Norris battles to third as Piastri takes the victory

SCAR Piastri eased to victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix as Lando Norris battled back from his disappointing qualifying to finish in third place.

- SCOTT HUNT

‘The Australian converted his pole position into a commanding win under the lights at the Sakhir circuit, coming home over 15 seconds ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.

Norris, who began the weekend with a one-point lead in the title race, overcame a five-second penalty and a ding-dong battle with Charles Leclerc to finish on the podium.

Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton secured fourth and fifth for Ferrari, while Max Verstappen finished sixth.

Norris retained his championship lead and is now three points clear of teammate Piastri in the standings.

McLaren looked set to dominate the weekend - as predicted by their rivals - after topping every practice session, but Norris’ slip-up at the death in qualifying left him with work to do from sixth.