The young 2025 Formula 1 season continues this week with the Bahrain Grand Prix.
It is the second race of a three consecutive weekend stint in the early stages of the new F1 campaign, following on from the second outing in Japan and the upcoming Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri is pole for the Bahrain Grand Prix, with team-mate Lando Norris down in sixth. Max Verstappen is one place behind Norris in seventh and Lewis Hamilton is ninth in his Ferrari.
Max Verstappen was boosted after his first victory of the season and fourth in a row at Suzuka, where he produced one of the greatest qualifying laps of his illustrious career to seize pole position before successfully holding off McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to take the chequered flag.
That result saw Norris’ early lead atop of the Championship Standings trimmed down to just a solitary point, with Verstappen now 12 ahead of Piastri - who triumphed in China ahead of team-mate Norris, who won the opener in Australia - heading to a track where he has won in back-to-back years.
McLaren have an early 14-point lead over nearest rivals Ferrari in the Constructors’ Standings, with Red Bull currently sitting third having made the decision to swap out Liam Lawson for Yuki Tsunoda after just two races.
When is the Bahrain Grand Prix?
The 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix takes place on Sunday, April 13 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.
Bahrain Grand Prix start time and schedule
The race weekend kicked off with the first practice session, which took place on Friday between 12:30pm and 1:30pm BST.
FP2 was between 4pm and 5pm on Friday, with a third practice session from 1:30pm to 2:30pm on Saturday. Qualifying took place between 5pm and 6pm on Saturday evening.
The Bahrain Grand Prix itself starts at 4pm BST on Sunday, which is 6pm local time.
Bahrain Grand Prix grid positions
1 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
2 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3 George Russell (Mercedes)
4 Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
5 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
6 Lando Norris (McLaren)
7 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
8 Carlos Sainz (Williams)
9 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
10 Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
11 Jack Doohan (Alpine)
12 Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
13 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
14 Esteban Ocon (Haas)
15 Alex Albon (Williams)
16 Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
17 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
18 Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
19 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
20 Ollie Bearman (Haas)
How to watch the Bahrain Grand Prix
TV channel: In the UK, every session from the Bahrain Grand Prix is being shown live on Sky Sports F1.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also watch the entire race weekend live online via the Sky Go app.
Free highlights: Channel 4 will be airing free-to-air highlights of the Bahrain Grand Prix from 10:05pm BST on Sunday night.
Bahrain Grand Prix weather forecast
There are a scorching few days ahead in Sakhir, where temperatures are expected to reach 37°C on Friday and 35°C on Saturday, before hitting around 31°C for the race on Sunday.
It’s sun, soaring temperatures and clear skies for the duration, with the chance of rain not higher than 5 per cent at any stage.
