Max Verstappen described his triumph at the Malaysian Grand Prix as a deeply moving and unforgettable experience, especially after Red Bull secured its inaugural win of the 2026 season. The Dutch driver was in flawless form, expertly handling the unpredictable weather and the numerous Safety Car restarts to outpace championship frontrunner Kimi Antonelli. This victory continued Verstappen’s impressive streak of winning at least one race each year since he joined Red Bull in 2016.
Just two months earlier, Verstappen’s future had been a hot topic, but he ultimately renewed his contract with Red Bull during the summer break, committing to remain with the team until at least the end of 2030. The Malaysian race underscored why the champion trusts the Milton Keynes outfit so completely.
After falling just two points short of a fifth world title last season, it became evident that Verstappen would not be a realistic contender for the championship this year – the first time he has faced that situation since 2020. Red Bull’s partnership with Ford produced a brand‑new power unit, yet the chassis proved to be the car’s Achilles’ heel at the start of the campaign.
In fact, the FIA’s first ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities) assessment praised the Red Bull‑Ford engine as the benchmark on the grid, while the RB22’s handling remained erratic. Verstappen is renowned for extracting maximum performance from any machine, but even he admitted he struggled to find confidence in the RB22’s unpredictable behavior, managing only a single podium in the opening seven rounds. The team responded by introducing a substantial upgrade package at the Austrian Grand Prix in June.
The package shed excess weight and re‑shaped the aerodynamics, instantly improving the car’s balance. The impact was immediate. In Austria, Verstappen finished a close second, just under two seconds behind race‑winner George Russell. A week later at Silverstone, he was on course for third place before a rear‑wing failure forced his retirement.
Nonetheless, he collected two more podiums before the mid‑season break, in Belgium and Hungary. A rare error at his home event in Zandvoort saw him crash out on the opening lap, yet he rebounded with podium finishes at Monza and the newly added Madrid race. Further upgrades arrived for the Baku sprint, where Verstappen was a mere two‑tenths of a second behind Russell in what became the closest finish in Formula 1 since 2002.
Aside from the incidents at the British and Dutch rounds, Verstappen has stood on the podium in the remaining seven races since the Austrian upgrades, highlighting the upward trajectory of the Red Bull package. "We had a very complicated and tough start to the year with all sorts of problems and just not being competitive enough," Verstappen reflected. "But throughout the year, the team has been working very hard to understand our issues and bring good performance upgrades to the car and make it more driveable.
Step by step, we've been getting closer and closer, and Sunday – especially this whole weekend – we've been really in good form, so it's amazing." He added, "Very enjoyable to win here and also have our first victory for our own engine. It's an incredible project with a lot of partners and a lot of people that are dedicated to be where we are now, so a fantastic feeling." Much of the credit goes to former team principal Christian Horner, whose leadership helped the Red Bull‑Ford powertrain exceed expectations in its debut season as an engine supplier. However, Horner’s final years were marked by internal turbulence following the death of co‑founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022. Key personnel—including legendary designer Adrian Newey, chief engineering officer Rob Marshall, sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, advisor Helmut Marko, and eventually Horner himself—departed, prompting speculation about Verstappen’s future with the team in 2024 and 2025, especially after a public dispute between his father Jos Verstappen and Horner.
In July 2025, Laurent Mekies took over as team principal, and the relationship between Verstappen and the new leadership appears markedly smoother. Max has publicly praised Mekies’s engineering background and the collaborative atmosphere that now exists in Milton Keynes. A year after Mekies’s appointment, Red Bull uncovered a surge of performance that enabled Verstappen to claim eight consecutive podiums, including four victories, propelling Lando Norris into a surprising title challenge. While it is difficult to isolate Mekies’s exact contribution, the rapid improvement undeniably coincides with his stewardship.
After the Malaysian win, Mekies said, "The credit goes to all the people involved who have been working incredibly hard on this project over the past five years. Everyone in Milton Keynes and at the track deserves this moment and should celebrate it as an important step towards many more victories in the future.
This result confirms the progress we have been making in recent months. We were already close several times, and today we converted that pace. The team has been working tirelessly to improve our package, and weekends like this are the reward for that effort." It is still premature to declare that Verstappen’s long‑term commitment to Red Bull is the definitive right choice; only the results of the 2027 season will provide a definitive answer. Nonetheless, the synergy between Mekies, technical director Pierre Wache, and chief performance engineer Ben Waterhouse—both long‑time Red Bull veterans—appears to be a cornerstone of the team’s resurgence.
"Everyone is contributing a lot and always trying to find performance, upgrades and push the team forward," Verstappen told Sky Sports F1. "In Baku we were quick in the corners but not on the straights compared to Mercedes. In Malaysia, we were decent in the corners and quick on the straights.
Sometimes we just need to understand the whole package – why we are quick, why we were not so quick and take it step by step." Red Bull has a storied reputation for developing competitive cars, and this season they seem to be re‑establishing that legacy. With seven races still to run, there is little reason to doubt that Verstappen will add to his tally of 72 career victories.
The Malaysian Grand Prix served as a vivid reminder that the Red Bull‑Verstappen partnership remains a formidable force—one that may have been momentarily dormant but is now unmistakably awake again. The championship now moves to Singapore for the final Sprint weekend of the year, with live coverage beginning on Friday via Sky Sports F1. Viewers can stream the action through NOW, with no long‑term contract and the option to cancel at any time.