Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

McLaren's Oscar Piastri took a controlled, dominant victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix to close on team-mate Lando Norris in the world championship.

The Australian was serene in the lead, calmly keeping himself out of reach of his rivals, as Mercedes' George Russell held off an assault from the second McLaren of Lando Norris for second.

Norris, fighting back from sixth on the grid and a five-second penalty for a false start, had a chance to pass Russell going into the final lap, but could not make it work.

But Russell could face an investigation for a rule infringement involving the DRS overtaking aid.

Read the full report here

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Oscar Piastri has added his name to the hat as a potential title contender this season. The Australian driver can have a mini celebration before the next race to toast his fourth career victory in Formula 1. Just three points separate himself and team-mate Lando Norris in the drivers' championship.

Thanks for your company, folks. We get to do it all again next week as the third race of this triple-header gets going in Saudi Arabia from 18-20 April. Easter weekend!

Lights out for Sunday's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix are at 18:00 BST.

See you on Friday for first practice at 14:30.

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Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton finished in fifth after starting ninth: "I think what's clear is as us humans we get really stuck in our ways and I think I've been driving a certain style and a certain way with a same team for such a long time and I've moved to a new car and it requires such a different driving style and settings.

"I'm using engine braking which we never used in the previous year, much different brakes being on Brembo's and I've been on CI's [Carbon Industrie] the last 15 years or so.

"I'm adjusting to that but I think I'm slowly getting it into my head and getting the balance right. What's clear is Charles [Leclerc] starts with a set-up and stays with it pretty much all weekend and I was a long way from him last weekend and this weekend.

"Before qualifying I got closer but then all the settings are all off. I have got to do a better job through the weekend, I know I can and I will.

"I've got to make it easier for myself, I'm doing it all the hard way at the moment so I will try next week to start in a better place and not deviate from that too much. I think I've figured out how the car likes to drive so hopefully if I can apply that next week I can qualify better and have a much better weekend."

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told Sky Sports: "It's the driver [George Russell] who saved the result today, the brake-by-wire was kicking in and out and he kind of started to manage it without losing any time which is amazing, almost indescribable if that happens to you.

"He nurtured the soft tyres well and he was fast when it mattered and defended in the right way so hats off to George."

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff tells Sky Sports it was a messy race for teenager Kimi Antonelli, adding they didn't give the 18-year-old Italian the right tyre, maybe should've given him the hard compound to the end, but also, he probably pushed a bit too much during his first stint on the softs. "But that's the normal learning trajectory that is to be expected," says Wolff.

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McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has dried off the rose water and tells Sky Sports Oscar Piastri drove a perfect race in Bahrain on his 50th grand prix start. "If anything, I would say it was a perfect weekend," he adds.

As for the celebrations tonight, Piastri might have to sit this one out. "I’m sure there’s going to be a party, I’m not sure I’m going to get involved because I’ve got to race again next week," he says.

The final grand prix of this triple-header heads to Saudi Arabia next weekend.

Constructors' champions McLaren have extended their lead at the top of the standings to 58 points over second-placed Mercedes with another double podium this season.

Haas are now in fifth place after a good points haul in Sakhir, one clear of Williams in sixth. Alpine are also off the mark, level on six points with Sauber.

1. McLaren - 151

2. Mercedes - 93

3. Red Bull - 71

4. Ferrari - 57

5. Haas - 20

6. Williams - 19

7. Aston Martin - 10

8. Racing Bulls - 7

9. Alpine 6

10. Sauber - 6

Pole position, race win and fastest lap (although you don't get the extra point this year) completes a perfect weekend for Oscar Piastri. The Australian has jumped above Max Verstappen into second place and is now three points off leader Lando Norris.

1. Lando Norris - 77 pts

2. Oscar Piastri - 74

3. Max Verstappen - 69

4. George Russell - 63

5. Charles Leclerc - 32

6. Kimi Antonelli - 30

7. Lewis Hamilton - 25

8. Alex Albon - 18

9. Esteban Ocon - 14

10. Lance Stroll - 10

Image source, Getty Images

More from George Russell on the issues with his car: "We basically were having all sorts of failures and we did an override on DRS and on one lap I clicked the radio button and the DRS opened, straight away closed it again and backed off. Nothing to gain, I lost more than I gained. It was only open for a split second. Kind of goes to show the kind of issues we were having but really pleased with P2."

