Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia from pole position at the Sepang International Circuit on Sunday, giving Red Bull their first win of the 2026 season and the first for Red Bull Ford Powertrains in its debut year as an engine maker.
Team-mate Isack Hadjar recovered from eighth on the grid to finish fifth.
Rain, a split grid and two Safety Cars
A monsoon shower hit the circuit as the cars went to the grid and delayed the start. About half the field started on intermediates and the rest on slicks.
The race had two Safety Car periods. A late one, for Alex Albon’s retirement, set up a final restart in which George Russell and Lando Norris both ran into trouble.
“What an incredible result,” Verstappen said. “The race was not made easy for us with all the decisions we had to make and then the Safety Car at the end on top of everything. But we made all the right calls with the tyres, kept our cool, and it all paid off.”
“To win a race in the first year of being a new power unit manufacturer is honestly just incredible and something everyone should be really proud of,” he added. “Although it was hard at times, and we sometimes didn’t believe we could get this win, we kept pushing.”
Hadjar frustrated with fifth
Hadjar said he lost power for two laps after the final restart. “If this hadn’t have happened, I am sure I would have been on the podium,” he said. “I can’t wait to look at the data and see what happened, then regroup and go again in Singapore.”
Red Bull’s team principal called it “another milestone moment” for the team, after Verstappen took the team’s first pole of the season on Saturday. “In often chaotic circumstances, he remained in control throughout the race, managed the conditions brilliantly, showed the strongest pace,” he said.
Audi miss out on the final lap
Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg was running ninth late on but was passed by Norris and Arvid Lindblad and finished 11th. Gabriel Bortoleto finished 18th after contact with Carlos Sainz at the first restart damaged his car and earned him a 10-second penalty.
“It’s disappointing to miss out on the points on the final lap for the second race running,” said Audi Racing Director Allan McNish.
The teams go straight to Singapore next weekend for the last race of the Asian triple-header.
