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Formula 1
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INDEPENDENT RACING JOURNALISMFacts. Context. Evidence.
Formula 1
| Pos. | Driver / team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi AntonelliMercedes | 320 |
| 2 | George RussellMercedes | 236 |
| 3 | Lewis HamiltonFerrari | 214 |
| 4 | Charles LeclercFerrari | 191 |
| 5 | Lando NorrisMcLaren | 188 |
Automatic updates are delayed. Showing the last retrieved standings.
Official source · Retrieved 04 Oct 2026, 19:34
Full standingsMaps and measurements link to official series or circuit sources. Values not stated unambiguously by those sources are omitted.
F1 championship standings update daily at 12:00 Amsterdam time. Calendar: source snapshot from 2 October 2026.
Max Verstappen won the rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia by 2.307 seconds, earning his first victory of 2026 and the first Grand Prix win for Red Bull Ford Powertrains. Kimi Antonelli finished second and now leads George Russell by 84 points after the Mercedes driver retired, GPBeat reports.
Red Bull recorded the day's fastest pit stop for Max Verstappen at Sepang in 2.09 seconds. After the race, the team was third in the DHL Fastest Pitstop standings on 219 points, two behind Audi and 107 behind Mercedes, GPBeat reports.
GPBeat reports that Max Verstappen told his engineer a nail was in his left-front tyre during the disrupted start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. He switched to a new set of intermediates during a neutralisation.
Fernando Alonso told Sky Sports F1 that Aston Martin briefly looked faster than the Ferraris on slicks at Sepang, but described its slick pace as poor; he told Spanish media he expected more, GPBeat reports.
Alonso hopes Aston Martin can carry its stronger Sepang form into Singapore, but Mike Krack says the team still lacks the pace to score points regularly.
GPBeat reports that Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is open to discussing a possible Formula 1 return to Malaysia. Sepang hosted the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix as a substitute venue.
GPBeat reports that Formula 1’s post-race analysis links Red Bull’s Baku RB22 upgrade to Max Verstappen’s first win of 2026 at Sepang.
GPBeat reports that Zak Brown is optimistic Gianpiero Lambiase will be working at McLaren at some point in 2027. McLaren had earlier announced that Lambiase would arrive no later than 2028 as chief racing officer, while Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies believes he is joining McLaren as team principal.
After Saturday's qualifying at Sepang, Charles Leclerc said he was sliding at the rear from sector two onwards in Q3 and thought his setup may have been slightly too aggressive. He qualified fifth but was listed fourth on Sunday's starting grid after Isack Hadjar's power-unit penalty.
Jacques Villeneuve says Verstappen’s precision and ability to avoid mistakes could weigh in the title fight with Antonelli, though he considers the timing late in the season.
In Haas’s October 5 preview, Bearman said the upgrade was working but still being fine-tuned, and that he felt better placed to fight for points than he had in mid-2026, GPBeat reports.
Singapore’s first Formula 1 Sprint is scheduled for 17:00 local time on Saturday, October 10, ahead of Grand Prix qualifying that evening. The Grand Prix follows on Sunday.
A software glitch left cars stuck in idle during Sepang’s planned formation laps, causing a roughly 50-minute interruption to the start procedure for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Bearman and Sergio Pérez described unresponsive throttles, while Oscar Piastri said it would be unfair to assign blame before an explanation.
GPBeat reports that Max Verstappen said his father Jos remains in the background despite not attending every race, after Verstappen’s first win of 2026 at Sepang. Verstappen also said Red Bull had kept working to fix the car’s issues; the victory was the first for Red Bull Ford Powertrains.
GPBeat reports that Perez said Cadillac expected Sepang to be difficult and felt it might benefit more from a new engine at a later race.
Charles Leclerc praised Fred Vasseur and said Ferrari was united after recovering from last to fourth at Sepang. He also said recent headlines had been unpleasant and hoped the race might quiet some rumours about the team, GPBeat reports.
Max Verstappen's 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix win at Sepang came nine years and three days after his 2017 victory there, setting an all-time F1 record for the longest gap between wins at one circuit, according to RacingNews365. GPBeat also reports that the win will officially count as his third Bahrain Grand Prix victory, after his 2023 and 2024 wins.
Pirelli said the Soft stayed competitive over long stints at Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, with some drivers using it for almost half the race. Motorsport director Dario Marrafuschi said lower temperatures and a damp track helped keep tyre temperatures under control and reduce thermal degradation.
GPBeat reports that Oliver Bearman was classified 18th in Saturday qualifying at Sepang and said an unusual left-front lock-up normally pointed to a possible brake problem. Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said an FP2 mistake left Bearman without information from that session.
GPBeat reports that Max Verstappen struggled to get away when the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia started after a long red flag. He said engine-rev problems cost him a lot of power.
GPBeat reports that Fernando Alonso finished eighth at Sepang and scored four points, despite saying before the race that he did not expect Aston Martin to score. Lance Stroll finished 12th.
GPBeat reports that Andrea Stella did not think Oscar Piastri could have finished above sixth at Sepang, even if McLaren had made every decision correctly. Stella rated the car package fourth in performance.
Max Verstappen’s Sepang wins in 2017 and 2026 were each his first victories of the Formula 1 season. GPBeat reports that he passed championship leader Lewis Hamilton for the lead in 2017, while in 2026 he lost places at the start before taking the lead back from Kimi Antonelli at the restart.
Fernando Alonso called race control’s handling of Sepang’s disrupted start unfair after being returned from a temporary tenth place to his original twelfth starting position. Cars from several teams had stopped on track.
