The risky choice of slick tires that hindered McLaren and Ferrari's prospects in Bahrain F1

When the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia finally kicked off after an hour and 33 minutes of waiting, it became evident that the intermediate tyre was the preferred choice during the early laps, despite the Sepang circuit appearing to dry out.

At the front, Ferrari and McLaren decided to commit fully to dry tyres for the restart; Ferrari selected the soft compound, whereas McLaren opted for the mediums. As the race resumed behind the safety car, both teams lamented their decisions, as the track remained too slippery.

McLaren quickly abandoned their strategy, pitting before the standing start to allow Oscar Piastri to switch to intermediates, while Lando Norris and the Ferraris held firm with their selections. Charles Leclerc eventually entered the pitlane at the end of the lap, as the slick-tyre runners were overtaken and left behind by those who stuck with intermediates at the start.

Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris concluded that, since they had made their choices, they would have to stick with them. Hamilton was asked if he wanted to pit again, but the seven-time champion felt Ferrari might as well take the risk since they were far behind, and pitting would only cost more time.

By the conclusion of the eighth lap, slick times matched those of the intermediate runners; Valtteri Bottas’ subsequent off-track incident then provided the inter-shod drivers the opportunity to switch to slicks.

Reflecting on the decision, Norris expressed that starting on slicks seemed "quite convincing" and he was uncertain about the intermediate's performance; during his reconnaissance lap to the grid, the Brit reported that the green-walled tyre was already struggling on Sepang's rough terrain.

"It felt like a bit of a gamble, because using a slick on a wet track is always somewhat risky," Norris remarked. "There were enough people on it that it seemed convincing at the time that it might be the right choice.

"In the laps to the grid on the intermediate, when conditions were similar, they had so much grip and my intermediate was completely worn out after just one lap.

"I was sure a slick tyre would work, but I think it was just the fact that I had never really experienced the intermediate before. Things just felt much better than they should have in a way.

"If we had more data on the intermediate from a previous race, perhaps I would have understood it better. But that convinced us, and it clearly convinced many others.

"Oscar probably made the right call by pitting, and we got it wrong today, that's all."

Leclerc speculated that the roughness of the pavement made it harder to gauge the track surface, as water collected in the crevices—and the temperature drop that came with the rain caused the circuit to take much longer to dry than anticipated. Given the duration of the rain, any remaining circuit temperature was quickly diminished.

Even though the Monegasque switched tyres, the time lost in pitting after the start kept him behind Hamilton, who extended his stint on the soft tyres and swiftly began to gain positions.

Hamilton joked that he wouldn't be "heading to the casino with the guys" after the team's risks didn't pay off, yet he praised his team's strategy for keeping him on track. The Brit was ultimately less pleased with the medium after stopping on lap 31, but the late-race VSC (which later became a full safety car) offered a chance to revert to the softs—an opportunity he capitalized on to overtake Isack Hadjar for third.

"As we exited [the pits], all the spray from Max’s car came up, and I thought, 'okay, I’m in trouble now,' Hamilton recalled.

"We just had to endure it. As everyone passed me, they [the engineers] suggested, 'let’s pit.' I knew we had already lost another 26 seconds. What difference does that make compared to being one minute and 40 seconds down? So I thought, 'Let’s just wait for the track to dry.'

"And once it did, it felt great to be catching up to others. The car felt fantastic after that. The pit stops by my crew were brilliant, and the strategy was spot on. To make it back to the podium, I never thought that would be possible. I’m truly grateful we managed to achieve this.

"We’ll certainly have an open discussion, and I’m extremely proud of my team. The mechanics put in so much effort every weekend, and the engineers here work tirelessly, along with everyone else who comes and gives their all.

"Their commitment is evident. We recognize there are areas for improvement, and we’re not in denial about that. I believe we’ll have a productive conversation, regroup, take the positives from this weekend, where the car performed really well, and return next week ready to compete."

Photos from F1 Bahrain GP in Malaysia- Sunday