Bahrain winner Max Verstappen: A dreadful start, the engine felt like it had died

Just a few days ago, four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen had stated: “My goal for the remaining races of 2026 is to win at least one more race. We’d reckoned we had a good chance in Baku, but then we just narrowly missed out against George Russell. I hope we get another opportunity like that.”

There’s no question of getting another chance. Red Bull Racing-Ford were right on the money with Max Verstappen as early as Friday.

On Saturday, he first secured his 49th pole position (his first since Abu Dhabi 2025, the first for Ford since Rubens Barrichello in the Stewart-Ford at Magny-Cours in 1999!), and on Sunday the Dutchman was, without a doubt, the fastest man on the track – his 72nd Grand Prix victory, his first this season (and the first since the 2025 World Championship finale in Abu Dhabi), his third at the Bahrain Grand Prix (following 2023 and 204) and his second at the Sepang International Circuit after 2017. This also marks his 135th podium finish.

Verstappen’s team, Red Bull Racing, is celebrating its 131st Grand Prix victory in the team’s history in Malaysia – the fifth at the Bahrain Grand Prix and the sixth in Malaysia. For Ford, it is the first Formula 1 victory since Giancarlo Fisichella won in Brazil in 2003 with the Jordan-Ford.

After 309 days without a Grand Prix victory, Verstappen said: “This is truly a special day for us. We had a very complicated and tough start to the year with all sorts of problems and simply weren’t competitive enough.”

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“But over the course of the year, the team has worked very hard to understand our problems and make the car more drivable. Step by step, we’ve got closer to victory, and we’ve been in good form all weekend.”

“Winning this race is amazing, because this Grand Prix was quite complicated. It wasn’t made easy for us in terms of all the decisions we had to make, and then there was the safety car at the end, but we kept our cool and made all the right decisions with the tyres.”

“It feels really good to win after such a complex Grand Prix and also to celebrate our first victory with our own engine. It’s an incredible project involving many partners and lots of people who’ve worked very long and very hard to get us to where we are now – it’s a fantastic feeling.”

It didn’t look like a win was on the cards at the start of the race. The two Mercedes simply flew past pole-sitter Max Verstappen. What was going through Max’s mind at that moment? Verstappen grins: “My start was dreadful. Let the clutch slip again – and no power! The engine practically cut out. But then you just have to adapt to the new situation and try not to overreact; you have to settle in and try to hold your position. I knew: the race is going to be a long one, a lot can still happen, and step by step I was able to make up the gap. Then I had a great battle with Kimi on the slicks. It was quite slippery in some corners, but that was fun.”

After the chequered flag came down, Jos Verstappen, Max’s dad, was very moved. Max elaborates a little: “We’ve all put a great deal into this. Everyone knows how close I am to my dad; we get on really well after all the years we’ve spent together working towards our goal in Formula 1. So he’s still there in the background. He doesn’t come to every race anymore, but when he’s there, we talk a lot about everything. And he knows everything, too.”

“The start of the season wasn’t much fun for him to watch either, just as it wasn’t much fun for me to drive an uncooperative car. But then to see how the team is making progress and never stops working hard, and then to achieve something like this here today – that’s amazing and moving for everyone.”

“The team spirit at Red Bull Racing is very good. We’re all on the same page and get on really well. I really enjoy working with this team, which is why everyone is so incredibly happy that we can finally celebrate a result like this.”