Max Verstappen Finally Wins Again — Sepang Delivers the Wildest Race of F1 2026

Max Verstappen is finally a Formula 1 winner again.

After a difficult start to the 2026 season, the four-time world champion returned to the top step of the podium at Sepang, winning a chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia that had almost everything: torrential rain, a delayed start, changing tyre conditions, Safety Cars, comeback drives and late heartbreak.

For Verstappen, it was his first victory of 2026.

For Red Bull, it meant something even more significant.

It was the first Formula 1 victory for Red Bull Ford Powertrains.

Back to where Verstappen already knew how to win

There was something fitting about Verstappen ending his drought at Sepang.

Formula 1 had not raced at the Malaysian circuit since 2017, when a 20-year-old Verstappen won the final Malaysian Grand Prix before the venue disappeared from the calendar.

Nine years later, he returned to Sepang and won again.

This time, however, the circumstances were very different.

The event was officially the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, relocated to Sepang, and Sunday's weather quickly turned the race into one of the most unpredictable events of the season.

Heavy rain delayed the start, while difficult conditions during the initial formation lap forced the starting procedure to be suspended.

When racing finally began, the track remained slippery and teams faced an immediate strategic decision between intermediate and slick tyres.

Verstappen had started from pole, but pole position did not give him an easy afternoon.

Mercedes attacked immediately

Verstappen's start was poor.

Kimi Antonelli and George Russell both passed the Red Bull on the run to Turn 1, suddenly putting two Mercedes cars ahead of the polesitter.

For a moment, the race appeared to be moving away from Verstappen.

But Red Bull had made an important decision.

Verstappen was on intermediate tyres.

As conditions developed, that choice proved to be the right one.

He gradually recovered, passing the Mercedes cars and returning to the lead around a Safety Car period triggered by Valtteri Bottas' spin.

Once Verstappen was back in front, the race began to look much more familiar.

The Dutchman controlled his pace, managed the changing conditions and kept Antonelli behind him.

Even another late Safety Car could not take the victory away.

After 55 laps, Verstappen crossed the finish line 2.307 seconds ahead of Antonelli.

It was career victory number 72.

More importantly, it ended a frustrating winless opening to his 2026 campaign.

A historic first victory for Red Bull Ford

The result also represented a major milestone for Red Bull's new era.

After years of racing with Honda-derived power units, Red Bull entered 2026 with its own Red Bull Powertrains project in partnership with Ford.

The transition came with enormous expectations — and considerable risk.

Building a Formula 1 power unit while simultaneously adapting to the championship's new 2026 technical regulations was one of the most ambitious projects Red Bull had ever attempted.

Sepang provided the first major reward.

Verstappen's victory became the first Formula 1 win for a Red Bull Ford power unit.

It does not erase every question surrounding Red Bull's 2026 package.

But it proves that the new project can win.

Antonelli strengthens his championship position

Verstappen won the race, but Kimi Antonelli may have gained the most from the championship perspective.

The Mercedes driver finished second and secured another major result in what has become a remarkable season.

His biggest championship rival, however, suffered a disastrous finish.

George Russell had been running third and appeared set to limit the damage until his Mercedes stopped on the start-finish straight during the closing stages.

Russell was classified as a retirement.

Antonelli therefore left Malaysia with an even stronger position in the championship battle.

What could have been a relatively small points swing became one of the most painful moments of Russell's season.

Hamilton goes from 18th to the podium

Lewis Hamilton's race moved in the opposite direction.

Ferrari gambled on slick tyres at the start, a decision that proved costly in the wet conditions.

Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both fell dramatically through the field, with Hamilton dropping as low as 18th.

But as the circuit dried, Ferrari came alive.

Hamilton began working his way through the field and eventually completed a remarkable recovery to finish third.

Leclerc followed him home in fourth.

For Ferrari, a race that initially looked like a strategic disaster somehow ended with both cars inside the top four.

Hamilton finished only 4.919 seconds behind Verstappen despite spending part of the race near the back of the field.

Sepang reminded Formula 1 what it had been missing

There was another winner on Sunday: Sepang itself.

The Malaysian circuit had been absent from Formula 1 since 2017, but its return immediately produced one of the most memorable races of the 2026 season.

The combination of long straights, fast corners, heavy braking zones and unpredictable tropical weather has always made Sepang different from many modern Formula 1 venues.

Nine years away did little to change that.

And somehow, when Formula 1 finally returned, the same driver who won the last race here was waiting to win again.

In 2017, Max Verstappen left Sepang as a 20-year-old rising star.

In 2026, he returned as a four-time world champion carrying a completely new Red Bull power-unit project through its difficult first season.

The rain came.

The race descended into chaos.

And Verstappen won anyway.

Some things at Sepang apparently never change.

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