News Summary
- Hamilton refused to switch tyres after Ferrari’s slick gamble left him struggling on the damp track.
- He recovered to third and described the late Safety Car as a blessing.
- Hamilton praised Ferrari’s car development but said its power deficit would remain for the rest of 2026.
Lewis Hamilton revealed he refused to abandon Ferrari’s slick tyre gamble at Sepang, insisting he would remain on track until it dried, before recovering to finish third in the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The seven-time champion described mixed emotions after a race in which he fell more than a minute behind but ultimately reached the podium.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after Sunday’s race, Hamilton was asked whether his pace suggested he could have won with a different starting tyre. He agreed, before explaining the contrast between his satisfaction with the recovery and his frustration at the opening phase.
“Yeah. Yeah, I mean it’s a mixed emotion. On one side I’m really, really grateful to have got back to the podium. And then on the other side, obviously with the debates that we were having in the background, to then see the covers come off the car ahead and slicks and the one behind, sorry on wets and us on slicks and the track being so tricky and dangerous at that beginning, it was definitely, yeah, my heart sank and I was kind of like that’s the race over,” Hamilton said.
Ferrari then considered bringing him in, but Hamilton chose to commit to the decision already made. Drivers on intermediates were pulling away, while he waited for conditions to improve enough for his slicks to become competitive.
“But then they were like, should we stop? And I was like, no, we’ve already made the decision, we have to live with it and we’ll stay out here until this bloody place dries. And I eventually did. And then I just kept my head down, just kept pushing, just didn’t give up,” he continued.
The recovery eventually carried Hamilton onto the podium behind Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli. The full Sepang race report and results detail the tyre changes and Safety Car periods that reshaped the race.
Hamilton calls late Safety Car a blessing
Hamilton admitted he had not expected to recover to third, particularly because the circuit took much longer to dry than he had anticipated. Sepang’s heat had encouraged expectations that the remaining moisture would disappear quickly, but the opening conditions prolonged his difficulties.
“And I definitely didn’t expect to get back to P3. It’s crazy to think we were over a minute down. And the track took so long to dry, which was, normally it’s been spitting and it dries straight away because it’s so hot here. But unfortunately that didn’t happen for quite some time. But the team did a good job on the pit stops,” Hamilton explained.
The final Safety Car gave him another opportunity to change tyres and attack. After the restart, he passed Isack Hadjar to secure third, with teammate Charles Leclerc subsequently taking fourth.
“And yeah, I wish we had longer and more opportunities to get further ahead. But that safety car at the end was a blessing enabling me to get to the podium,” he added.
Hamilton backs Ferrari’s car but demands power improvement
The podium followed a week in which Hamilton had publicly supported team principal Frédéric Vasseur and qualified on the front row. Asked whether Ferrari was on the right path, he praised the people responsible for developing its car.
“Well, I think fundamentally we’ve got a great car. And that’s down to an amazing group of people back at the factory who really have intelligent and made the right decisions. And as I said before, we have been innovators this year,” Hamilton said.
However, Hamilton identified power as a continuing limitation, saying Ferrari would have to live with the deficit through the remaining races while working to close it for next season.
“We’ve had things on the car, which everyone else has often followed. It’s just we’re in an era that we know where we’re down on power. And that’s something we just live with. We’ve got to try. We have to catch up for next year. And so we live with that deficit for the rest of this year,” he continued.
Hamilton nevertheless remained optimistic about the car’s progress and the opportunities ahead. His Sepang podium moved him to 214 championship points, keeping him third behind Antonelli and George Russell.
“But still, the car is improving. And I think we’ve got races coming up ahead that we hopefully will still be able to get maybe a little bit closer. And we just keep trying, you know, and I’m enjoying the racing still. Still feel fit, still feel focused. And today it got so good points. So a big, big thank you,” Hamilton concluded.
Formula 1 returns from 9–11 October for the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay. GRANDE PRÊMIO will cover all the action throughout the weekend.
F1 today: FAQ
Who won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia?
Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang on Sunday, 4 October, taking his first victory of the 2026 F1 season. Kimi Antonelli finished second, with Lewis Hamilton completing the podium.
Why was the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia delayed?
Heavy rain initially delayed the start at Sepang. Several drivers then experienced power delivery problems during the formation procedure, forcing race control to suspend the start again. The race eventually began more than 90 minutes after its scheduled time.
How far ahead is Kimi Antonelli in the F1 championship?
Kimi Antonelli leads George Russell by 84 points after finishing second at Sepang while his Mercedes teammate retired. Antonelli has 320 points, Russell has 236 and Lewis Hamilton is third with 214.
