Verstappen wins rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia as FIA promises software bug investigation
publishers 49articles 77first reported 3 Oct, 05:44 UTCdeveloping since 3 Oct · 10 editions
Max Verstappen won the rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit on Sunday, securing his first Formula One victory of 2026 and the 72nd of his career.
The Red Bull driver started from pole but fell to third when the race eventually began after a 1-hour, 33-minute delay. He passed championship leader Kimi Antonelli on Lap 13 and finished 2.3 seconds ahead of the Mercedes driver. Lewis Hamilton recovered from 18th place to take third for Ferrari, followed by teammate Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar.
Antonelli extended his championship lead over Mercedes teammate George Russell to 84 points with seven races remaining. Russell retired from third place after an engine failure with five laps left.
Torrential rain and a software problem disrupted the formation lap, affecting several cars, including those of Verstappen and Hamilton. The FIA said an “unprecedented combination” of low engine speeds, poor grip, wet-weather energy settings and Sepang’s circuit configuration caused the power loss. Officials issued updated software during the delay, and the governing body said it would investigate the problem with teams and engine manufacturers.
The race was moved from Bahrain to Malaysia because the original event could not proceed amid conflict in the Middle East. It was Sepang’s first Formula One race since 2017, when Verstappen also won at the circuit. More than 260,000 spectators attended over the weekend, according to the South China Morning Post.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 7 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 48 h after the record first saw the story; the editor revised it.
- Publishers
- 49
- Source articles
- 77
- Given to the writer
- 8, 7 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8
- This version written
- 48 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- revised
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and changed it before publication. Struck words were in the draft; underlined words are its corrections.
WHAT IT FLAGGED editor revise: The story needs the FIA investigation phrased as a promised review and the software issue tied to the FIA's stated cause rather than an unsupported diagnosis for specific cars. - "Verstappen wins rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia as FIA probes software bug": The sources say the FIA promised or would undertake an investigation; they do not say it is already probing the bug. - "as FIA probes software bug": The sources say the FIA promised or would undertake an investigation; they do not say it is already probing the bug. - "leaving several cars—including those of Verstappen and Hamilton—without normal power deployment": The sources identify Verstappen and Hamilton among several affected by the glitch, but do not say their cars specifically lacked normal power deployment.
THE DRAFT AND THE CHANGES
Verstappen wins rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia as FIA probespromises software bug investigation
Max Verstappen won the rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit on Sunday, securing his first Formula One victory of 2026 and the 72nd of his career.
The Red Bull driver started from pole but fell to third when the race eventually began after a 1-hour, 33-minute delay. He passed championship leader Kimi Antonelli on Lap 13 and finished 2.3 seconds ahead of the Mercedes driver. Lewis Hamilton recovered from 18th place to take third for Ferrari, followed by teammate Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar.
Antonelli extended his championship lead over Mercedes teammate George Russell to 84 points with seven races remaining. Russell retired from third place after an engine failure with five laps left.
Torrential rain and a software problem disrupted the formation lap, leavingaffecting several cars—includingcars, including those of Verstappen and Hamilton—without normal power deployment.Hamilton. The FIA said an “unprecedented combination” of low engine speeds, poor grip, wet-weather energy settings and Sepang’s circuit configuration caused the power loss. Officials issued updated software during the delay, and the governing body said it would investigate the problem with teams and engine manufacturers.
The race was moved from Bahrain to Malaysia because the original event could not proceed amid conflict in the Middle East. It was Sepang’s first Formula One race since 2017, when Verstappen also won at the circuit. More than 260,000 spectators attended over the weekend, according to the South China Morning Post.
Written by a language model from the sources above, then checked by a second model that may only cut, attribute or correct. How it works →