Kimi Antonelli will have to deal with an unfamiliar track and potentially heavy rain as he aims to recover from his “worst weekend” of his 2026 Formula 1 title challenge.
The unusually named Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia takes Antonelli and his rivals to a track F1 last visited in 2017 — when he was 11 — in a race hurriedly added to the calendar because of the disruption caused by the Iran war.
With rain possible on all three days of on-track action, it could be the first real wet race since F1 shook up its regulations for the 2026 season, and the abrasive asphalt tends to chew up tires, too.
Antonelli still has a dominant 66-point lead over teammate George Russell, but that was trimmed from 81 last week after his crash in qualifying made for damage limitation in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Antonelli scrambled from 16th on the grid to finish fifth, helped by plenty of incidents ahead of him, while Russell held off Max Verstappen for his first win in nearly three months.
“Last weekend was probably the worst weekend from me, from my side of the season,” Antonelli said.
“It was what I needed on Sunday, I needed a clean result after a very disruptive weekend. After the race, I wasn’t happy with the result and everything but I learn many things and the most important is that I need to always be 100%."
“I need to really do my best to achieve the best result because if I don’t do everything right, or I don’t try to do everything right in my power, then nothing is going to come my way.”
Russell has made no secret of his struggles getting used to the 2026 cars as he's had to watch his younger teammate dominate week-in, week-out.
After using the mid-season break to change his approach, a process he's likened to a golfer getting used to a new swing, Russell finally seemed comfortable in Azerbaijan. He went fastest by nearly a second in qualifying, and his narrow margin of victory over Verstappen in the race owed more to an unusual yellow-flag decision on track than anything else.
Mercedes has brought a package of upgrades to its car for this week, something Russell predicts could help him.
“I’m enjoying it more than I have done recently because I just feel more at one with the car and hopefully this new upgrade with a few characteristic changes that will also play into my favor a bit more," he said Thursday. "Bring it on."
Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari remains united as he criticized attempts to “break our spirit” after the Italian brand confirmed it retains confidence in Fred Vasseur as team principal.
“Outside sources seem to be so negative towards us as a team and trying to break our spirit, but they’re not succeeding,” Hamilton said.
The latest speculation over Vasseur's future came after former Red Bull boss Christian Horner told the Times of London last week that Ferrari was the only team in F1 he'd consider joining without an ownership stake, calling it “the dream” and a “sleeping giant.”
Meanwhile, Ferrari is struggling on the track, with no podium finishes in the last five races for Hamilton or Charles Leclerc.
See AP’s full auto racing coverage here
Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain speaks during an interview outside the paddock ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy, right, at the pit wall ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy arrives in the pit-lane after the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix auto race in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have mastered the art of building a competitive, 85-win team over the past several seasons. Manager Torey Lovullo will get more chances to turn it into a 95-win club.
“I don't know what that answer is,” Lovullo said. “But we're going to die trying. That's our job.”
The Diamondbacks announced Thursday that Lovullo will return for his 11th season, with the manager signing a two-year deal that keeps him under contract in the desert through the 2028 season.
The 61-year-old's future with the club was in flux after the D-backs missed the playoffs for a third straight year. Arizona was eliminated from postseason contention on the final day of the regular season for the second time in three years when the Phillies beat the Rays 7-3 on Sunday.
The Diamondbacks finished 86-76, the best record of any MLB team that didn’t qualify for the playoffs.
Arizona general manager Mike Hazen blamed himself for the club's shortcomings this year, saying he didn't do enough to address weaknesses, particularly at first base, designated hitter and in the starting rotation.
He added that he believed Lovullo had one of his best seasons as manager, working through several injuries to key players and guiding the team to 47 comeback wins, most in the big leagues.
“Nobody's content with winning 86 games and finishing in third place and not making the playoffs," Hazen said. "That's the goal and we failed at that goal, but I wanted to take a slightly broader view of all the good things he does.”
Lovullo is the winningest manager in Diamondbacks history, going 750-768 during a full decade in charge, with the highlight being a surprise World Series appearance in 2023 after barely squeezing into the playoffs with an 84-78 record. He is the third-longest-tenured manager in the big leagues behind Tampa Bay's Kevin Cash and Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts.
Lovullo choked back tears at one point during Thursday's news conference, expressing appreciation for more chances to lead the team to a World Series title. He said he took some time to decompress in the days following the regular season, ignoring his phone and watching every episode of “Ted Lasso” with his wife over a roughly 72-hour period.
By Thursday, he was ready to get back to work. Then Hazen called with the good news.
“I was relieved, grateful and excited,” Lovullo said. “It's emotional. I've been here a long time — 10 years in this valley. And I've got to believe I'm doing something right.”
The postseason success in 2023 raised expectations in Arizona, but the D-backs haven’t been able to make it back to the playoffs since. Arizona won 89 games in 2024, missing out on October baseball after losing a tiebreaker to the New York Mets.
The D-backs were in playoff contention for much of 2025 before fading down the stretch and finishing with an 80-82 record.
Arizona started this season with postseason expectations and was in contention throughout the summer, but the team could never quite reach its full potential. Two of the club's main starting pitchers — Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly — struggled and injuries to ace right-hander Corbin Burnes, relievers A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez, and top prospect Jordan Lawlar put a dent in the depth.
Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno won the NL batting title this season, but other key hitters like Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo were inconsistent.
Late-season drama surrounding Marte’s no-show in Boston back in August didn’t help momentum. His future with the organization will be one of the biggest storylines of the offseason.
The affable Lovullo is a popular presence in the organization. He played eight seasons in the big leagues for seven teams in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the bench coach for the Boston Red Sox when they won the World Series in 2013 and played college baseball at UCLA.
He was hired following the 2016 season by Hazen and named the 2017 NL Manager of the Year after leading the Diamondbacks to a 93-win season — a 24-win improvement over the previous year — and a trip to the playoffs.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo pauses in the team dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' manager Torey Lovullo smiles in the dugout before a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Caitlin O'Hara)
