Max Verstappen arrived at Sepang with pole position. He left with something Red Bull had been waiting for all season: a victory that demanded far more than defending the first corner.
The Dutchman won the rain-disrupted Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday, October 4, finishing ahead of Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. Heavy rain delayed the start, a separate interruption extended the wait, and changing conditions repeatedly reshaped the contest. Verstappen nevertheless delivered his first victory of 2026.
According to Formula 1’s official classification, he completed 55 laps in 1:47:14.808, beating Antonelli by 2.307 seconds. Hamilton finished 4.919 seconds behind. For Red Bull, the result also marked the first Grand Prix victory for its Red Bull Ford Powertrains project.
Pole was the opening statement
Verstappen had already established the weekend’s benchmark on Saturday. His qualifying lap of 1:35.130 secured pole, 0.298 seconds ahead of Hamilton. It was his first pole of the season, and an important indication that Red Bull could again produce decisive performance when the lap mattered most.
But qualifying superiority and race control are different currencies. Pole offered a clear view of the road; it could not guarantee grip, protect against a changing weather window or determine which tyre would suit the circuit several laps later.
That distinction became central to Sunday. Sepang did not simply reward the quickest Saturday lap. It required Verstappen and his team to recover the advantage after circumstances took it away.
Heavy rain changed the timetable
The scheduled 3 p.m. local start was postponed as a thunderstorm soaked the circuit. The initial delay lasted 40 minutes. When the field finally attempted its formation procedure, another problem emerged: several cars experienced throttle or power-delivery difficulties at low speed, and the starting procedure was suspended.
A further 53-minute interruption followed before the next attempt was scheduled for 4:33 p.m. The distinction matters. Heavy rain caused the first delay; the entire extended wait should not be attributed to weather alone.
By the time racing began, the strategic question had become uncomfortable. Was the remaining moisture enough to justify intermediates, or was the drying surface already inviting slick tyres? Different teams reached different answers, turning the opening phase into a test of timing as much as outright speed.
Verstappen had to win back the lead
The FIA’s race report records Verstappen starting on intermediates, as did Antonelli and George Russell, while Ferrari and McLaren chose slicks. Both Mercedes drivers passed the pole-sitter at the start, leaving him third.
Verstappen’s recovery began with an outside move on Russell at Turn 4 on lap six. A subsequent Safety Car, triggered by Valtteri Bottas spinning at Turn 13, opened the next strategic window. Red Bull switched Verstappen to soft tyres; Mercedes selected mediums.
At the restart, Verstappen went around the outside of Antonelli at Turn 1 to reclaim first place. The sequence captured the afternoon’s defining quality: his victory was constructed through recovery, tyre choice and execution, rather than inherited from his grid position.
In editorial terms, the soft-versus-medium split was the revealing decision. Once the track began to support slicks, the teams were no longer answering yesterday’s question about rain. They were deciding how aggressively to exploit the next phase. Red Bull’s choice and Verstappen’s restart combined to turn that opportunity into track position.
A breakthrough, not a blank cheque
A later interruption following Alex Albon’s retirement compressed the field again. Verstappen still held off Antonelli at the final restart, while Hamilton completed the podium ahead of Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.
The final margin should therefore be read with context. A late Safety Car can narrow a gap without proving that two cars possessed identical pace throughout the afternoon. Equally, one successful weekend cannot establish that Red Bull has solved every weakness across every circuit.
What Sepang does establish is more concrete. Red Bull had the speed to take pole, the flexibility to respond to a changing surface and a driver capable of reclaiming the lead and defending it through successive restarts. In Formula 1’s post-race account, Verstappen emphasized his pride in the team’s progress and the significance of winning with its new power-unit project.
The circuit’s previous Formula 1 race, in 2017, had also ended with Verstappen victorious. His return to the top step in Malaysia carried a different meaning: not the continuation of an uninterrupted march, but a breakthrough earned in an afternoon that refused to stay predictable.
At rain-soaked Sepang, pole announced Red Bull’s potential. Sunday’s recovery gave it substance.
