Oscar Piastri dominated the Bahrain Grand Prix to close in on teammate Lando Norris in the world championship, while George Russell held off an attack from Norris for second place.
Oscar Piastri took a controlled, dominant victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix to close on team-mate Lando Norris in the world championship. The Australian was serene in the lead, calmly keeping himself out of reach of his rivals, as Mercedes‘ ‘George Russell held off an assault from the second McLaren of Lando Norris for second.’
Oscar Piastri is an Australian racing driver who has gained international recognition for his exceptional skills on the track.
Born on April 2, 2001, in Melbourne, Australia, Piastri began karting at a young age and quickly rose through the ranks.
He won the Formula Regional European Championship in 2020 and moved to Formula 3 in 2021.
Piastri's impressive performances have earned him a seat in the Formula 2 championship, where he has consistently shown his speed and adaptability.
Lando Norris, fighting back from sixth on the grid and a five-second penalty for a false start, had a chance to pass George Russell going into the final lap, but could not make it work. Ferrari‘s Charles Leclerc was fourth, passed by Lando Norris with eight laps to go, ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton in a lonely fifth.
Lando Norris is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for McLaren.
Born on November 13, 1999, in Bristol, England, he began karting at the age of eight and quickly rose through the junior ranks.
In 2014, he became the youngest driver to win the European F3 Open championship.
Norris made his Formula One debut in 2019 and has since established himself as one of the sport's rising stars.
Red Bull‘s Max Verstappen could only take sixth place from Alpine‘s Pierre Gasly on the final lap, a week after his brilliant victory in Japan. The result, the first time McLaren have won the home race of their Bahraini main shareholders, leaves Lando Norris three points ahead of Oscar Piastri at the head of the championship.
Oscar Piastri was always favourite for victory after taking pole position, and he never looked in danger of losing the race once he had retained the lead at the start. Behind him, Lando Norris moved up from sixth on the grid to third on the first lap behind Oscar Piastri and George Russell, with Charles Leclerc running fourth in the Ferrari.
However, it soon became apparent that Lando Norris‘ front wheels had been too far forward on the grid, and he was given a five-second penalty. Despite his enforced longer pit stop, Lando Norris managed not to lose a position, but he was passed by Charles Leclerc at around one-third distance. Ferrari had chosen a different tyre strategy to McLaren and Mercedes, starting on the medium tyre rather than the softs of their rivals.
This allowed Charles Leclerc to run seven laps longer before his first stop, giving him a grip advantage in the second stint, and allowing the Ferrari to pass the McLaren at Turn Four on lap 25. However, the advantage swung back to Lando Norris when the safety car came out on lap 32, shortly after half-distance, to allow officials to clear debris from the track.
Nearly all the drivers stopped for tyres, and George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris came out on three different compounds – George Russell on softs, Charles Leclerc on hards and Lando Norris on mediums. After a few laps of stasis, Lando Norris eased up towards Charles Leclerc. They battled for several laps, and Lando Norris accused Charles Leclerc of forcing him off the track when he tried one move around the outside of Turn Four.
But he fought back and finally made the move stick with eight laps to go. Lando Norris then set off after George Russell and was on his tail going into the final two laps. It looked like a move was on. But he perhaps miscalculated by making a half-move into Turn One on the final lap, securing second for George Russell.
George Russell, already on the edge after he was given soft tyres for the final stint after the safety car, spent the final stint managing an electrical issue that was causing systems failures in the car. This affected the brake-by-wire system, which also prevents the car recovering energy from the rear axle. That meant he had to reset the systems several times a lap, leading to the error in which he used the DRS when he was not meant to.
George Russell is a British racing driver who currently competes in Formula One for Mercedes-AMG Petronas.
He made his debut in F1 in 2020 and has since become a regular starter, known for his impressive speed and strategic driving skills.
Born on February 15, 1998, in King's Lynn, England, Russell began karting at the age of eight and quickly rose through the junior ranks to become one of the most promising young drivers in F1.
Behind the Ferraris, Max Verstappen was never a feature, the Red Bull‘s lack of pace and balance exposed on this track that has such a high demand on the tyres. Pierre Gasly‘s seventh secured the first points for Alpine this season, while Esteban Ocon drove an outstanding race in the Haas to take eighth after a heavy crash in qualifying left him 15th on the grid.
The second Haas of Oliver Bearman took 10th for the second race running, the two cars sandwiching the Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda.
