Antonelli aims to bounce back from ‘worst’ weekend but faces a possible test in the rain in Malaysia

Kimi Antonelli will have to deal with an unfamiliar track and potentially heavy rain as he aims to recover from his “worst weekend” of his 2026 Formula 1 title challenge.

The unusually named Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia takes Antonelli and his rivals to a track F1 last visited in 2017 — when he was 11 — in a race hurriedly added to the calendar because of the disruption caused by the Iran war. It will take place at the Sepang international circuit, about 60 kilometers (35 miles) south of central Kuala Lumpur.

With rain possible on all three days of on-track action, it could be the first real wet race since F1 shook up its regulations for the 2026 season, and the abrasive asphalt tends to chew up tires, too.

Antonelli seeks to put ‘very disruptive’ week behind

Antonelli still has a dominant 66-point lead over teammate George Russell, but that was trimmed from 81 last week after his crash in qualifying made for damage limitation in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Antonelli scrambled from 16th on the grid to finish fifth, helped by plenty of incidents ahead of him, while Russell held off Max Verstappen for his first win in nearly three months.

“Last weekend was probably the worst weekend from me, from my side of the season,” Antonelli said.

“It was what I needed on Sunday, I needed a clean result after a very disruptive weekend. After the race, I wasn’t happy with the result and everything but I learn many things and the most important is that I need to always be 100%.”

“I need to really do my best to achieve the best result because if I don’t do everything right, or I don’t try to do everything right in my power, then nothing is going to come my way.”

George Russell: a revived title challenger

Russell has made no secret of his struggles getting used to the 2026 cars as he’s had to watch his younger teammate dominate week-in, week-out.

After using the mid-season break to change his approach, a process he’s likened to a golfer getting used to a new swing, Russell finally seemed comfortable in Azerbaijan. He went fastest by nearly a second in qualifying, and his narrow margin of victory over Verstappen in the race owed more to an unusual yellow-flag decision on track than anything else.

Mercedes has brought a package of upgrades to its car for this week, something Russell predicts could help him.

“I’m enjoying it more than I have done recently because I just feel more at one with the car and hopefully this new upgrade with a few characteristic changes that will also play into my favor a bit more,” he said Thursday. “Bring it on.”

Verstappen leads first practice on a dry track

Verstappen was fastest Friday in the first practice session in a time of 1 minute, 37.520 seconds on a dry track and under often blue skies. Russell was in second .0383 seconds behind, with Antonelli in fifth, just over a second behind Verstappen.

A second practice session will be held later Friday ahead of a third practice session and qualifying Saturday for Sunday’s race. The forecast is for thunderstorms on Saturday but mostly dry on race day.

Lewis Hamilton defends Ferrari amid poor results

Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari remains united as he criticized attempts to “break our spirit” after the Italian brand confirmed it retains confidence in Fred Vasseur as team principal.

“Outside sources seem to be so negative towards us as a team and trying to break our spirit, but they’re not succeeding,” Hamilton said.

The latest speculation over Vasseur’s future came after former Red Bull boss Christian Horner told the Times of London last week that Ferrari was the only team in F1 he’d consider joining without an ownership stake, calling it “the dream” and a “sleeping giant.”

Meanwhile, Ferrari is struggling on the track, with no podium finishes in the last five races for Hamilton or Charles Leclerc.

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