Verstappen delivers first F1 win for Red Bull Ford Powertrains
Max Verstappen’s rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix win in Malaysia was the first F1 victory for Red Bull Ford Powertrains in its first season as a power-unit supplier, GPBeat reports.
Max Verstappen’s victory in the rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia gave Red Bull Ford Powertrains its first Formula 1 win in its first season as a power-unit supplier.
Verstappen converted his Saturday qualifying pole into Sunday’s victory, finishing 2.307 seconds ahead of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli; Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was third. Antonelli and George Russell passed him on the run to Turn 1, with all three on intermediates, but Verstappen worked back into the lead.
During the initial formation lap, Verstappen radioed that he could not accelerate. After the race, he described the start as hectic and said he had no power while waiting for it to come in. He also said Red Bull had made the right call with the intermediates.
Verstappen called the win “a really nice one”, given the year Red Bull had had and the progress it had made, and said he was proud of everyone. He also called it “pretty impressive” that Red Bull won its first race in the first year with its own power unit.
Sources 04
- PRIMARY SOURCEVerstappen ‘incredibly proud’ after historic Bahrain GP winFormula 1
- PRIMARY SOURCEVerstappen wins Bahrain GP in Malaysia as Russell retiresFormula 1
- PRIMARY SOURCEAS IT HAPPENED: Verstappen wins epic Bahrain GP in MalaysiaFormula 1
- SOURCEMax Verstappen explains "hectic" Bahrain GP start after first Red Bull win of 2026Motorsport.com F1
Claims and supporting evidence 9
Formula 1 describes the win as the first for Red Bull Ford Powertrains and Red Bull Powertrains’ maiden win in its first year as a supplier; the race report identifies the rain-delayed event.
Formula 1 records Saturday’s pole and the race report says he converted pole into the Sunday win.
The race report’s results table records Antonelli’s gap and the finishing order.
The race account describes the pass, tyre compounds and Verstappen’s recovery to first place.
The race report records Verstappen’s radio message during the opening sequence.
Formula 1 records Verstappen’s post-race description of the start and power issue.
This is an attributed account of Verstappen’s assessment of the tyre call.
Formula 1 records his post-race reaction, including his reference to the team’s year and progress and his pride in the team.
Formula 1 records Verstappen’s assessment of the first-year milestone.
Corrections and updates to this story
Verstappen delivers first F1 win for Red Bull Ford Powertrains
Update: We added Verstappen’s post-race reaction to the power-unit milestone and corrected the earlier start account. The previous version described his power issue as brief and said Red Bull switched to intermediates as part of his recovery; Verstappen said he was waiting for power to come in and that the team made the right call with the intermediates.
This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.