RACE START: Watch the getaway in Bahrain as Piastri holds the lead and Norris shoots up the order

McLaren enjoyed a dream start to Sunday night’s Bahrain Grand Prix, with pole-sitter Oscar Piastri retaining his advantage and team mate Lando Norris going from sixth to third in just a few corners.

Piastri charged away from his grid slot when the five red lights went out to initially keep Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc at bay, before defending firmly against the late-braking Mercedes of George Russell at Turn 1.

LIVE COVERAGE: All the action from the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix

Having started on medium tyres rather than the softs chosen by his rivals, Leclerc lost out to Russell as the cars filtered through the first sequence of corners and was then passed by Norris around the outside of Turn 4.

However, there was bad news on the way for Norris as he was hit with a five-second time penalty by the stewards for being out of position on the grid.

Hit go on the video player above to watch the race start from the Bahrain Grand Prix.