F1 Fantasy Winners and Losers: 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

Winners

Max Verstappen

Qualifying: P1

Race: P1

Max Verstappen took his and Red Bull’s first race win of the 2026 Formula 1 season on a wet and chaotic Sunday in Sepang, Malaysia. He lost the lead from pole at the start of the race to the two Mercedes, but he stayed within attacking distance and eventually grabbed the lead back from Kimi Antonelli after a round of pit stops. In addition to the win, Verstappen set the fastest lap and earned the Driver of the Day award to bring his total F1 Fantasy points haul to 57. He also gained $0.3M in budget. It looks like Red Bull’s upgrades have been delivering, so players will have to keep an eye on Verstappen as a must-have driver if his form continues.

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Ferrari

Qualifying: P2 (Hamilton) and P4 (Leclerc)

Race: P3 (Hamilton) and P4 (Leclerc)

At the beginning of the race, it looked like Ferrari were going to be caught out by a strategy blunder yet again. Both drivers started the race on slick tires and fell to the back of the field—Lewis Hamilton dropped from the front row to P18, and Charles Leclerc was running P22 after Ferrari realized their mistake and pitted him early on. However, both drivers were able to fight through the field with clean overtakes and efficient pit stops, and Ferrari finished with Hamilton on the podium and Leclerc just behind. They scored 80 F1 Fantasy points and gained $0.3M in budget.

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Fernando Alonso

Qualifying: P12

Race: P8

Fernando Alonso used all his experience on Sunday afternoon at the Sepang International Circuit to score championship points for an Aston Martin outfit that had been struggling to even finish races. He was able to keep the car on track throughout the formation lap fumbles, where a software glitch caused multiple cars to stall. He kept defending champion Lando Norris behind on the last lap to finish the race in P8. He also gained 9 F1 Fantasy points for overtakes during the race. Alonso finished with 17 F1 Fantasy points and a -$0.6M price change.

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Arvid Lindblad

Qualifying: P16 (Started P22)

Race: P10

Arvid Lindblad was the highest-scoring midfield driver at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. He started at the back of the grid in P22, due to a pre-planned engine penalty, and was able to finish in the championship points at P10. The Racing Bulls rookie has had an impressive season so far, and he rose to the occasion by driving in the wet for the first time in his F1 career. He scored 29 F1 Fantasy points and earned a $0.6M price gain.

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Losers

George Russell

Qualifying: P8

Race: DNF

George Russell had another heartbreaking weekend in Malaysia, something that, unfortunately, he’s used to this year. He started P8 but was able to move up to the podium places within the first lap. He suffered a power unit (PU) failure under the safety car during the last 5 laps of the race and was forced to retire. Since he had finished a significant portion of the race, he didn’t receive the -20 F1 Fantasy points for an early DNF, but he did receive -13 F1 Fantasy points for positions lost. He ended with -5 F1 Fantasy points and a -$0.1M price change over the weekend.

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Williams

Qualifying: P13 (Sainz) and P20 (Albon)

Race: P17 (Sainz) and DNF (Albon)

Williams had another hard weekend in Malaysia, with Carlos Sainz involved in an early collision that Gabriel Bortoleto was punished for, and Alex Albon failing to finish the race for a second weekend in a row. The team received 10 F1 Fantasy points for a quick pit stop and 18 F1 Fantasy points for overtakes, but their points haul sat in the single digits after Albon’s -20 F1 Fantasy point penalty for his DNF. They ended with 5 F1 Fantasy points and a -$0.6M price change.

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Valtteri Bottas

Qualifying: P21

Race: DNF

Valtteri Bottas is another driver who has failed to finish the last two Grands Prix. In Baku, he hit the wall in the last laps of the race. At the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Bottas unfortunately went into the gravel in the first 15 laps of the race and was forced to retire from there. Cadillac has faced various issues with reliability and performance throughout the season, and both Bottas and Sergio Perez failed to finish multiple races. Valtteri Bottas ended with -20 F1 Fantasy points and a -$0.6M price change.

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