ocon eighth, and Oliver Bearman 10th, at the Bahrain Grand Prix, held Sunday at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Ocon took the start from 14th on the grid on Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires and gained two spots through the opening phase of the race, before pitting on lap 8 for Yellow mediums. Ocon profited from the aggressive undercut to cycle back through into sixth position, though eventually ceded a place to the off-kilter Lewis Hamilton. The Frenchman pitted again on lap 27 for White hard tires and held seventh place through a safety car period, triggered due to on-track debris. Ocon took the restart in seventh before relinquishing one place to world champion Max Verstappen, though resisted a train of cars through the remainder of the race to finish eighth at the checkered flag.
Bearman started from 20th place, also on soft tires, and carved his way through the lower end of the order on a spectacular opening lap, quickly moving up to 14th overall. Bearman ran a relatively lengthy first stint, before eventually pitting for hard tires on lap 14. The British rookie moved up to 13th prior to pitting under the safety car on lap 32, moving onto soft tires, and took the restart from 12th. Bearman worked his way forward at the restart and slotted into the top 10 at the expense of Jack Doohan in the Alpine, before keeping Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli at bay across the closing stages. Bearman crossed the line in 10th to secure his third successive points finish.
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team moves up to fifth position in the Constructors' Championship on 20 points.
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "What a day. I'm very happy, especially after the disappointment of yesterday - nobody gave up. We knew what we had to do today, we knew we had pace in the car and two drivers who can deliver results. We weren't dreaming of a double-points finish but honestly, the way we ran the race, how the drivers drove, we had conviction, and we were proactive - we weren't afraid of anything. I'm really happy to see how everyone is reacting to disappointment - it's racing, so there's going to be highs and lows. It's easy to ride the highs, but not easy to overcome the lows and put a performance like this in. It was another amazing team effort."
Oscar Piastri won the Bahrain Grand Prix to give McLaren its maiden victory in a what could be considered its second home race. For the Australian, it was his fourth Formula 1 win, thus equalling the total scored by Bruce McLaren, the New Zealander who founded the team in 1966. Piastri can also be pleased with his first hat-trick (pole, win and fastest race lap) in what are the early days of his career, with today's race being his 50th Grand Prix start. Joining him on the podium were his team principal, Andrea Stella, George Russell second in the Mercedes at 15"499* finishing a whisker ahead of Lando Norris in the other McLaren, third, 0"774 behind his fellow countryman.
15 drivers went with the Soft for the first stint, while the remaining five (both Ferraris, Alonso, Lawson and Bortoleto) chose the Medium. In fact, all three compounds came into play as can be seen from the variations in the percentage usage: 45.83% on the Medium (517 laps), 28.01% on the Hard (316) and 26.15% on the Soft (295).
Mario Isola: "A spectacular race with plenty of battles and overtaking from start to finish. All three compounds chosen for this round, which were actually the same as those last week in Suzuka, were brought into play, creating a mix of strategies that made the race even more interesting.
"The level of degradation, despite slightly cooler temperatures than yesterday and Friday, was still significant across all three compounds, meaning that a two-stop was the only real choice. The performance differences between the Hard, Medium and Soft were clear to see in absolute terms and were also dependent on which cars were using them at different stages, which made the race even more dynamic, especially when one considers how evenly matched the teams are at the moment. In fact, that's one of our goals as the tyre supplier, namely to provide a reliable product that allows for a range of strategy options, after which it's up to the teams to make the most of it.
"Now we head to Jeddah and yet another completely different type of race track, where for the first time this season we will bring a trio of compounds that are softer than those used at this race last year. Let's see what happens."
