Max Verstappen found a humorous side to the lengthy delay before the restart of the Malaysia Grand Prix, joking that Red Bull’s partnership with Oracle meant his team had a faster internet connection than some of its Formula 1 rivals.
The Dutch world champion made the remark during the post-race press conference after being asked about the unusual situation that followed the chaotic pre-race formation lap at Sepang. What began as a question about whether such a lengthy technical delay was appropriate for a championship regarded as the pinnacle of motorsport quickly turned into an unexpected piece of publicity for Red Bull’s technology partner.
Max Verstappen jokes about Malaysia GP software delay
Spontaneous endorsements can often be more effective for a brand than carefully planned advertising. From that perspective, American technology company Oracle could hardly have asked for a better ambassador than Max Verstappen on this occasion.
During the post-race press conference in Malaysia, a journalist referred to the confusion surrounding the formation lap and the subsequent wait of around an hour while teams downloaded updated software supplied by the FIA to allow their power units to operate.
The question was whether such a lengthy wait could be considered normal in a championship that describes itself as the pinnacle of motorsport.
Max Verstappen immediately took the opportunity to praise Red Bull’s sponsor while also directing a playful dig towards the competition.
“Yeah, you know, we work with Oracle, so we have a really fast connection,” Max Verstappen joked. “We were there and waited for about half an hour. So maybe it was some others who had a slightly slower connection.”
Oracle receives an unexpected Red Bull advertisement
The comment produced an unusually natural promotional moment for Oracle, whose technology partnership with Red Bull became the punchline to Max Verstappen’s response rather than the subject of a prepared marketing message.
The remark came after an extraordinary pre-race sequence at Sepang in which the start procedure was disrupted and teams faced a prolonged wait before racing could resume. The event formed part of an already unusual 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix weekend at Sepang.
For Max Verstappen, however, the technical complications also created the opportunity for a light-hearted moment after the race. Red Bull may have spent roughly half an hour waiting, but the Dutch driver was happy to suggest that some of the team’s rivals had needed considerably longer.
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