F1 title challenger hit with major penalty early in Bahrain Grand Prix

Lando Norris has been hit with an early penalty at the Bahrain Grand Prix, after a brilliant start which saw him leap from sixth to third.

Max Verstappen was heard on team radio complaining that the Brit started out of his grid box, however, having kept a close eye on his title rival ahead of him.

Norris' McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri managed to maintain his lead from pole position, but not without contact with George Russell who locked up into Turn 1 as he made it into second place.

Norris enjoyed a spectacular start on the first lap where he rocketed his McLaren into third place from sixth, and crucially got ahead of Charles Leclerc.

Can Norris recover from Bahrain GP penalty?

Despite an impressive start, Norris was noted for a false start and was slammed with a five-second time penalty.

Leclerc however, was on the medium compound tyres whilst his McLaren and Mercedes rivals were on the softs, explaining why they managed to get a jump on the Ferrari during the early stages.

Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen spent the opening laps of the Bahrain GP fighting for eighth position, as the two rivals once again found themselves in close proximity.

The seven-time world champion started the race on the medium tyres compared to Verstappen on the softs, and played the long game during the opening stages as he hoped the Dutchman's tyres would start to drop-off.

Before they could battle for position, Verstappen made his pit stop where he tumbled down the order as he started his stint on the hard tyres.

Norris also pitted early with the medium tyres and served his penalty, which brought him out into fourteenth place.

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