SEPANG — Max Verstappen and Red Bull avoided their first winless season since 2015 with victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix staged in Malaysia, delivering the team's first win of the 2026 season a week after Verstappen questioned their execution.
During the Dutch media session in Baku, Verstappen said Red Bull had “done a great job messing up” its best chance to win a race in 2026. A day later he came extremely close, and a week on at Sepang they finally converted, with Red Bull's progress linked to its final upgrade package of the year.
The breakthrough follows Verstappen's pole at Sepang for the Bahrain Grand Prix and reflects gains from that last major development step, which has not been limited to a single circuit and has put Red Bull back in contention after a difficult campaign.