F1 returns to Sakhir this weekend for the Bahrain Grand Prix and round four of the 2025 F1 season.
Lando Norris saw his championship lead cut to one point after Max Verstappen’s brilliant victory in Japan last time out, with the McLaren driver forced to settle for second ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri.
It was another difficult weekend for Ferrari in Suzuka, short of pace compared to the frontrunners, with Charles Leclerc finishing in fourth and Lewis Hamilton down in seventh, though the Brit hinted that a change is forthcoming to the SF-25 car.
Now, the grid returns to Bahrain - where pre-season testing took place in February - for the second race in the Asian triple-header. Verstappen won last year’s race in Bahrain, leading home a Red Bull one-two.
Follow live updates from the Bahrain Grand Prix with The Independent - qualifying starts at 5pm (BST).
F1 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - LATEST UPDATES
- Qualifying in Bahrain is at 5pm (BST) on Saturday
- Oscar Piastri quickest in third practice; Norris 2nd; Leclerc 3rd
- FLASHBACK: The year a scorching Bahrain Grand Prix smashed F1 temperature record
- Lando Norris takes fresh swipe at Red Bull and urges F1 rivals to ‘stop complaining’
Bahrain GP start times and weekend schedule:
Friday 11 April 2025 17:09
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Kieran Jackson
All times BST
Saturday 12 April
- Free practice 3: 1:30pm
- Qualifying: 5pm
Sunday 13 April
- Race: 4pm
F1 driver standings after three races:
15:15
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Kieran Jackson
2. Max Verstappen – 61 points
3. Oscar Piastri – 49 points
4. George Russell –45 points
5. Kimi Antonelli – 30 points
6. Charles Leclerc – 20 points
7. Alex Albon – 18 points
9. Esteban Ocon – 10 points
10. Lance Stroll – 10 points
11. Nico Hulkenberg – 6 points
13. Isack Hadjar – 4 points
12. Ollie Bearman – 5 points
15. Carlos Sainz – 1 point
16. Pierre Gasly – 0 points
17. Liam Lawson – 0 points
18. Jack Doohan – 0 points
19. Gabriel Bortoleto – 0 points
20. Fernando Alonso – 0 points
VIDEO: Lewis Hamilton 'confident' that Ferrari can close gap to McLaren at Bahrain GP
15:01
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Kieran Jackson
Bizarre moment in FP3!
14:48
Charles' left wing mirror goes awol! #F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/8oQ8W1UxB0
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2025
TOP-10 IN FP3:
14:40
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Kieran Jackson
1. Oscar Piastri - 1:31:646
2. Lando Norris +0.668
3. Charles Leclerc +0.834
4. George Russell +1.181
5. Kimi Antonelli +1.270
6. Pierre Gasly +1.328
7. Isack Hadjar +1.377
8. Max Verstappen +1.381
9. Carlos Sainz +1.446
10. Lewis Hamilton +1.465
Oscar Piastri quickest in FP3!
14:35
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Kieran Jackson
A dominant hour from McLaren!
Piastri fastest by six-tenths to teammate Norris, who is two-tenths clear of Ferrari’s Leclerc in third.
The constructors’ champions undoubtedly the team to beat later in qualifying!
Lando Norris goes P2!
14:28
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Kieran Jackson
Norris nips into second - but still 0.669 seconds behind Piastri!
Leclerc takes third, eight-tenths off Piastri, while Hamilton is only 10th-fastest.
A big grin on Oscar Piastri’s face in the garage as the session closes...
Pierre Gasly:
14:25
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Kieran Jackson
“I can’t believe how fast these McLarens are,” says fourth-placed Pierre Gasly.
Me and you both, Pierre!
Russell goes P2 with Antonelli P3 - but still over a second behind Piastri!
Norris speeding around now...
Oscar Piastri goes even quicker!
14:21
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Kieran Jackson
The McLaren improves in P1 and by a HUGE 1.3 second margin to Pierre Gasly in second!
A stunning 1:31:646 lap!
Isack Hadjar is third with Max Verstappen fourth - the track definitely ramping up as we head towards the end of the session!
George Russell has a spin!
14:16
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Kieran Jackson
What an odd moment!
Russell spins coming out of turn 10, very random!
Car all fine though, with 15 mins to go...
“I’d probably go so far to say that was the least amount of grip I’ve ever had in F1!”
Green flag!
14:06
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Kieran Jackson
Hulkenberg’s Sauber safely wheeled out the way and we’re going again with FP3, with 25 minutes to go...
VSC!
14:03
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Kieran Jackson
Odd situation here!
Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber has, effectively, turned off and he’s parked it on the outside of turn 8!
VSC is out - no red flag, given it’s in a safe spot!
Oscar Piastri P1!
14:02
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Kieran Jackson
Most of the cars out on track now, with Oscar Piastri quickest with a 1:33:324, 0.472 seconds ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris!
3-10: Alonso, Hamilton, Leclerc, Gasly, Hulkenberg, Doohan, Hadjar, Lawson
Steven Gerrard present in Bahrain!
