Max Verstappen’s reaction after winning at Sepang offered an important indication of his attachment to Red Bull, according to Formula Medicine mental coach Riccardo Ceccarelli. The victory ended Verstappen’s 2026 drought, preserved his record of winning at least one Grand Prix in every season since joining Red Bull and delivered the first Formula 1 success for the new Milton Keynes power unit project.
Yet the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia was also defined by an extraordinary strategic dilemma before the start. Heavy rain, a lengthy delay and uncertainty over how quickly the circuit would dry left teams divided between Intermediate tyres and slicks, producing radically different approaches among the leading contenders.
Why Ferrari and McLaren gambled on slick tyres at Sepang
Sepang and torrential rain have always gone together. Malaysian showers are typically monsoon-like: extremely intense but often relatively short-lived. This time, the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix was delayed and, beyond the software problem that contributed to the interruption, drivers and teams then faced a difficult tyre decision.
Riccardo Ceccarelli explained why there was so much uncertainty once racing could finally begin.
“In reality, so much time had passed since they stopped the start because of the software problems that, by the time they gave the all-clear, well over an hour had gone by. It was reasonable to suspect that the track would dry within a few laps and therefore to gamble on slick tyres.”
“Mercedes and Red Bull went with Intermediates, Ferrari and McLaren with slicks. Usually it is the second-tier teams that take the risk, because they potentially have more to gain from a crazy race, so it was strange to see Ferrari choose dry tyres with both cars.”
Mercedes ultimately chose the safer wet-weather option, while McLaren joined Ferrari in gambling on slicks. Ferrari’s decision later became one of the biggest talking points of the weekend, particularly after the failed Sepang tyre strategy left Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc recovering from the consequences.
High humidity slowed the drying process
Asked whether Ferrari and McLaren may have taken the gamble because they believed themselves to be weaker than Mercedes and Red Bull, Ceccarelli felt the decision had looked extremely uncertain.
“It seemed as though they had tossed a coin without taking into account how much water was still on the asphalt. But I remember being caught in downpours on the grid when I was working with Toyota, and the track tended to dry very quickly.”
“This time there was a lot of humidity, so it is easy to imagine that the water struggled to evaporate.”
Ceccarelli compared the process with the effect of humidity on the human body.
“When there is a high level of humidity in the air, sweat stays stuck to your clothes. When you are in Malaysia, you feel as though you are sweating much more, whereas in reality it is the sweat that does not evaporate, so you remain wet.”
Should drivers have more influence over the starting tyre?
During a race, teams can use weather radar and extensive live data to help determine when a tyre change should be made. But Ceccarelli believes the driver’s judgement should carry significant weight when choosing tyres before the start if the engineers themselves remain uncertain.
“Yes. Obviously I don’t know the internal dynamics of the teams in Malaysia, but if I were a team principal, after speaking to the engineers and discovering there were no certainties, I would ask the driver and share the responsibility with him. His judgement in that situation is very important.”
The possibility remains that Ferrari’s drivers were involved in the original decision before later criticising the outcome.
“You win and lose together. In my opinion the drivers’ judgement is important, and if they had not been consulted it would make me think.”
Ferrari’s two-driver battle complicated the strategy decision
Another suggestion after the race was that Ferrari could have split its strategy, sending one car out on slicks and the other on Intermediates.
Charles Leclerc noted that such a decision would inevitably have favoured one driver and penalised the other, suggesting it would have been something imposed rather than freely chosen.
Ceccarelli believes the situation was particularly delicate because Ferrari remains one of the few leading teams where the two drivers are still directly competing with each other.
“That may be the case, but at this moment Ferrari is the only team where there are two drivers competing against each other, because at the other top teams the track has clarified the hierarchy.”
“The feeling is that there is a competition within the competition, as is natural in these situations, and nobody is taking a step backwards. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton therefore fought on equal terms.”
“Let’s say that with a little luck from the Safety Cars and a little skill, one Ferrari still made it onto the podium. We don’t know what race Ferrari could have had by starting on Intermediates, although it seemed that Verstappen was untouchable.”
Max Verstappen ends his victory drought at Sepang
The race instead became a landmark afternoon for Max Verstappen. Since joining Red Bull, the Dutch driver had never completed a season without winning at least one Grand Prix, and Sepang ensured that record continued in 2026.
Although the victory did not bring him back into the main title fight reflected in the current Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship standings, Ceccarelli believes Verstappen’s behaviour after the chequered flag showed just how much the result meant to him.
“We know that Max isn’t a driver who pays much attention to numbers or statistics. He lives more in the moment and doesn’t make too many calculations.”
“We saw that last year when he attempted an extraordinary comeback and narrowly missed out on the title. But at Sepang it did not go unnoticed that, after an in-lap without any particular celebrations over the radio, once he got out of the car he took a run-up and immediately threw himself among his mechanics, showing enormous joy at winning a race despite not being in the World Championship fight.”
“It was clear that it meant a lot to him and that he wanted to show that he too was among the winners this year.”
First victory for the Red Bull power unit adds extra meaning
Verstappen’s win also carried historic significance because it was the first Formula 1 victory for Red Bull’s new power unit operation in Milton Keynes.
Ceccarelli believes that milestone helps explain the emotion in parc fermé.
“And in fact, that joy in parc fermé must have been a combination of many things. The interesting aspect is that he did not simply express his own happiness, but wanted to share it with the team.”
“It is an important sign that highlights his attachment to the team, something that goes beyond the lucrative contract renewal.”
That interpretation is particularly significant after Max Verstappen’s new Red Bull agreement through 2030 and the continued discussion surrounding his long-term future.
The Sepang result therefore delivered more than Verstappen’s first win of the year. It gave Red Bull’s new engine project its breakthrough victory and, in Ceccarelli’s view, provided a visible reminder that the relationship between driver and team still extends well beyond contractual numbers.
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