Pole-sitter Piastri gave McLaren their first ever win in Sakhir at their 21st attempt.
“That should be one hell of a party tonight. Mega weekend everyone. That was pretty damn fun,” Piastri said after marking his 50th start in perfect style.
Taking the chequered flag under floodlights on a balmy Sunday evening in the Gulf kingdom was just reward after a weekend he had dominated, both in practice and in qualifying.
Despite an incident-packed race behind him, Piastri crossed the line 15.499s clear of Russell, who was under investigation for an issue with the DRS (drag reduction system).
Charles Leclerc for Ferrari came in fourth with his teammate Lewis Hamilton fifth ahead of four-time world champion Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and Pierre Gasly earning Alpine’s first points of the year at the fourth attempt.
Rounding out the top 10 were Esteban Ocon (Haas), recovering from a big smash in qualifying, Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull, and Ocon’s teammate Oliver Bearman.
By AFP
