Max Verstappen wins first Grand Prix since 2025

Max Verstappen secured his first Formula 1 victory since December 2025 after dominating an incident-packed Grand Prix held in Malaysia.

Driving the news: The Red Bull Racing driver controlled both qualifying and the race on Sunday, managing low track grip levels at Sepang.

Context: Red Bull introduced their own power units for the 2026 season under new regulations, leading to early technical failures and an initial speed deficit against Mercedes.

The turning point:

• Team boss Laurent Mekies brought substantial upgrades to Baku, where Verstappen finished just 0.19 seconds behind George Russell.
• Teammate Isack Hadjar also performed well in Malaysia, while Verstappen moved past Antonelli.
• Mercedes introduced seven new upgrades in Malaysia but failed to gain speed.

State of play: Driver Richard Verschoor noted upcoming circuits in Mexico and Brazil suit Verstappen well, though analyst Jeroen Bleekemolen warned that McLaren could quickly recover from their difficult Malaysian weekend.

Source: 1