Dominant Piastri Celebrates Bahrain Hat-Trick
Oscar Piastri won the Bahrain Grand Prix to give McLaren its maiden victory in a what could be considered its second home race at the Bahrain Int’l Circuit.
For the Australian, it was his fourth Formula 1 victory, equaling the total scored by Bruce McLaren, the New Zealander who founded the team in 1966.
Piastri can also be pleased with his first hat-trick (pole, win and fastest race lap) in what are the early days of his career.
Piastri led from start to finish, nailing the initial getaway and then a Safety Car restart later in the race to become the first two-time winner this season.
“It’s great to have this result out here. It’s been an incredible weekend, starting off with qualifying yesterday. To finish the job today in style was nice,” Piastri said. “I can’t thank the team enough for the car they’ve given us – it’s pretty handy out there. It’s been a great weekend, and I’m very proud of what I’ve done this weekend as well.
“I’m very proud to do it here in Bahrain as well, it’s obviously a very important race for us given our owners. It’s never been a track that’s been kind to us, so it’s nice to finally have that first win for the team here.”
McLaren is owned by the island country’s sovereign wealth fund.
Piastri defeated Mercedes driver George Russell by a whopping 15.499 seconds.
Piastri’s McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, rallied to finish third and maintained the Formula 1 point lead by three points over Piastri. Norris has finished in the top three in all four races this season.
Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top five, with four-time world champion Max Verstappen fighting his way to a sixth-place effort for Red Bull
Oliver Bearman finished 10th for the U.S.-based Haas Ferrari operation.
speedsport
