What Happened in F1: Why the Race in Malaysia Was Postponed—The New Schedule
A storm hit the Sepang Circuit shortly before the start of the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix, the 16th round of the World Championship scheduled to take place at the Malaysian track.
About forty minutes before the start, rain began to fall, which soon turned into a downpour that forced spectators to take shelter under umbrellas and race officials to postpone the start of the race. The rain was so heavy that visibility was compromised, and some sections of the track were flooded. The track temperature plummeted from 44 to 34 degrees: the Medical Car circled the track to assess conditions and determine when the race could finally begin. At the same time, the marshals began clearing the puddles from the track. The new start time was set for 9:40 a.m. (Italian time): all cars started behind the Safety Car.
At this point, a new problem arose that further delayed everything: after two formation laps, the cars returned to the pit lane due to a series of issues experienced by the Ferrari-powered cars and also by Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. Hamilton turned his car off and back on, as did the Haas and Cadillac drivers. A software issue once again delayed the start.
The possibility of rain had been widely predicted the day before. Weather forecasts had indicated for several days that there was a real risk of afternoon rain, and Kimi Antonelli, the World Championship leader, had anticipated this scenario: “It often rains here in the afternoon; we’ll see if we end up doing a few laps in the rain during qualifying or the race.” The Mercedes driver from Bologna had also admitted to enjoying the idea of driving in the wet—a condition Formula 1 hasn’t faced for quite some time this season.
On the grid, waiting for the start with the cars already lined up, is Max Verstappen in pole position. The Dutch Red Bull driver had dominated qualifying with a time of 1:35.130, beating Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari by 298 thousandths of a second. Starting from the second row will be Antonelli and the other Ferrari driven by Charles Leclerc, who benefited from the five-position grid penalty imposed on Isack Hadjar. Rounding out the top ten are Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in their McLarens, George Russell in the second Mercedes, Hadjar, Pierre Gasly in the Alpine, and Gabriel Bortoleto in the Audi.