13:43
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Kieran Jackson
The former Liverpool and England captain watching in the grandstands with his son, Leo.
Ollie Bearman only car out on track!
13:36
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Kieran Jackson
The British 19-year-old out on the hard tyre, as Haas look to fine tune their racepace!
The only driver out on track in the first five minutes of FP3...
FP3 underway!
13:31
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Kieran Jackson
Not exactly a rush to get out on track for the final hour of practice...
Pirelli make tyre change!
13:30
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Kieran Jackson
Pirelli have reduced the tyre pressure of the tyres by 1psi, which is unusual - usually it’s the other way around, they usually add pressure!
It should help those who have issues with rear-tyre temperatures!
FP3 coming right up!
13:29
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Kieran Jackson
The third and final hour of practice coming right up then!
Not a representative session as such, given the 33C daytime temperatures, but still important as the drivers do their final tunings before qualifying later today!
Lewis Hamilton arrives in the paddock!
13:09
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Kieran Jackson
Can Hamilton - and his Ferrari team - find some pace in the final practice session ahead of qualifying later this evening?
Heading into the weekend like...#F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/RIaMQqjIe7
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2025
Bahrain Grand Prix race winner odds!
12:48
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Kieran Jackson
- Lando Norris - 11/10
- Oscar Piastri - 2/1
- Max Verstappen - 4/1
- Charles Leclerc, George Russell - 12/1
- Lewis Hamilton - 25/1
- Kimi Antonelli - 70/1
- Yuki Tsunoda - 100/1
FIA STATEMENT ON MEETING ON 2026 ENGINE RULES:
12:19
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Kieran Jackson
- All parties are committed to the 2026 regulations and look forward to the prospect of exciting racing
-All parties agreed to continue discussions on the future technical direction of the sport
-A level of electrification will always be part of any future considerations
-The use of sustainable fuel will be an imperative
-Consideration will be given to adjustments on financial regulations relating to Power Units as part of broader cost reductions
-Policing of those regulations will be a priority
Whichever engine roadmap is decided upon, the FIA is supportive of the teams and PU manufacturers in ensuring containment of costs of R&D expenditure, taking account of environmental considerations and acting in the best interests of the sport and the fans.
FULL FP2 RESULTS:
11:20
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Kieran Jackson
FP2 CLASSIFICATION
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 11, 2025
McLaren in the box seat heading into the weekend #F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/x9Pd2nDjLj
Lewis Hamilton ‘excited’ as Ferrari upgrade looks to kick-start F1 season in Bahrain
11:01
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Kieran Jackson
“We’ve got an upgrade this weekend, I’m excited,” he said on media day in Bahrain.
“We should hopefully have a bit more downforce. I’m not feeling a huge amount of issues, we lack overall performance at the moment pace-wise.
“Hopefully we take a step this weekend. From my side, it’s rear-end – and that’s it.”
Lando Norris takes fresh swipe at Red Bull and urges F1 rivals to ‘stop complaining’
10:45
Lando Norris has told Red Bull to focus on doing a “better job” in response to Jos Verstappen seemingly querying the legality of McLaren’s car.
Jos, father of four-time world champion Max Verstappen, reposted a video by an X user which compared the supposed flexing of the McLaren rear wing to that of the Red Bull.
The caption on the video read: “Yeah the season definitely starts in Spain, McLaren is a monster when it comes to wing flex.”
Full story below:
Lando Norris leads the world championship by one point to Max Verstappen
10:07
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Kieran Jackson
TOP-10 - DRIVER STANDINGS
2. Max Verstappen – 61 points
3. Oscar Piastri – 49 points
4. George Russell –45 points
5. Kimi Antonelli – 30 points
6. Charles Leclerc – 20 points
7. Alex Albon – 18 points
9. Esteban Ocon – 10 points
10. Lance Stroll – 10 points
FLASHBACK: The year a scorching Bahrain Grand Prix smashed F1 temperature record
08:02
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Kieran Jackson
“I was so excited about the race that I didn’t even sweat,” Pedro De la Rosa tells The Independent. “I didn’t drink at all – back then if you didn’t put in a drinks bottle, you saved weight on the car. So, we didn’t even fit it.”
Performance over health? He won’t be the last in F1. Yet the second iteration of the Bahrain Grand Prix, 20 years ago, was the most extreme example in the sport’s 75-year history of drivers prioritising pace over physical condition. At 42.6C, beating 40C temperatures in Dallas and Detroit in the mid-1980s, it was the hottest F1 race ever.
Full feature below:
F1 constructor standings after the first three races:
03:00
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Kieran Jackson
1. McLaren - 111 points
2. Mercedes - 75 points
3. Red Bull - 61 points
4. Ferrari - 35 points
5. Williams - 19 points
6. Haas - 15 points
7. Aston Martin - 10 points
8. Racing Bulls - 7 points
9. Sauber - 6 points
10. Alpine - 0 points