F1 in Bahrain... in Malaysia: The race needed a software update to start

(Indeed, the delay led Verstappen to joke that his team got their update applied faster thanks to their Oracle-supplied data connection.) The delay to the start was long enough that the rain had abated and the puddles of standing water had all drained, leading just over half the grid to gamble that it was dry enough to risk starting on either the soft or medium slick. Only nine drivers opted for the intermediate tire, including Verstappen (on pole), championship leader Kimi Antonelli, and his Mercedes teammate George Russell. Lewis Hamilton, starting second, was among those choosing to start on either the soft or medium slick tire; this was a mistake, as the formation lap proved the track was still much wetter than expected—too wet for slicks, certainly. So it wasn’t a surprise to see the slick-shod cars quickly left behind as they struggled to put down power on the wet tarmac. Despite being on the intermediates, Verstappen got a terrible start and was left in third, behind both Mercedes. “I was not surprised because my start was horrendous,” Verstappen said. “Again, dropping the clutch and not having power. The engine just completely died on me. But then you just have to settle in, try not to overreact as well, and just slot in, try to keep your position there. The race is long, a lot of things can happen, and step by step, I could close the gap.” And he did, passing Russell on lap six and then closing up behind Antonelli quickly thereafter. The race restarted on lap 13, and Verstappen pounced on Antonelli, taking the lead, with Russell following into second. Hamilton, meanwhile, was in 15th, although not for long. Within a lap, he was up to 11th. Within 10 laps of the restart, he was in 5th. Slightly further back, another legend of the sport was also having a good day. Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin might have been a laughingstock at the start of the season, as it was multiple seconds slower than the cars of the frontrunners, but the Adrian Newey-designed aerodynamic update that arrived in Hungary closed some of the gap to the rest of the field. And Honda has now introduced a second power unit upgrade that has helped drivability even while at a power deficit to the others. It’s not quite as effective a package as Hamilton’s Ferrari, but Alonso began moving forward, and by lap 40, he was in 10th place, the final points-paying position. The final three laps were frenetic. Hamilton passed Hadjar for third, a wonderful recovery drive back to the podium after being more than a minute off the lead at one point during the race. His Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc trailed behind, also passing the second Red Bull and fully salvaging Ferrari’s day. Ahead of the red cars, Antonelli was closing down on Verstappen but without being close enough to attempt an overtake. And Alonso was making moves, too, ending his day in eighth place, Aston’s best finish of the year.