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McLaren's Lando Norris, who started sixth and finished third: "It was a tough race I made too many mistakes with the overtakes and being out of position.

"It was a messy race from me and I’m disappointed not to bring home a one-two for McLaren because that would have been lovely at home, it’s a tough one but still a few positives."

On the battle with the Ferraris: "I just got told [that I had to give the place back], it was close throughout so no complaints, it was good fun and good overtakes on the limit."

On racing George Russell at the end: "He did a good job, I thought I would be able to get him but I guess he was probably just saving a bit at the end which he did well to do, he did a good job.

"Oscar [Piastri] did a good job so congratulations to Oscar and the whole McLaren team and I will try and step it up for next weekend."

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Mercedes' George Russell, who finished second at the Bahrain Grand Prix: "It felt under control and then suddenly we had a brake-valve wire failure. Suddenly the pedal was going long, then it was going short, I didn't know what was going on. The steering wheel wasn't working properly so it was hard to keep Lando behind. I think one more lap and he would have got me very comfortably. But nevertheless, really pleased with P2.

"Oscar was in a league of his own, congratulations to him and McLaren, we knew they would be pretty extraordinary around this circuit, I was proven right. For ourselves, it's been four races, three podiums, all on different types of tracks, so it gives us confidence going into the future."

On 24 laps on the soft tyre: "I'm not sure how to be honest, when I saw Charles behind me on the hards and I saw there was 24 laps to go, i thought, how are we going to make this work? But we did, the team did a great job and it's been a great weekend."

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McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who takes his second win of the season in Bahrain: "Great to have this result out here, it’s been an incredible weekend, to start off in qualifying yesterday and to finish off the job today in style was nice.

"I can’t thank the team enough for the car they’ve given us, it’s pretty handy out there, it’s been a great weekend and very proud of what I’ve done as well.

"I’m proud to of done it here in Bahrain as well. It’s obviously a very important race for us given our owners and it’s never been a track that has been kind to us so it’s nice to finally have that first win for the team here."

On the race: "I would have preferred to not have had the safety car but I was still pretty confident, the pace was good and I was pretty confident I could get a good restart. I also knew that Lando [Norris] and I were the only ones with another medium [tyre] and that was the tyre to be on.

"From that side of things it was relatively straightforward. Obviously, you try and get a good restart and you don’t know how it’s going to go but I was never going to let that one go."

11. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

12. Alex Albon (Williams)

13. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

14. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

15. Jack Doohan (Alpine)

16. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

17. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

18. Lance Stroll (Racing Bulls)

19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)

DNF. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

2. George Russell (Mercedes)

3. Lando Norris (McLaren)

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

7. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

8. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

9. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

10. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

Sorry, rose water. But the podium trio, plus McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, are still drenched.

Champagne momentpublished at 18:00 British Summer Time 13 April

18:00 BST 13 April

Oh, George was calling Lando a muppet because Norris out-braked himself trying to overtake Lewis Hamilton. Ha! Love the cooldown room chats.

The podium celebrations are in full swing now. That's a lovely trophy handed to race winner Oscar Piastri. Here comes the champagne. Get soaking each other.

Oscar Piastri lets out a big sigh as he takes a seat in the cooldown room. "The medium [tyre] was pretty sweet", he says. "The soft was the best by a mile," adds Norris.

The trio are now watching the highlights on the screen and there are plenty of "oooohs" and "ahhhhhs" at various clips. Norris remarks one driver is a "muppet" but I'm not too sure what incident was being shown on screen at the time.

George Russell explains he was having "all sorts of failures" towards the end of the race. He did an override of the DRS but on one of his laps, he clicked the radio button and the DRS opened. He adds he closed it straight away, backed off and didn't gain anything from it.

We'll have to see what the stewards have to say about that explanation.

George Russell is celebrating as part of the top three but the Mercedes driver is under a post-race investigation for the DRS infringement, so a five-second time penalty could be heading his way.

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

I thought that was a really good drive from George Russell, he had all sorts of technical gremlins going on inside the cockpit, he arguably had the wrong tyres on the car for the final stint and still he managed to hold off from extreme pressure from Lando Norris.