Oracle Red Bull Racing go into the 2026 Bahrain-Malaysia Grand Prix at Sepang hoping to build on a double podium in Baku.
It is the first time Formula One has raced at the Malaysian circuit since 2017, when Max Verstappen won the race the day after his 20th birthday. That was his second Grand Prix victory.
‘A lot of good memories’
“It was a great result and very strong race for the Team in Baku. We had good pace and saw a lot of improvements, so we are hoping to continue this positive performance into this week too,” Verstappen said.
“Malaysia is an exciting track to drive and it is good to be back and have it on the calendar again. Of course, the last time we raced here was in 2017, when I won my second Grand Prix, so there are a lot of good memories and we can now see how these generation of cars will fare on this track.”
He expects a mix of high-speed straights and sharp hairpins, and unpredictable weather.
First Sepang race for Hadjar
Isack Hadjar came back from missing three races to score his second podium with the team in Baku. Sepang will be new to him.
“Sepang looks like a really cool circuit, but it’s my first time racing there, so the focus is just to build up through the weekend and take it step by step like we did in Baku,” he said. “The upgrades worked well there, which was positive, but Sepang has a different track layout, so we’ll have to see where we stand.”
Red Bull’s record at Sepang
Red Bull won the last two Formula One races held at Sepang, through Daniel Ricciardo in 2016 and Verstappen in 2017. In 2017 Verstappen took the lead from Lewis Hamilton on lap four, while Ricciardo finished third after holding off Sebastian Vettel.
The team have finished one-two at Sepang three times: Vettel and Mark Webber in 2010 and 2013, and Ricciardo and Verstappen in 2016.
The Baku result was the first time two Oracle Red Bull Racing drivers had stood on the podium together since Shanghai 2024. Verstappen finished 0.196 seconds from victory there, the closest race-winning margin since Rubens Barrichello beat Michael Schumacher by 0.011 seconds at the 2002 US Grand Prix.
Both drivers had birthdays this week: Hadjar on September 28 and Verstappen on September 30.
Audi are also targeting points at Sepang.
