Bahrain Grand Prix gets underway at Sepang after long rain delay

Race day has arrived for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, and GPblog will provide you with the latest updates and insights from the paddock in Sepang. This season marks the first time a non-Mercedes powered car is leading the grid, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen securing pole position after a remarkable lap on Saturday. Verstappen, who has won the last two F1 races in Malaysia in 2016 and 2017, will be looking to build on that success.

On the front row, Verstappen will be racing against his long-time rival, Lewis Hamilton, who secured the best-ever qualifying result for Ferrari in P2. Hamilton last lined up on the front row at the Barcelona-Catalunya GP in June, where he won ahead of George Russell and Lando Norris. Can he replicate that victory today?

Mercedes faced a tough qualifying session in Sepang, despite bringing a significant aerodynamic upgrade package. While the team arrived with high hopes of a 0.3-second gain, Kimi Raikkonen only managed to secure P4, while George Russell ended up in a disappointing P8. Team principal Toto Wolff expressed concern over the unexpected drop in performance.

He stated to Sky Sports F1, "Something else is going on, and we have to understand. This is now working through the data and putting our heads together, because we still believe that the upgrade works. We just need to understand why not here."

Alongside Raikkonen, Alpine's Franco Colapinto and Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad have also received engine penalties. Colapinto, already serving a five-place penalty from a crash during the Azerbaijan GP with teammate Pierre Gasly, will start at the back of the grid following his new 10-place penalty. Lindblad will start from last place, after accumulating multiple power unit changes beyond the allowed allocation for the season.