By Alex Rhodes

Oscar Piastri returned McLaren to the top step with a dominant performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

It was a race filled with drama and technical faults, but none of this fazed the unflappable Aussie, as he stormed to victory, beating Mercedes’ George Russell by 15 seconds.

Under the lights in Bahrain, tyre degradation proved a crucial factor in the race’s development, with two or three stops emerging as the winning strategy by the end.

Alongside this, several technical glitches affected key drivers with both Russell and Ferrari’ Charles Leclerc experienced DRS issues, with the British driver also losing control of certain functions on his steering wheel during the race.

As Russell later explained: “We had some problems in the last 12 laps including a brake-by-wire failure.

“When I was hitting the brakes, the pedal was inconsistent, and I had to do some resets for it to work properly again.

“For 10 laps in a row, going into every corner, I didn’t know whether it would be giving me the same feeling or not.

“It definitely compromised the race, but at the end of the day, bringing the car home in P2 is mega.

“The brake-by-wire failure wasn’t the only technical challenge we were dealing with either.

“There were all sorts of issues going on with the transponder and the signals going to the car.

“That meant that we had to manually override the DRS. At one point, I hit the radio button and saw that the DRS was open.

“I closed it immediately and lifted off the throttle, so we actually gave up time.”

He was investigated post-race but was cleared of gaining a sporting advantage, so his second place finish stood.

Lando Norris, who started in sixth place, had a scrappy weekend. He consistently lacked the pace of teammate Piastri in qualifying and, come race day, earned a 5-second time penalty for being out of position in his grid box.

However, the McLaren’s raw speed was clear, as Norris surged up to third.

A late battle with Russell showed that second place was within reach for the championship leader.

The Ferraris of Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top 5 in what was an improved weekend for the Italian outfit.

Unlike most of the grid, they started on medium tyres, allowing for a longer first stint and a potential tyre advantage later in the race.

During the middle phase of the race, both drivers showed strong pace, with Leclerc overtaking Norris for third and setting off after Russell.

However, a safety car caused by debris from a collision between Yuki Tsunoda and Carlos Sainz forced all front-runners to pit, wiping out any strategic edge.

After switching to the hard compound, the Ferraris lacked the pace they had shown earlier and ultimately settled for fourth and fifth.

As for the reigning champion, it was a race to forget as Max Verstappen, starting 7th, had a poor getaway and was unable to make significant progress.

Two slow pit stops and overheating issues further hampered his efforts, although a last-lap overtake on Pierre Gasly’ Alpine to salvaged a sixth place finish.

His teammate Tsunoda also endured a tough race, finishing ninth after spending most of the afternoon in the midfield.

Following the Grand Prix, reports surfaced that Red Bull allegedly held ‘crisis talks’ with senior figures to address their dip in form heading into the next rounds.

Elsewhere inside the top 10, there were standout performances from Alpine’s Gasly and the Haas duo of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman.

Gasly, in a team yet to score points this season, qualified in fourth and showed excellent pace throughout, eventually finishing seventh after losing out to Verstappen on the final lap.

For Haas, it looked like a tough weekend after Ocon crashed in qualifying and Bearman lined up in twentieth.

However, both drivers made lightning starts and benefitted from strong pace and sharp strategy calls to capitalise on the chaos ahead, scoring 5 valuable points and moving Haas ahead of Williams in the Constructors’ Championship after round 4.

Speaking of Williams, their promising start to the season plateaued in Bahrain. Alex Albon finished in twelfth, while Sainz was forced to retire due to significant damage to the right side of his car after contact with Tsunoda.

Sainz, who had qualified eighth, showed strong early pace and looked set for points, but another setback adds to a disappointing start to the season for the Spaniard, denting his confidence further.

Others who narrowly missed out on points included rookies Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar, and Jack Doohan.

The late safety car disrupted their strategies, particularly for Antonelli, who had been battling past Verstappen at one point in the race.

The drama didn’t end at the chequered flag.

Post-race, Nico Hülkenberg became the fourth driver this season to be disqualified, after excessive wear was found on the skid-plank beneath his car.

He was dropped from fifteenth to last, capping another frustrating outing for the struggling Kick Sauber team.

Piastri’s win has reignited the championship fight between the two McLaren drivers.

The Australian now moves ahead of Verstappen into second in the standings and sits just 3 points behind teammate Norris, setting the stage for what promises to be an electrifying title battle for the rest of the season.

Formula One returns next weekend April 18-20, for the final race in the current triple-header in Saudi Arabia, where F1 Academy will also take to the track for the second round of their season.

The fast and challenging Jeddah circuit always delivers thrilling racing and is sure to be a spectacle you won’t want to miss.