Antonelli admits P2 was ‘the maximum’ as Verstappen proves too quick for Mercedes at Bahrain GP in Malaysia

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team's Kimi Antonelli secured second place at the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, acknowledging that they struggled to match Red Bull Racing's pace, with Max Verstappen taking victory.

Despite challenging conditions and a new package, Antonelli led the drivers' standings, while teammate Lewis Hamilton finished third, praising Ferrari's strategic decisions that facilitated his podium finish.

The race marked Bahrain GP's special 2026 event in Malaysia, reinstated after geopolitical tensions had previously led to cancellations.

SEPANG, Oct 4 — Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team’s Kimi Antonelli admitted second place was the maximum the team could achieve in the Formula 1 (F1) Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix (GP) at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) here today.

The current drivers’ standings leader said the Bahrain GP in Malaysia 2026 champion Max Verstappen proved too quick as the Red Bull Racing driver claimed his maiden title of the season after a rain-hit and action-packed race in the iconic Malaysian circuit.

Antonelli said the Silver Arrows struggled to match Red Bull Racing’s pace throughout the weekend, while the rough track surface and high temperatures here also made it difficult for the team to assess its new package.

“I think we’re still trying to understand the new package because this track, with such a rough tarmac and high temperatures, made our life more difficult.

“Probably, you know, next week in Singapore GP (Oct 9-11) we hopefully will have a better read on the package, also understanding what setup needs to be run, but I think today with the pace we had, P2 (second place) was the maximum we could have achieved,” he told a post-race press conference.

Previously, the Brackley-based team in the United Kingdom brought an updated front wing and several components to improve local load and the rear corner, among others, to the Canadian GP last May.

It was reported that Mercedes brought its next major upgrade to the Bahrain GP in Malaysia as it looked to strengthen its performance against its rivals this season.

Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who completed the podium in third place, said his decision to start on soft tyres initially appeared to have put his race in jeopardy, but he chose to stay out and wait for the circuit to dry before recovering places during the race.

Hamilton said the team’s decision to stick to the strategy eventually paid off as conditions improved, while strong pit stops also helped him fight his way back into contention.

“Once it did, it felt good that I was catching people. The car felt great, then after that, really good pit stops from my guys in the garage and good strategy.

“So, for us to get back to the podium, I never thought that that was going to be the case, but of course, I’m really, really grateful that we managed to get back here,” he said.

The seven-time world champion said Ferrari still had areas to improve but praised the team for its efforts throughout the weekend.

Today’s result saw Antonelli remain at the top of the drivers’ standings with 320 points, ahead of his teammate George Russell with 236 points, followed by Hamilton in third with 214 points.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished fourth today, is in fourth position with 191 points, while reigning world champion Lando Norris of McLaren and Verstappen have 188 points each, in fifth and sixth positions respectively.

In July, Formula 1 confirmed Malaysia as the host of the Gulf Air Bahrain GP from October 2 to 4, following an agreement between Formula 1, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and the governments of Malaysia and Bahrain.

The agreement kept the Bahrain GP on the 2026 F1 calendar after the race was cancelled earlier this season due to geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

Malaysia hosted the Malaysian GP at SIC from 1999 to 2017 before the race was dropped from the F1 calendar. — Bernama

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梅赛德斯-AMG Petronas F1 车队的基米·安东内利在雪邦举行的海湾航空巴林大奖赛中获得第二名，他承认自己难以跟上红牛车队的节奏，最终马克斯·维斯塔潘获得胜利。

尽管面临挑战性的条件和全新的赛车配置，安东内利仍然领跑车手积分榜，而他的队友刘易斯·汉密尔顿则获得第三名，并称赞法拉利的战略决策促成了他登上领奖台。

这场比赛标志着巴林大奖赛2026年在马来西亚的特别赛事，此前由于地缘政治紧张局势导致该赛事取消，后重新恢复。

雪邦，10 月 4 日——梅赛德斯-AMG Petronas F1 车队的基米·安东内利承认，在今天于雪邦国际赛道 (SIC) 举行的 F1 海湾航空巴林大奖赛 (GP) 中，第二名是该车队所能取得的最好成绩。

目前车手积分榜领先者表示，2026 年马来西亚巴林大奖赛冠军马克斯·维斯塔潘速度太快，这位红牛车队的车手在马来西亚标志性赛道上经过一场雨中激烈的比赛后，赢得了他本赛季的首个冠军头衔。

安东内利表示，银箭车队整个周末都难以跟上红牛车队的节奏，而这里崎岖的赛道表面和高温也使得车队难以评估其新赛车的性能。

“我认为我们仍在努力了解新的赛车配置，因为这条赛道路面崎岖不平，气温又高，这让我们的比赛更加艰难。”

“或许，你知道，下周在新加坡大奖赛（10月9日至11日）上，我们有望对赛车性能有更深入的了解，也能明白需要怎样的调校。但我认为，以我们今天的速度，第二名已经是我们所能取得的最好成绩了。”他在赛后新闻发布会上说道。

此前，这支位于英国布拉克利的车队在去年五月的加拿大大奖赛上带来了升级版的前翼和几个部件，以改善局部载荷和后角等性能。

据报道，梅赛德斯车队在马来西亚巴林大奖赛上带来了其下一个重大升级，旨在加强本赛季与竞争对手的较量。

与此同时，获得第三名的法拉利车手刘易斯·汉密尔顿表示，他最初决定使用软胎起跑，这似乎让他的比赛陷入了危险，但他选择留在赛道上等待赛道变干，然后在比赛中逐渐恢复名次。

汉密尔顿表示，随着比赛条件的改善，车队坚持原有策略的决定最终取得了成效，而出色的进站策略也帮助他重新回到了争冠行列。

“一旦追上对手，感觉就很好。赛车感觉很棒，之后我的车队在维修站的换胎也做得非常出色，策略也很到位。”

“所以，我们能够重返领奖台，我从​​未想过会是这样的结果，但当然，我真的非常非常感激我们能够回到这里，”他说。

这位七届世界冠军表示，法拉利车队仍有需要改进的地方，但他赞扬了车队整个周末的努力。

今天的比赛结果显示，安东内利以 320 分继续领跑车手积分榜，领先于他的队友乔治·拉塞尔（236 分），汉密尔顿以 214 分位列第三。

法拉利车手查尔斯·勒克莱尔今天获得第四名，目前以191分位列第四；而迈凯伦车队的卫冕世界冠军兰多·诺里斯和维斯塔潘均积188分，分别位列第五和第六。

7 月，一级方程式赛车确认马来西亚将作为 10 月 2 日至 4 日海湾航空巴林大奖赛的举办地，此前一级方程式赛车、国际汽车联合会 (FIA) 以及马来西亚和巴林政府达成了协议。

由于西亚地缘政治紧张局势，本赛季早些时候巴林大奖赛被取消，而根据协议，巴林大奖赛得以继续留在 2026 年 F1 赛历上。

马来西亚曾于1999年至2017年在雪兰莪国际赛道（SIC）举办马来西亚大奖赛，之后该赛事被从F1赛历中移除。——马新社

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