F1 – Formula One world championship leader Kimi Antonelli expressed mixed emotions yesterday despite a strong runner-up finish for hometown favourites Mercedes in the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia 2026, held at Sepang International Circuit.
Antonelli pressured race winner Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing all the way to the chequered flag and in stepping onto the podium extended his lead in the drivers’ world title fight to 84 points from teammate George Russell, who suffered a suspected power unit issue which forced his retirement just five laps from the end.
“Overall, given our struggles this weekend, I think P2 was the maximum we could have achieved today,” Antonelli said post-race.
“The conditions were really challenging, both with the difficult call on which tyre to start on, when to stop to take the slicks, and then when to stop and what compound to take to ensure we held on to second.
“The team did a good job with those calls, and I am pleased we were able to score solid points.”
The 20-year-old was disappointed, however, by their overall performance over the weekend in F1’s return to the iconic Petronas-backed venue.
“We leave Malaysia frustrated – our pace hasn’t been where we wanted it to be, and we weren’t able to fight for victory.
“It was also extremely disappointing to see George retire when we were so close to such a good result for the team, and a double podium at what is one of the most significant races in our season.
“We will work hard ahead of Singapore to understand how we can improve and make sure we perform more strongly next weekend.”
Russell shared Antonelli’s sentiments following his third DNF of this campaign.
“That was another tough and disappointing day for me amongst several we have had this season,” Russell said.
“It is pure bad luck, but it still hurts.”
“It is particularly tough as we were on for a podium and a great result for the team.
“It’s such a shame to retire from the race when we were looking comfortable in P3. It would have been important points in the constructors’ for the team and a double podium would have been a lovely reward for our title and technical partner Petronas as their home race.”
“It has been a tough season on my side of the garage, but we will keep fighting.”
Meanwhile, Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff described the weekend as their “worst of the season”.
He stressed that the team, whose lead in the constructors’ world championship has been trimmed to 151 points from Ferrari, will continue to work to get the best out of their car.
“It hurts, and I feel incredibly sorry for George and everyone in the team,” said Wolff.
“George drove an outstanding race and was on course for a very strong result, but we let him down. The reality is that has happened too often this year, and that is not acceptable.”
“We were not quick enough, and we were not reliable enough in Malaysia. That is the truth. Both drivers kept fighting, stayed focused, and got everything out of the car that was possible though. Whilst George lost out through no fault of his own, Kimi did a very good job and deserved his podium.”
“Now we need to understand exactly what happened this weekend. We underperformed compared to our nearest competitors and our form in recent races. We will do so with our usual focus, by working diligently and being led by the data.”
“We don’t have many days before we are on track again, but we are determined to put on a better showing next week in Singapore.”
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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