Max Verstappen's maiden victory of the 2026 Formula 1 season in Malaysia marks the ultimate culmination of a gradual performance upturn for Red Bull Racing. After starting the campaign's new regulations over a second adrift from the frontrunners, the Milton Keynes squad has relentlessly chipped away at its deficit through a steady stream of car upgrades introduced race after race.
A final major package arriving in Baku provided Verstappen with a genuine chance to fight for victory before ultimately finishing right behind George Russell. That momentum carried over to the demanding Sepang circuit in Kuala Lumpur, where Verstappen was simply in a class of his own aboard the RB22, converting a dominant pole position into a commanding victory in a chaotic, mixed-weather grand prix.
Team principal Laurent Mekies noted that the breakthrough win validates a clear upward trajectory following steady steps forward in Monza, Madrid, and Baku. However, he cautioned that extreme track conditions and asphalt roughness in Malaysia may have pushed rival cars outside their ideal operating windows, making it too early to declare Red Bull as universal favourites.
“We were surprised by the pecking order in Malaysia,” Mekies told Motorsport.com. “On one side, it's confirming the positive trend now with Monza, with Madrid, with Baku. We have been adding a little bit of performance at every race, which is great. On the other side, are there other factors that have influenced what we have seen in Malaysia? Possibly, with the extreme heat and the track roughness, I'm sure most of the cars out there were out of their ideal operating window.”
The 72nd grand prix victory of Max Verstappen's career holds profound significance as the first for Red Bull as an independent power unit manufacturer, proving they have shaken off early-season struggles. Yet Mekies insists that consistently challenging Mercedes week in and week out remains an extremely difficult task for any team on the current grid.
“Does it change anything in the way we approach the next races? Not really. We will try to adapt as best as we can next and we'll see. We still think that Singapore will hopefully be suiting us in terms of slow speed corner performance, while what the competition will do is very, very difficult to understand,” Mekies added.
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