Verstappen beats Antonelli to win F1's Bahrain GP in Malaysia as Russell retires

Max Verstappen's long wait for another Formula 1 race win is finally over. The title race might be over, too.

Verstappen took his first victory of an often-frustrating year for the four-time champion at Formula 1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday. A retirement for George Russell handed a huge title boost to Kimi Antonelli.

Verstappen was leading from Antonelli and Russell behind the safety car with five laps to go when Russell suddenly pulled over in his Mercedes.

The retirement allowed Antonelli to further stretch his lead over teammate Russell from 66 points to 84, with seven races remaining on the schedule, including those in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Mercedes told Antonelli over the radio it appeared Russell had suffered a power unit problem.

"You've almost got to laugh. I'm beyond disappointment," the British driver told Sky Sports.

Antonelli finished second and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton passed Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar for third.

Four-time champion Verstappen hadn't won since the final race of last season, but upgrades to his Red Bull car made him competitive again in Malaysia this week. That means Verstappen extends his run of winning at least once every year since he joined Red Bull in 2016. His only winless season was his 2015 rookie year.

"Very special for us. We had a very complicated and tough start to the year with all sorts of problems and just not being competitive enough," he said.

"But throughout the year, the team has been working very hard to understand our issues, bring good performance upgrades to the car and make it more drivable. Step by step, we've been getting closer and closer."

It was also the first win for Red Bull Ford Powertrains, the engine partnership between Red Bull