Summary

  • Verstappen wins ahead of Antonelli and Hamilton following several overtakes for cars off start as result of divergent tyre choices

  • Russell retires late in race from third, impacting title race

  • Race start delayed by more than hour and a half after heavy rain and confusion over grid order

  • Cars out of position during attempts to form behind safety car because of reported software issues

  • Original grid line-up used for restart

  • Two safety cars following Bottas and Albon retirements

  • Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia held at Sepang circuit near Kuala Lumpur

  • Race rescheduled from April because of Middle East unrest

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Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna

  1. Top five

    Lap 15/55

    1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

    2. George Russell (Mercedes)

    3. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

    4. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

    5. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

  2. Sam Bird
    Former Formula E driver on 5 Sports Extra

    All change at the front. Max Verstappen brilliant opening couple of corners, applied the pressure, got the move into Turn 4.

    George Russell capitalised on Antonelli being just a little out of position, a little flustered, into Turn 4.

  3. Verstappen leads from Russell

    Lap 14/55

    Max Verstappen is on the soft tyre now and is 1.2 seconds ahead of last week's winner George Russell. Kimi Antonelli is a 2.7 secs back on the Dutchman, with Isack Hadjar hoping to pick off the Italian just like his Red Bull team-mate.

    Esteban Ocon has reached the heights od sixth place in the Haas.

  4. Verstappen overtakes Antonelli

    Lap 13/55

    Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (3) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB22 Red Bull Ford Powertrains on track during the F1 Grand Prix of BahrainGetty Images

    The race restarts and Max Verstappen is ready to make his attack on Kimi Antonelli and completes his move through the opening corners of the Sepang circuit.

    That leaves Antonelli vulnerable, and now the Italian is under threat by team-mate George Russell and is passed for second place. Third it is then for the championship leader.

  5. Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent

    The problem for the people who have started on the slicks is that, yes the field has been bunched up and yes they have knowledge of the tyres, but the tyres are degrading so quickly on this track surface - four tenths of a second per lap.

  6. Safety car ending

    Lap 12/55

    AUTO-PRIX-F1-BRN-MAS Ferrari's British driver Lewis Hamilton steers his car during the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix in SepangGetty Images

    Lewis Hamilton is given information to get a move on by his race engineer but the seven-time world champion says he's trying but he's got no grip.

    Safety car is ending...

  7. Team radio - Ferrari to Hamilton

    Engineer: "We can push a bit more to close the gap."

    Hamilton: "I'm pushing as hard as I can mate."

  8. Safety car

    Lap 11/55

    There are some big names down at the bottom of the field. Lewis Hamilton is 15th, world champion Lando Norris is behind in 16th and the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc is 17th.

    Hamilton didn't stop under the safety car.

    Red bull receive a call from Max Verstappen. The Dutchman sounds a bit frustrated on the radio but race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase tells him to "chill".

  9. Sam Bird
    Former Formula E driver on 5 Sports Extra

    It is not all lost for those people starting on the slicks, because they have got the knowledge. Now they can recoup a few of those positions.

  10. Safety car on track

    Lap 10/55

    Mechanics in the Pitlane with the car of Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain in Malaysia at SepangGetty Images

    Mercedes and Red Bull are waiting for Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen to come in. The Italian goes onto the medium compound and Dutchman Verstappen the softs.

    Loads of other cars follow the leaders in to the pits and the slick tyres are on. It's a real mix, though, with the hard tyre bolted on for the likes of Liam Lawson in fifth.

  11. Team radio - McLaren to Norris

    "Box, Box"

  12. Sam Bird
    Former Formula E driver on 5 Sports Extra

    Great defensive driving from Antonelli, but at this point in time, Max Verstappen looks so confident in that Red Bull, able to brake harder and later than the Mercedes and that is how he is able to hunt them down.

  13. Antonelli under pressure

    Lap 9/55

    Kimi Antonelli runs wide with Max Verstappen right on his rear wing. The Italian stays ahead as the two navigate these tricky conditions - and now Valtteri Bottas goes off the track!

    The safety car comes out for the stricken Cadillac and the frontrunners come in to pit.

  14. Sam Bird
    Former Formula E driver on 5 Sports Extra

    Wonderful move from Max Verstappen, set that up from the moment he got into Turn 1. He maximised the track usage at Turn 2 and the same at Turn 3. Easy move down the inside into Turn 4.

  15. Team radio - Hamilton to Ferrari

    Engineer: "Box, Box"

    Hamilton: "It's getting dry. Our tyre's starting to work a little more. Do you think that's a smart thing to do?

    Engineer: "If you're happy to stay out, we can gamble."

  16. Lap 8/55

    Georg Russell has lost second place to Max Verstappen, and now he gets on the phone to his Mercedes pit wall to say the track isn't drying rapidly. "It's weird," he adds.

    Verstappen is closing in on Kimi Antonelli for the lead of this race. The Dutchman started on pole and is creeping up on thte Mercedes championship leader with every corner.

  17. Hadjar overtakes Lawson

    Lap 7/55

    There are decent overtakes to excite the crowd in Malaysia. Isack Hadjar had a five-place grid penalty, dropping him from third to eighth, but the Frenchman has passed Liam Lawson in the Racing Bulls for P4.

    Charles Leclerc was caught in a small collision with Nico Hulkenberg at the start, so that's was caused the front wing tweak. The Ferrari man is 16th and on the intermediate compound.

  18. Sam Bird
    Former Formula E driver on 5 Sports Extra

    Quite a big gap appearing between Verstappen and Lawson. Verstappen, though, making in-roads to the back of the Mercedes duo, he's joining the fight.

  19. Verstappen passes Russell

    Lap 6/55

    George Russell and Max Verstappen are both on the intermediates, and the Red Bull is looking to pounce. The Mercedes can only watch on as the four-time world champion sweeps by and takes second place.

    Kimi Antonelli leads the Dutchman by 2.5 seconds.

  20. Get Involved

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    Another strategy disaster from Ferrari. More pressure for Fred.

    Matt, West Midlands