SEPANG Oct 4, 2026 – Max Verstappen won the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday, taking his first victory of the season in a rain-delayed race at Sepang.
Formula 1 confirmed the result shortly after the chequered flag. The Dutchman started from pole in the Red Bull and finished ahead of championship leader Kimi Antonelli, with Lewis Hamilton third for Ferrari.
The race, officially the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, was the 16th round of the 2026 season and the first Formula 1 event at Sepang since 2017. It replaced the cancelled April race in Bahrain after the original date was lost to regional disruption. Bahrain kept the title rights and commercial control of the event so the calendar stayed at its planned length.
Heavy rain delayed the start. When the lights finally went out, Verstappen, who had started on intermediate tyres, lost the lead off the line to Antonelli, with George Russell also jumping ahead. Verstappen recovered through the changing conditions, retook control, and held off the Mercedes driver to the flag. He crossed the line about 2.3 seconds clear after 55 laps.
Antonelli’s second place extended his lead in the drivers’ championship to 84 points over teammate Russell heading into Singapore. Hamilton completed the podium after a recovery drive, with Charles Leclerc fourth. Isack Hadjar finished fifth, Oscar Piastri sixth, and Fernando Alonso eighth — Aston Martin’s third points finish of the year.
It was Verstappen’s 72nd career win and his first since the 2025 Abu Dhabi finale. The pole he took on Saturday, a 1:35.130, was also his first of 2026 and the first of the season for a car not powered by a Mercedes engine. Nine years earlier, at the same circuit, he had scored his second Formula 1 victory.
Russell retired with a power-unit problem. Attendance was reported at about 261,000.
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