Max Verstappen delivered a landmark victory for Red Bull at Sepang, taking his 72nd win with the Milton Keynes team and, more significantly, giving Red Bull its first Formula 1 success as a full constructor with a power unit designed and built by its own Powertrains division.
There are victories that help decide a world championship and others that, without substantially changing the standings, still earn an important place in a team’s history. Red Bull’s triumph at Sepang belongs firmly in the second category.
Max Verstappen secured his 72nd victory with Red Bull at the end of a weekend in which he had been the benchmark in every condition. Pole position was followed by victory on Sunday, confirming in the race the superiority that had already emerged from the opening sessions. Yet the significance of the Malaysian Sunday went well beyond the 25 points collected by Max Verstappen.
Red Bull’s first F1 win as a full constructor
For the first time, Red Bull won a Grand Prix as a complete constructor, taking to victory a power unit designed and produced by the new Powertrains department in Milton Keynes. The project began from scratch five years ago, when Red Bull decided against pursuing a partnership with Porsche and instead took on an enormous challenge: becoming an engine manufacturer by building the facilities, expertise and workforce required to compete against companies with decades of experience.
To find the previous occasion on which an engine manufacturer won during its debut season, it is necessary to go back to Ford Cosworth in 1967. The comparison serves mainly to underline the scale of the achievement, particularly because the complexity of modern Formula 1 power units makes the two eras extremely difficult to compare directly.
It is also the culmination of a decision strongly backed by Christian Horner five years ago, when the foundations of the project were laid. That structure has now taken Red Bull to the top step of the podium.
“It’s a fantastic feeling,” Max Verstappen said. “It’s an incredible project, with many partners and so many people who have worked with great dedication to get us where we are today. Getting the first victory with our engine is something very special.”
It was therefore no surprise to see Max Verstappen celebrating as enthusiastically as he did during Red Bull’s most successful years. Winning is nothing new for the four-time world champion, but Max Verstappen understood exactly how much this result meant to the team. Jos Verstappen was emotional as well, something that did not escape his son’s attention.
“We are all very involved,” Max Verstappen explained. “The start of the season wasn’t nice for him to watch, just as it wasn’t enjoyable for me to drive the car. But seeing how the team has progressed, never stopping working to solve the problems, and then getting a result like this is fantastic.”
A five-year Powertrains gamble pays off
The Sepang victory also confirms something that extends beyond the power unit itself. Red Bull appears to have completed the process required to return to the front after an extremely turbulent period, marked by the departure of several important figures from its technical department and the leadership change that took place in July last year.
From that perspective, Sepang can also be regarded as the first true victory of the Laurent Mekies era.
The French manager had to stabilise an organisation that had suddenly lost the figure around whom it had revolved for two decades. The beginning of the season was difficult, but important pieces subsequently fell into place: Max Verstappen’s continued commitment to Red Bull, the retention of key figures such as Paul Monaghan and, progressively, the return of the car to the competitive level expected from Red Bull.
“This is another fundamental moment in the history of the team,” Laurent Mekies stressed. “Our first victory as a power unit manufacturer, achieved already in the first season of Red Bull Ford Powertrains. The credit goes to all the people who have worked hard on this project over the last five years.”
Laurent Mekies was particularly keen to highlight the collective nature of the achievement. “Everyone in Milton Keynes and here at the track deserves this moment and should celebrate it as an important step towards many more victories in the future.”
Max Verstappen recovers after a difficult start
The manner in which the victory was achieved was significant too. Max Verstappen had been the fastest driver of the weekend, but the race was far from a straightforward cruise to the finish.
At the start, Max Verstappen was overtaken by both Mercedes cars after a problematic getaway, with the engine losing power as the clutch was released. Max Verstappen did not attempt to force the situation, however.
Instead, Max Verstappen waited, rebuilt his race and gradually recovered the ground he had lost. When the track conditions began to change, he once again demonstrated his feel for difficult conditions, reclaiming the position from Kimi Antonelli while both were running on slick tyres on a surface that remained treacherous in places.
“You had to avoid overreacting,” Max Verstappen explained. “The race was long and many things could happen. Step by step I managed to close the gap. Then I had a good battle with Kimi on the slicks, when the track was still very slippery in some places.”
The late Safety Car put everything back into question once again, but neither Max Verstappen nor the Red Bull pit wall made a mistake. Red Bull made the correct tyre calls and Max Verstappen completed the job.
“We stayed calm and made all the right decisions,” the four-time world champion summarised.
Red Bull rediscovers its old race-day strength
That is perhaps the element that completes the picture of Red Bull’s weekend at Sepang. The team did not simply win; it once again displayed the overall solidity that had been one of its defining strengths for years. Red Bull had a fast car, an impeccable Max Verstappen and a team that managed a complicated race without making costly mistakes.
Laurent Mekies described the result as confirmation of the progress made over recent months. Red Bull had already come close to producing this kind of result, but at Sepang it finally converted its potential into victory.
Not everything was perfect. Isack Hadjar had shown pace that, according to Laurent Mekies, could have allowed Red Bull to challenge for a double podium, but problems with Isack Hadjar’s car forced him to settle for fifth position.
Those issues will be analysed before Singapore, the next challenge on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar. They are nevertheless a relatively minor detail on a Sunday destined to hold particular significance in Red Bull’s history.
The Sepang victory does not deliver a world championship and will probably not transform the balance of a season that is already heading elsewhere, as reflected by the current Formula 1 driver standings. But it does confirm that the most ambitious project ever undertaken by the Milton Keynes organisation works: Red Bull built a power unit from a blank sheet of paper and took it to victory in its first season.
At the same time, a team that only a few months ago appeared to be facing a lengthy rebuilding phase is back at the front. That is why Max Verstappen celebrated as he did in Red Bull’s best days. Sepang was far more than a “simple” victory.
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