Laurent Mekies has praised Max Verstappen’s “outstanding” performance in the Bahrain Grand Prix that earned Red Bull their first victory of the 2026 season, marking a “milestone moment in the history” of the team. At the start of the year Red Bull were significantly off the pace set by Mercedes, but their various upgrade packages since helped them to close the gap and eventually fulfil their ambition of returning to the top step of the podium....

Despite his P12 starting position, Fernando Alonso was sceptical about his prospects of finishing in the points ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The Spaniard’s theory was that he would be vulnerable on the straights in the early laps, and then would not have the pace with which to regain any lost places. However, rain on an eventful Sunday in Sepang upset his predictions and he ended the race in P8 - despite making the wrong tyre call for the start of a Grand Prix that had a few surprises in store....

Arvid Lindblad believes his P10 finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia was “more than we could have ever imagined” after starting from the back of the grid. The Racing Bulls driver started Sunday’s 55-lap race at the Sepang International Circuit in P22 and last on the grid after taking grid penalties for new engine components. Lindblad was able to move up the field early in proceedings after starting on the intermediate tyre, as other drivers dropped away with slick tyres on the still-wet track....

Audi have revealed a special livery for this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, celebrating the city’s unique identity as well as the team’s first night race in Formula 1. The R26 will sport a design that combines a Singapore-specific variant of Audi’s usual Titanium Silver Grey with a traditional peranakan pattern, which will adorn the sidepods and rear wing and carry over onto Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto’s race suits. Inspired by the city’s transition from daylight to twilight, the livery has been launched alongside a limited-edition Adidas capsule collection, building on ‘The Art of Influence’ - a 360-degree programme that brings F1 closer to fans through activations across Singapore and online....

Ferrari weren’t the only team to make a wrong call at the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia by opting for slicks, but no one else did a better job of recovering and limiting the damage. A race that looked to be heading for disaster after just a couple of laps ended with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc recovering for a decent outcome to finish third and fourth....

Winner: Max Verstappen Max Verstappen returned to winning ways with a beautiful drive at a rain-hit Sepang, in a race that featured plenty of overtaking. But while he and his Red Bull team celebrated, many of his rivals were left downbeat. Lawrence Barretto selects his winners and losers from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Verstappen kicked off the event on the front foot with some impressive pace in Friday practice....

Just eight days after the team failed to score any points in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, McLaren endured another painful race day at Sepang. It wasn’t quite as bad as Baku, but nevertheless P6 for Oscar Piastri and P9 for Lando Norris was not what the team needs or expects. On a day when there were many strategy calls to be made, the team got the big one wrong when they opted to put both drivers on medium tyres for the start - a decision that seemed logical at the time but which was soon proved to be incorrect....

The FIA Formula 2 Championship and FIA Formula 3 Championship have announced their respective calendars for the 2027 campaign. Both junior single-seater championships will continue to support Formula 1 across the 2027 season, with F2 featuring at 14 rounds, while Formula 3 will be present at 10 rounds next year alongside both. F2 returns to Montreal after racing in Canada for the first time in 2026, while Mexico City joins the calendar for the first time....

The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia proved to be a particularly eventful weekend for Audi, with the squad left to reflect on a “frustrating” end to Sunday’s race that saw them lose out on points during the last lap. After progressing to Q3 in Saturday’s Qualifying, Gabriel Bortoleto lined up in P10 on the grid while team mate Nico Hulkenberg started from P15 - but both looked set for a tough start to the race when they bolted on soft tyres, a decision that quickly went against them given the still damp conditions from the heavy rainfall that had delayed the event getting underway....

Formula 1’s midfield is so closely matched that points are hard to come by, and any top-10 finish counts as a real achievement. So when factors such as rain throw a curve ball and create opportunities, it’s essential for those teams and their drivers to get everything right and take full advantage. For Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon the early stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia promised much as they made the right tyre calls and did the job on track to charge into the top eight....

Mercedes' first big upgrade since the Canadian Grand Prix over three months ago did not bring the hoped-for boost in performance around Sepang and the team are currently deep-diving into the data to understand why. The specification change was targeted at improving medium-high speed downforce, where the car had fallen steadily further behind its rivals in recent races. To achieve this aim, the whole mass of the bodywork has been brought forwards to create more free volume ahead of the rear wheels....

Max Verstappen finally netted a 2026 victory with a dominant drive in Sepang. With the way that he’s been driving this year it seemed inevitable that the Dutchman would hit the top step at some point this season, but I didn’t expect it to come in as dominant fashion as we eventually saw. Max had such a stranglehold on Qualifying, topping each part of it before posting two laps good enough for pole....

Max Verstappen delivered a masterclass as he and Red Bull returned to winning ways at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. But who else impressed our Power Rankings judges at the Sepang International Circuit? Check out the latest scores and overall leaderboard below… Verstappen, Red Bull and their all-new power unit have scored a solid number of podiums over the first 15 rounds of the season, but pole position and victory had eluded them....

What a front row we have as the Bahrain Grand Prix brings Formula 1 back to Kuala Lumpur’s spectacular Sepang International Circuit, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on pole for the first time this year and the Ferrari of arch-rival Lewis Hamilton alongside. In Qualifying it was a Red Bull one-three, but Isack Hadjar drops to P8 on the grid thanks to a power unit penalty. That means row two comprises the Mercedes of championship leader Kimi Antonelli and the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc....

Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory during Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, which was impacted by heavy rain, featured an entertaining crossover from intermediate tyres to slicks, and saw overtaking from start to finish - as well as a dramatic late retirement for George Russell. After a delayed start and then a suspended start procedure, as several drivers struggled to maintain speed on the initial formation lap, the race eventually got under way in slippery, mixed conditions - leading to split tyre strategies and plenty of early action....

He won on Formula 1’s last visit to Sepang almost a decade ago, and there was no stopping Max Verstappen there in 2026 - despite the best efforts of the Malaysian weather, which meant the race ended almost three and a half hours after its scheduled start time. The four-time World Champion’s masterful drive was his and Red Bull’s first victory of the season, the first-ever for a Red Bull Ford power unit, and one you clearly enjoyed....