Formula 1’s return to Sepang delivered everything expected from a circuit that had been absent from the calendar for almost a decade. Rain, changing conditions, strategy gambles and plenty of overtaking created one of the most unpredictable races of the season, while the championship picture continued to shift with only seven Grands Prix remaining.
At the centre of it all was Max Verstappen. After a difficult start to the new era for Red Bull, the four-time World Champion finally returned to the top step of the podium, while some of his closest rivals left Malaysia with considerably more questions than answers.
The 4 times world champion had looked quick from the beginning of the weekend, but qualifying offered the first real indication that the Milton Keynes team might finally have a car capable of challenging Mercedes. The Dutchman took his 49th career pole position and his first of 2026, becoming the first driver this season to put a non-Mercedes-powered car at the front of the grid.
His advantage disappeared almost immediately on Sunday. Kimi Antonelli and George Russell made excellent starts and both passed the RB22, dropping him to third. This time, however, Red Bull had the pace to respond. The #3 in the grid fought his way back into the lead and eventually converted it into his first victory of the season.
The win carried plenty of historical significance. It was Verstappen’s 72nd victory with Red Bull, equalling Michael Schumacher’s total with Ferrari, and extended his streak to 11 consecutive seasons with at least one Grand Prix victory. Only Lewis Hamilton and Schumacher, with 15 seasons each, have managed longer runs.
Sepang also provided a fitting place to end the drought. When Formula 1 last raced in Malaysia in 2017, a 20-year-old Max Verstappen won what was only the second Grand Prix of his career.
For Red Bull, the result was equally important. The team produced its strongest weekend of the year and, for the first time this season, appeared to have the fastest car. Isack Hadjar was running third late in the race before a power issue left him unable to defend against the two Ferraris, eventually dropping him to fifth.
More significantly, Verstappen delivered Red Bull’s first victory with its own power unit, developed in conjunction with Ford. After a complicated beginning to the new regulations, that represents an important milestone for the project. Red Bull is now only 18 points behind McLaren in the fight for third in the Teams’ Championship.
Lewis Hamilton also left Sepang with reasons to celebrate. The Ferrari driver qualified on the front row alongside Verstappen, the first time the pair had shared it since Hungary in 2023.
Ferrari’s decision to start Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on slick tyres initially looked disastrous. With the track still too wet, both dropped towards the back of the field. The 7 times world champion resisted the temptation to switch back to intermediates, however, and as conditions improved, the gamble began to work. After being nearly a minute behind the pack at one stage, he recovered to claim his sixth podium of the season.
Further down the field, Fernando Alonso gave Aston Martin its most competitive weekend of 2026. The Spaniard qualified 12th, the team’s best starting position of the season, before finishing eighth. The result more than doubled Aston Martin’s points and moved the team to within five points of Williams. Lance Stroll also reached Q2 for the first time this year and finished 12th, his best result of the season.
Racing Bulls completed the group of teams leaving Malaysia with something to celebrate. Liam Lawson produced one of the best starts of his career, jumping from 11th and briefly fighting Verstappen for third before eventually finishing seventh. It was already his seventh top-seven finish of the season.
Arvid Lindblad added another point after recovering from the back of the grid following power unit penalties. His 10th-place finish means he has now scored in 10 of the last 11 Grand Prix weekends and, crucially, helped Racing Bulls extend their advantage over Alpine to 22 points in the fight for fifth in the Teams’ Championship. The young British has been performing since the start of the season, proving everyone he deserves to stay in the grid.
But it was not an amazing weekend for everyone…
For George Russell, Malaysia could hardly have come at a worse time. After dominating the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend and finally feeling comfortable again with his Mercedes, Russell arrived at Sepang hoping to build momentum. Instead, he was beaten by championship leader Kimi Antonelli in qualifying and once again found himself behind his team mate during the race.
Third place would at least have given him a fourth podium in five events, but a power unit problem brought his afternoon to an early end. It was the Briton´s third retirement of the season, while Antonelli finished second and extended his championship advantage to 84 points with seven Grands Prix remaining.
Russell is still mathematically in contention, but the championship is increasingly moving out of his reach.
McLaren also endured another difficult weekend. Team Principal Andrea Stella admitted that the team had only the fourth-fastest car at Sepang, an especially concerning assessment after another disappointing performance in Azerbaijan despite the introduction of an upgrade package.
Oscar Piastri managed to limit the damage by finishing sixth, while Lando Norris was on course to finish close behind until Russell’s retirement bunched up the field. Norris was caught out, went off track and eventually finished ninth.
One difficult weekend can be an anomaly. Two consecutive weekends struggling for pace are harder to dismiss, particularly with Red Bull now only 18 points behind in the Teams’ Championship. If Singapore does not come with a better result, Woking might start going further down in the Constructors´Championship table.
Williams, meanwhile, saw a promising race disappear after making what initially appeared to be the right strategic decision. Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon both started on intermediates and climbed into sixth and seventh, putting the team in position for a strong double-points finish.
Instead, Albon lost ground when Williams double-stacked its cars before eventually retiring with a gearbox problem. Sainz remained in the top 10 until contact with Gabriel Bortoleto dropped him towards the back of the field. The Audi driver received a 10-second penalty, but the damage to Sainz’s race had already been done.
Alpine suffered a similarly frustrating afternoon. Pierre Gasly reached Q3 for the second consecutive weekend, once again showing that the team had enough pace to compete with Racing Bulls, while Franco Colapinto qualified 15th before serving grid penalties.
Their decision to start on slick tyres proved costly. Gasly fell through the field and neither Alpine managed to recover into the points. With both Racing Bulls scoring, the gap between the two teams has now grown to 22 points.
Audi’s weekend was perhaps more complicated to judge. The major upgrade package introduced in Baku appears to have delivered a genuine improvement, with Gabriel Bortoleto reaching the top 10 in qualifying for the fifth time this season and extending his head-to-head advantage over Nico Hulkenberg to 9-7.
But once again, the pace did not translate into points.
Bortoleto’s contact with Sainz earned him a penalty and ended his chances of scoring, while Hulkenberg recovered from 17th after a second consecutive Q1 elimination only to finish 11th.
That position has become painfully familiar for Audi. The team has now finished 11th nine times this season – repeatedly close enough to the points to demonstrate progress, but still one position away from actually collecting them.
Sepang ultimately produced two very different stories. For Verstappen and Red Bull, it offered the strongest evidence yet that their difficult start to 2026 may finally be behind them. For Russell, McLaren and several teams in the midfield, it was another reminder of how quickly the picture can change.
With seven races remaining, Antonelli’s championship advantage is becoming increasingly difficult to challenge. But behind him, the battles are getting considerably closer – and if Red Bull’s performance in Malaysia is anything to go by, Verstappen may once again have the machinery to make himself part of the conversation.
See you in Marina Bay!
