Key Highlights: Max Verstappen secured his first victory of the 2026 season with a commanding performance at Sepang. The Dutch driver dominated Saturday’s qualifying sessions, topping every stage and setting two laps capable of taking pole position. Verstappen’s overwhelming race-weekend pace left key front-running rivals anticipating a runaway win and raised questions regarding Red Bull’s ...
Key Highlights: A software glitch and formation lap stalls at Sepang delayed the race start by more than 90 minutes. Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord highlighted the extreme difficulty of current machinery, describing the cars and rules as “fiendishly complex.” Despite Mercedes leading the constructors’ standings under the 2026 regulations, Lord advocates for Formula ...
Key Highlights: Max Verstappen secured his 72nd Formula 1 career victory at the Sepang International Circuit, halting Red Bull Racing’s winless start to the season. The victory marks the first-ever win for Red Bull’s in-house power unit, the DM01, developed in collaboration with technical and commercial partner Ford. Significant chassis developments, culminating in Red Bull’s ...
Key Highlights: Max Verstappen claimed his 72nd career victory, marking a historic first-ever Formula 1 win for the Red Bull Ford Powertrains project at Sepang. Mercedes and McLaren struggled with car performance and reliability issues, while Lewis Hamilton pulled off a resilient comeback drive to the podium. Racing Bulls strengthened their midfield foothold with Liam ...
Key Highlights Isack Hadjar endured a frustrating race in Malaysia, slipping from a podium position to fifth place following late battery deployment and chassis grip issues. Despite Red Bull securing its first victory of the season with Max Verstappen, Hadjar was an average of 0.881 seconds per lap slower than his teammate under green-flag running. ...
Key Highlights: The Formula 1 Grand Prix in Malaysia was halted under red-flag conditions during the formation laps. A sudden tropical thunderstorm resulted in a planned safety car start ahead of an intended standing start. Multiple competitors encountered critical power unit gremlins ahead of Formula 1’s inaugural wet session under the 2026 regulations. Severe Weather ...
Key Highlights: Formula 1 has completed 16 rounds of the 2026 season without a single wet-weather race or wet track session under the new technical regulations. Following driver safety concernsāincluding Isack Hadjar calling wet running “dangerous”āthe FIA introduced rule changes, while Pierre Gasly highlighted Sepang as the ideal circuit for wet conditions. Pirelli chief engineer ...
Key Highlights: Max Verstappen clinched his first pole position of 2026 at the Sepang International Circuit, signaling major progress for Red Bull Racing after earlier car degradation woes. Verstappen attributes the turnaround to setup refinements, effective Baku upgrades led by Pierre WachƩ, and the punishing Malaysian heat negatively impacting Mercedes. Despite the top qualifying spot, ...
Key Highlights: Lewis Hamilton secured a front-row start in P2 alongside polesitter Max Verstappen after Ferrari resolved balance issues right before Qualifying at Sepang. Charles Leclerc qualified in fifth position but is set to inherit fourth place on the grid following an engine penalty handed to Isack Hadjar. Severe heat and tyre degradation remain the ...
Key Highlights: Formula 1 has returned to Sepang International Circuit for the first time in nine years. Local supporters from ‘Team GR63, Malaysia’ presented Mercedes driver George Russell with a massive handmade scrapbook filled with fan messages, drawings, and photos. The emotional gesture gave Russell a morale boost amid Mercedes’ struggles with tyre degradation and ...
Key Highlights: Friday practice ran 4.5 seconds off projected lap times due to low grip on the track surface, prompting teams to adapt run plans around severe tyre degradation. Pirelli reported massive degradation of two to three tenths of a second per lap, triggering a vicious cycle of sliding and thermal degradation on both the ...
Key Highlights McLaren struggled for grip during FP1 at the Malaysian round, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris finishing 11th and 12th. Norris improved to third in FP2, while Piastri recorded the sixth-fastest time as McLaren recovered ground. Oscar Piastri believes McLaren may be a ātiny step behindā Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari ahead of ...