Antonelli stretches championship lead to 84 points as Russell suffers engine failure in Malaysia

Kimi Antonelli extended his Formula 1 championship lead to 84 points after finishing second at the Bahrain Grand Prix held at Sepang, Malaysia, while team-mate George Russell was cruelly eliminated late in the race by an engine failure.

Antonelli did not take the victory, but the 18 points he collected proved decisive. Russell’s retirement — his second major mechanical setback of the season — handed the Italian teenager a net swing that few victories could have delivered. The gap between the two Mercedes drivers now stands at 84 points with Singapore next on the calendar.

Max Verstappen took his first win of the 2026 season, yet the result leaves him only sixth in the drivers’ standings, level on points with Lando Norris and three points adrift of Charles Leclerc in fifth. Isack Hadjar remains the leading French driver in the championship, sitting eighth with 96 points.

Fernando Alonso claimed a surprising eighth place — his best result of the season — to score four points for Aston Martin and Honda. The Silverstone-based outfit remains well off the pace in the constructors’ standings, which continues to be dominated by Mercedes.

Red Bull’s weekend produced 35 points in total, an unprecedented single-round haul for the Milton Keynes team in 2026, and that tally now makes them a genuine threat to McLaren for third place in the constructors’ championship.

In the battle for fifth among the constructors, Racing Bulls extended their advantage over Alpine after both Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad scored points at Sepang, further opening the gap to the French manufacturer.