Oscar Piastri Just Put the Whole Damn F1 Grid on Notice

McLaren’s Australian driver Oscar Piastri gestures after winning the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir on April 13, 2025. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP) (Photo by ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty Images)

You know how some races make you wish you’d just stayed on the couch with a burger and a beer? This wasn’t one of those. This was the kind of Grand Prix that made you sit up straight, shout at the TV like it owed you money, and reconsider every bad thing you’ve ever said about McLaren in the hybrid era.

Oscar Piastri, the calmest Aussie since Steve Irwin whispered sweet nothings to a crocodile, rolled into Bahrain for his 50th Grand Prix start and left with a trophy, a fastest lap, and the smug satisfaction of having absolutely dismantled the field. Not since Daniel Ricciardo accidentally smiled while passing someone on the outside has an Australian looked so comfortable at the sharp end of Formula 1.

Pole position? Nailed it. Safety Car restart? Not a problem. Dominant drive? Oh, absolutely. This was Piastri’s second win of the year and the fourth of his still-fresh career—but more importantly, it was McLaren’s first ever win in Bahrain. And since they’re now owned by Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, you can bet the afterparty had more gold than King Tut’s tomb.

From lights out, Piastri looked like a man with dinner reservations. George Russell threw a brief tantrum into Turn 1 with a locked-up Mercedes, but Oscar didn’t flinch. Instead, he casually opened a gap, ignored a mid-race Safety Car like it was just a mild inconvenience, and stormed home with a 15-second lead. That’s not a win—that’s an exclamation point delivered in papaya orange.

Meanwhile, his teammate Lando Norris was busy serving a five-second time penalty for being misaligned in his grid box. Still, he clawed his way back into the fight and nearly nabbed second, falling just 0.774 seconds short of George Russell. That was the same George Russell now under investigation for a DRS infringement, which is the F1 equivalent of getting caught with nitrous in a Prius.

Behind them, the usual suspects were having one of those group therapy sessions they call midfield racing. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and fifth for Ferrari, which sounds okay until you realize Ferrari is still doing Ferrari things—like watching Red Bull and McLaren disappear over the horizon.

Speaking of Red Bull, Max Verstappen had a night to forget. Pit stop problems, grumpy radio messages, and the look of a man whose cheat codes had expired. He still somehow managed sixth, because of course he did.

Further back, Alpine scored their first points of the year thanks to Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, while Yuki Tsunoda put a Red Bull in ninth and Ollie Bearman added more points for Haas. Yes, Haas. It’s like watching your local diner suddenly earn a Michelin star—confusing, but delightful.

Rookie Kimi Antonelli flirted with the points but came up short in 11th. Alex Albon did his usual “quietly brilliant” thing in 12th, and the rest of the grid either didn’t matter or spent most of the race playing bumper cars and receiving time penalties.

Carlos Sainz, in the Williams this year because reality is stranger than fiction, was the lone retiree after being punted by Tsunoda. Somewhere, Ferrari’s PR department breathed a sigh of relief.

But let’s get back to Oscar Piastri, because this was his night. He now sits second in the championship on 74 points, trailing only his teammate Norris on 77. Verstappen, the three-time reigning champion who’s usually allergic to anything but first place, has slipped to third with 69.

And what did Piastri have to say about it all? Not much, really. Something about “getting the job done,” “being proud,” and politely declining to rage at the post-race party because he’s got another race in a week.

Of course he does. But here’s the thing: this was the race where Piastri stopped being the quiet upstart and became the real damn deal. Bahrain was McLaren’s second home. Now, it’s Piastri’s kingdom. And the rest of the grid? They’ve got seven days to figure out how to stop the kid who just made dominance look easy.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN – APRIL 13: Race winner Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes crosses the finish line during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on April 13, 2025 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

F1 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX 2025 – RACE RESULT

• About
• Latest Posts

Greg Engle

Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community.

Greg has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.

Latest posts by Greg Engle (see all)

• Max Verstappen Sends It, Wins Imola, and Reminds Everyone He’s Still Very Much Max Verstappen - May 18, 2025
• Caraganza Review 2025 Nissan Z: Like Elvis in a World Full of Ed Sheerans - May 11, 2025
• Oscar Piastri Dominates Miami as McLaren Turns the Heat Up to 11 - May 4, 2025

Comments

comments