Piastri lays down gauntlet with victory in Bahrain

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

- SCOTT HUNT

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

Norris, who began the weekend with a one-point lead in the championship, 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 his teammate Piastri in the standings.

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