The Latest: Brazilians vote in presidential election dominated by Lula and Bolsonaro

Brazilians are voting Sunday in a pivotal presidential election dominated by incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his ideological opposite, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro.

Preelection polls suggested both have a chance of winning outright, but if neither gets a majority of the vote, a runoff will be held on Oct. 25.

Nearly 159 million Brazilians are eligible to vote in Latin America’s largest economy. Bolsonaro is an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump and the son of ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro, whom Lula defeated four years ago.

Here's the latest:

Brazil’s incumbent president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, voted after 9 a.m. in a school in Sao Bernardo do Campo, outside Sao Paulo.

The 80-year-old Lula said that he was confident that he could get his first outright victory in seven runs for the presidency. He also urged Brazilians above age 70, who aren’t legally required to vote, to show up and cast their ballots.

Wearing a hat to protect his head after a skin cancer diagnosis, Lula told journalists that he needs “to do double what we have done” if reelected and also said that “Brazil will not go forward by making arms sales easier,” in reference to a long-standing pledge of his main opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro.

Rosane Wink, 67, a retired engineer with German origins who voted in the same school as Flávio Bolsonaro, is a lifelong conservative voter who supports the former president’s son and his promise to classify criminal groups as terrorist organizations.

“It’s a kind of terrorism that they’re doing with us,” said Wink, who was wearing a T-shirt with Brazil’s national colors.

Last month, a robber held a gun to her stomach and then bit her hand and removed her wedding ring, she said.

“We’re not going to succeed in putting an end to crime, but we have to find a way to diminish it.”

Brazil's patron saint is Our Lady of Aparecida.

A comment on Jesus by Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro recently went viral, triggering fears among many Catholics that he might intend to remove the patron saint status of Our Lady of Aparecida — a claim Bolsonaro has denied.

In an Aug. 23 video, Bolsonaro said that he would “declare that Brazil belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ.” Some Catholics interpreted that as meaning that the presidential candidate would remove Our Lady of Aparecida as Brazil’s patron saint.

Our Lady of Aparecida is a much-beloved figure among Brazilians. The accusation tapped into Catholics’ fears over losing ground to Evangelicals and could weaken the presidential bid of Bolsonaro, who is Evangelical.

Bolsonaro has no authority to name or remove patron saints. That’s entirely up to the Vatican.

Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro has voted in his home state of Rio de Janeiro.

“Brazil needs change, Brazil can’t stand so much suffering,” said Bolsonaro, who arrived at around 8:10 a.m. local time to vote in a school.

He was dressed in a light yellow shirt featuring a “22” sticker, corresponding to the number that Brazilians must punch in to electronic voting machines if voting for him.

“I am more than prepared to preside this country to give back to Brazilians the right to dream,” he told journalists.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government sees a series of recent U.S. measures — including tariffs and the decision to classify Brazil’s biggest drug-trafficking groups as foreign terrorist organizations — as attempts to tip the scale in Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro’s favor, an accusation that the Trump administration has denied.

A victory by Bolsonaro would mean Brazil would join Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Peru in electing Trump-friendly governments in recent years.

Lula has made Brazil’s sovereignty a major campaign issue. In the days before the election, his team launched a Portuguese version of the Bad Bunny song, “Lo que le paso a Hawaii,” that uses the U.S. colonization of Hawaii as a cautionary tale.

Brazilian voters prepare number-heavy lists to remember their candidates’ numbers and at the ballot box, punch in the corresponding digits. Brazilian authorities adopted electronic voting machines in the 1990s to tackle longstanding fraud.

In earlier elections, ballot boxes were stuffed or stolen, and individual votes were routinely falsified, according to Brazil’s electoral authority. Now, results are reported mere hours after polls close.

In the lead-up to the 2022 vote, Jair Bolsonaro repeatedly cast unfounded doubts on Brazil’s electronic voting system. No significant fraud has ever been detected.

Alongside regional heavyweights like U.S. President Donald Trump and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, 80-year-old Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stands among the oldest leaders in the Americas.

If Lula achieves an outright victory against 45-year-old Flávio Bolsonaro, he will cement a historic milestone, becoming the oldest man ever elected to lead the South American nation.

He says he wants to live to be 120. He tried to ease concerns by posting workout videos to attempt to convince voters that age is just a number.

Voting has started in Brazil's high-stakes presidential election, pitting the two main candidates, incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his ideological opposite, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, against each other.

Almost 159 million Brazilians are eligible to vote in this tense political showdown.

Brazilians will also elect 27 state governors, members of state legislatures, all 513 federal members of the lower house of congress and 54 of the country’s 81 senators in Sunday’s vote.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, displays a Brazilian flag after voting in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro accompanies his wife Fernanda Bolsonaro to vote during general elections in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026.(AP Photo/Lucas Landau)

Opposition presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro waves to supporters during a campaign rally a day ahead of the country's general election, in Campo Grande, Rio de Janeiro state, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, waves a Brazilian and Sao Paulo state flags during a campaign rally a day ahead of the country's general election in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Supporters of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, display a large-headed effigy of presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro with a message in Portuguese that reads "Traitor of Brazil," during a campaign event at central bus station in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

A supporter of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, holds a sign that reads "Lula, cleanse your soul, Brazil" during a campaign event at central bus station in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

SEPANG, Malaysia (AP) — 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 and American auto giant Ford. The last time a car with a Ford-branded engine won an F1 race was in 2003 with the Jordan team.

The first wet-weather race for F1 in 2026 started more than 90 minutes later than planned. The start was first delayed 40 minutes for heavy rain, then suspended again when cars had apparent software problems on the formation lap.

When it finally did get under way, Verstappen was slow off the line and lost places to Antonelli and Russell. He chased down Russell and then got past Antonelli in a side-by-side fight after a safety-car restart.

After Verstappen took the win, he had another small delay before hearing his anthem. Crowd chants filled an awkward silence as Verstappen waited on the top step of the podium before the Dutch anthem finally began.

The race was relocated because of the Iran war, becoming F1's first event at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia since 2017.

Hamilton's third place capped a remarkable recovery for the seven-time champion and ends a run of five races without a podium finish for the Italian team.

It seemed almost impossible early in the race as Hamilton, and his teammate Charles Leclerc, were near the back of the pack. Ferrari had gambled on sending them to the start on dry-weather tires as the track began to dry after rain, causing Hamilton to drop from second to near the back.

Leclerc also overtook Hadjar late on to follow Hamilton with fourth place, as Hadjar ended up fifth. Oscar Piastri was sixth for McLaren after a punchy late battle with Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls, who was seventh after racing near the front at the start.

Fernando Alonso was eighth in Aston Martin's best result of the season, Lando Norris ninth after going off-track and losing places, with Lawson's teammate Arvid Lindblad 10th.

See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands celebrates on the podium flanked by second place Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy, left and third place Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain after winning the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands celebrates on the podium after winning the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands tries to overtake Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car during the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (Annice Lyn/Pool via AP )

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car ahead of Mercedes drivers George Russell of Britain during the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar of France steers his car during the formation lap prior to the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Spectators with umbrella and rain covers gather on a hillside to watch the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the qualifying session for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)