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The 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix Race ReportRead the full report below and hear from Max & Yuki after a challenging Sunday in Bahrain

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At the start of the race, polesitter Oscar Piastri got away well to take the lead. Alongside him, however, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was slow off the line and he was passed by Mercedes’ George Russell and the second McLaren of Lando Norris.

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Max, meanwhile, also had a tricky start. He was passed by Williams’ Carlos Sainz and slotted into eighth place ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who was almost passed by Yuki having got a good start from tenth on the grid.

On lap 5, Max made up for his start loss. Carlos had charged up to sixth after the start, but he was soon passed by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and Max followed the Italian driver at the hairpin to reclaim seventh. Carlos then slipped back and on lap 9 both Lewis and Yuki charged past the Williams driver.

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The soft tyres many had started on, quickly began to fade and at the end of lap 10 Lando was the first to shed them. He dived into pits, served a time penalty for being out of position on the grid and made a switch to mediums.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Max were next in for a change, but the Champion’s switch to the hard compound Pirellis was a slow 4.7 seconds and when he emerged, he found himself three seconds back from Pierre and with backmarkers between them. Yuki also suffered a slow stop and when he emerged on mediums, he found himself down in 13th place.

At the front, medium tyres starters Charles and Lewis took over as the lead pair, ahead of Oscar and George. Lando was now fifth ahead of Pierre and Haas’ Esteban Ocon, while Max was now in P8.

Ferrari completed a stacked stop at the end of lap 17 and while Charles slotted into the pack in fifth and soon passed Pierre, Lewis emerged in P11. With fresher tyres on board, he soon made his way past Yuki, who had risen up the order as the pit stop phase unfolded.

Speedin' Through The Night© Getty Images

Lewis’ brief slide boosted Max to seventh, but the Dutchman was complaining of poor grip from his hard tyres and on lap 20 he was ambushed by Kimi who got past in Turn 4. Struggling with “everything overheating” Max was then passed by Lewis and dropped back to P9.

On lap 27 Max headed for the pit lane to ditch his underperforming hard tyres and again it was a slow stop, due to a stuck front right, and he emerged in 19th place.

However, with fresh mediums on board, the Champion began to set good times and set about carving his way through the backmarkers. By lap 30 he was posting fastest laps and had risen to 14th.

With the second pit stop window open, Yuki climbed to P7 but on lap 31, a tussle with Carlos led to debris being strewn across the track and the Safety Car was deployed. This prompted a flurry of pit lane activity, as it was quickly flooded with drivers taking the cheap stop.

However, with five-lap old mediums on board, Max stayed out, and behind the SC he climbed back to eighth place. At the top of the order Oscar led, ahead of George, Charles, Lando and Lewis. Pierre was now sixth ahead of Esteban and Max, with Jack Doohan and Carlos next ahead of Yuki.

The Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 35 and Oscar swept back into the lead ahead of George and Charles. Lewis and Lando tussled but after swapping position twice the McLaren driver forged ahead. Max, too, was on the move and he dived past Esteban to claim P7.

With the gaps small and opportunities in abundance, battles raged throughout the top 10 in the final third of the race. Max began to reel in Pierre, with Pierre’s initial defence measured. However, in the final laps, Max’s constant pressure began to take its toll and on the final lap of the race the Champion was able to power past to take a battling sixth place.

Battling With Gasly© Getty Images

It was a similar tale for Yuki. The Japanese driver got embroiled in a tight battle for 10th with Haas’ Oliver Bearman and Kimi. But, after shaking off his pursuers, Yuki at last closed up on Jack’s Alpine and on lap 47 he powered past to claim ninth place and his first points for the team.

At the front, Oscar was in control and after 57 laps he took his second win of the year ahead of George who was set for investigation for a DRS infringement late in the race due to technical problems with his car. Lando finished third ahead of Charles and Lewis finished in fifth place ahead of Max.