Piastri’s milestone win ignites “tight” Championship battle

Oscar Piastri delivered a dominant performance under the floodlights in Sakhir, storming to an undeniable victory in his 50th Grand Prix and becoming the first repeat winner of the 2025 season, all while giving McLaren its maiden win at the team’s ‘second home’ circuit in Bahrain.

Piastri’s flawless drive also cuts Norris’ lead to just three points, igniting McLaren’s intra-team title battle as the 2025 championship race starts to take shape.

“Very [satisfying],” the Australian said, describing his second victory of the season. 

“It’s been a great weekend – maybe not FP1, because that was pretty diabolical for everyone, but FP2 onwards has been very, very strong. 

“I was happy after qualifying yesterday and I think that made quite a big difference today. 

“So yeah, very, very pleased with how the weekend’s gone and happy to come away with another win.”

Piastri launched off the line on the soft tyre, a decision that contributed to his stellar run to the first turn, foreshadowing his untouchable form across the entire Bahrain Grand Prix. 

The Australian instantly broke free from DRS threat, ending the opening lap with 1.2 seconds in his pocket, leading over George Russell and Lando Norris.

Despite admitting to temporary struggles on the C3, the only real stress clouding over the Australian during the 57-lap masterclass was his lack of drinking water, with the MCL39’s drinking system failing as the race got underway.

“I don’t know what happened!” Piastri said. 

“It worked on the lap to grid and then when we plugged it in for the race it was still working a little bit, but I had to draw the water out pretty forcefully, let’s say. 

“And then once the race got underway, I couldn’t get any water through the straw, so that wasn’t ideal, but you know, Bahrain is not the most physical race of the year. 

“If it had happened next week, it would have been a much bigger drama, but we’ll make sure it’s fixed.”

On Lap 15, Piastri pitted from the lead, handing over the reins to the Ferrari duo as he rejoined behind Leclerc and Hamilton in P3, however, it wasn’t long before the Australian was back in front, instantly stretching his lead over the Mercedes driver to three seconds before doubling the margin at the halfway mark.

A timely Safety Car played perfectly into the hands of the Australian on Lap 32, with Piastri rounding the final turn as the race was neutralised.

Ducking into the pitlane, McLaren armed Piastri with a set of medium tyres to finish the dominant showing, releasing him into the lead as the rest of the field filed into the pit entry.

Controlling the race restart, Piastri launched from Turn 14 and instantly broke free of DRS threat once again, with Russell preserving his tyres for late defensive efforts as opposed to attacking the #81.

With ten laps to go, the five-second interval to second place allowed for early celebrations.

The Australian ended his milestone 50th Grand Prix outing 15 seconds ahead of George Russell and Lando Norris, claiming McLaren’s first-ever victory—and podium—at the team’s ‘second’ home race in Bahrain.

In doing so, the Australian also became the first repeat race winner of the season, igniting the Drivers’ Championship battle between himself and Norris who now sits just three points ahead. 

“I think both [wins] have been good,” the #81 said. 

“I’ve been happy with how I’ve driven all season so far. 

“Maybe not all the results have been exactly what I wanted, but I think this weekend has definitely been the result I wanted. 

“So yeah, been proud of the job that I’ve been doing and very proud of the job the team’s done. 

“Obviously the car is in a great place—still has its moments where it bites, but for a lot of the time it’s an incredible car to drive and clearly very quick, so yeah, very proud of the work we’re doing. 

“This has been a track that’s not been kind to us in the past, so to have a weekend like we have had this weekend is a really meaningful result – outside of the victory.”

Carrying the momentum from Sakhir to Saudi, Piastri has the chance to steal the WDC leave in seven days’ time, with the fast-paced Jeddah Corniche Circuit setting the scene for an exciting final race of the triple header. 

Image: McLaren

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