Max Verstappen finally has his first victory of 2026.
The Red Bull driver converted pole position into victory in Sunday’s Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, mastering a rain-delayed race at Sepang to finish ahead of championship leader Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
The official result records Verstappen winning the 55-lap race in 1:47:14.808, with Antonelli 2.307 seconds behind and Hamilton another 2.612 seconds back in third. Charles Leclerc finished fourth, while Isack Hadjar completed the top five.
The win ended a long wait for both Verstappen and Red Bull.
Formula 1 confirmed it was their first victory of the 2026 season, coming a day after Verstappen had also secured Red Bull’s first pole of the campaign.
But nothing about Sunday was straightforward.
Heavy rain delayed the scheduled start before the opening procedure was suspended when several cars encountered problems during the formation laps. When racing eventually began in mixed conditions, Verstappen lost the lead to the Mercedes pair of Antonelli and George Russell.
That could have buried his afternoon.
Instead, it became the point from which Red Bull rebuilt the race.
A Safety Car triggered by Valtteri Bottas spinning created the window for drivers on intermediates to move onto slick tyres. Verstappen remained in the fight, then attacked Antonelli after the restart and reclaimed the lead around the outside through the opening sequence of corners.
From there, he began to stretch the field.
Antonelli eventually recovered second place from Russell, but Verstappen had already established control at the front and managed the interruptions that followed to secure the breakthrough Red Bull had been chasing all season.
The result also strengthened Antonelli’s position in the championship battle.
The Mercedes driver was already set to extend his advantage over Russell before Russell retired late, stopping on the start-finish straight and losing the chance to limit the damage.
Hamilton’s third place completed a significant recovery for Ferrari.
Both Hamilton and Leclerc had gambled on slick tyres at the eventual race start and dropped down the order in the difficult conditions, but fought back to finish third and fourth respectively.
For Verstappen, though, Sepang delivered the result that had been missing.
The official Formula 1 weekend was unusually titled the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia after Formula 1 and the FIA confirmed that Sepang would host Bahrain’s 2026 race.
That unusual arrangement gave Formula 1 a dramatic return to Sepang — and Verstappen made himself the central figure.
His championship position is still shaped by the advantage Antonelli has accumulated across the season, but Sunday altered the momentum around Red Bull.
Pole on Saturday. Victory on Sunday.
For the first time in 2026, Verstappen has converted a weekend into a full statement.
