What an absolute madness at Sepang. Max Verstappen picked up his first win of the year at the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia, but getting there was like something out of a movie script. The whole thing kicked off with delays stretching over an hour and a half thanks to torrential rain and then some absolute nightmare software glitches that left cars struggling to form up properly behind the safety car. The grid got resorted using the original line-up after all the chaos, but honestly, nobody would've blamed anyone for thinking this wasn't going to happen at all.

More F1 news: Bahrain GP Grid Set: Verstappen on Pole, Hamilton Alongside as Ferrari Locks Out Top Four

Verstappen's dominant performance at the front masked just how wild the championship picture got turned on its head behind him. Kimi Antonelli finished second in his Mercedes and suddenly he's looking pretty ominous in the title race. His teammate George Russell had to retire from third with a power unit failure in the closing laps, and that's a massive blow. Antonelli now sits 84 points clear of Russell with either six or seven races left, which basically means he's got one foot on the trophy already.

The afternoon belonged to Lewis Hamilton too, even though it started terribly. He made a poor tyre choice early on when the track was soaking wet and found himself down the field, but the Mercedes driver clawed his way back with some seriously impressive racing. He passed Red Bull's Isack Hadjar just three laps from home to grab third place and prove why he's still got it even in his late career.

More F1 news: Verstappen's Ford-Powered Breakthrough: Red Bull Claims Maiden Pole at Sepang

Charles Leclerc took fourth for Ferrari but looked frustrated with how the weekend went. The Italian admitted things went wrong early on but came right later, though he reckons without all the chaos he'd have challenged for a podium. He's already eyeing upgrades for Singapore with Ferrari clearly struggling to match Red Bull and Mercedes' pace on these faster circuits.

More F1 news: Hamilton Stunned to Make Bahrain Front Row Despite Mercedes' Big Upgrades

It's the triple-header continues next weekend at Singapore where there's another sprint race on the cards. Red Bull's building momentum though, with Verstappen's win bringing them within 18 points of McLaren in the constructors' championship. But with Antonelli running away with things, the real story here is whether anyone can stop the Mercedes driver before Singapore wraps up the season.

Shop the collection: Max Verstappen merch  •  Charles Leclerc merch  •  Lewis Hamilton merch  •  George Russell merch  •  Kimi Antonelli merch  •  McLaren merch  •  Scuderia Ferrari merch  •  Red Bull Racing merch  •  Mercedes-AMG merch