Lawson gets points, Verstappen takes win
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won a haphazard rain-hit Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia for his first victory of the season while Kiwi Liam Lawson took seventh place.
The race start was delayed by more than 90 minutes due to intense rainfall and conditions at the Sepang International Circuit.
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Verstappen who had pole was the last driver to win in Sepang in 2017 before it was taken off the calendar.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was second for Mercedes and now has an 84-point lead over his closest rival and teammate George Russell, who was third when he retired with five laps remaining.
New Zealand driver Lawson was on the pace for much of the 55 laps and finished seventh for Racing Bulls, having climbed quickly from 11th to fourth when he weaved through the field in what he called his 'best start'.
He benefitted from a team decision to start the race with intermediate tyres, the extra grip helping him hover high up the field as others grappled with the wet track conditions.
Lawson's lack of comparative speed meant he dropped back to ninth but he received a boost late in the race when Russell dropped out and McLaren's Lando Norris went too wide off the track and lost places.
"I'm happy with seventh. I was thinking we deserved more, and then we got lucky at the end with a couple of guys not finishing," said Lawson.
"Very happy. The car's been very good, it was strong in the race. I had one of the best starts I've ever had in my career, and that put us in a great position for the rest of the race."
Lawson's 11th points return from 16 races this season keeps him in ninth placing overall on 65 points the leading driver of those not racing for the four top teams: Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.
