5 talking points from F1's chaotic return to Sepang

Max Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang on 4 October, his first win of 2026, in a race delayed 93 minutes by rain and a software bug. Here is what mattered.

1. Verstappen is a 2026 race winner at last

Verstappen took pole with a 1:35.130, then won by 2.3 seconds from Kimi Antonelli, with Lewis Hamilton third. It was his second win at Sepang, after the last Malaysian Grand Prix in 2017. He also set the fastest lap, a 1:38.220 on the final lap. It was a milestone for Red Bull too: its own Red Bull Powertrains engine is now a race winner.

Pole, the win and the fastest lap is not luck. Red Bull’s own engine just announced itself.

2. Hamilton’s comeback from 18th

A Ferrari tyre gamble backfired and dropped Hamilton to 18th. He fought back to third, with teammate Charles Leclerc fourth. On a day when he had to stop and restart his car before the race even began, it was one of his best drives of the year.

3. A big swing in the title fight

George Russell was running third when his power unit failed during the late safety car. He was classified 20th. Antonelli’s second place puts him on 320 points, 84 clear of his Mercedes teammate Russell on 236. With seven rounds left after Sepang, that is a big cushion.

4. The start that wasn’t

Cars crawled and stopped on the formation laps because of a software bug in wet conditions. The FIA fixed it with an update to every team in about 20 minutes. We look at what it says about F1 in our full breakdown.

5. The fans showed up, despite everything

The weekend sold out, with a record 261,000 fans over three days and 103,000 on race day. Many faced long waits, shuttles that stopped running and walks along the motorway. It was still a clear message to F1 that Malaysia wants its race back.

What we will remember is not the result. It is the sight of a packed, soaking-wet Sepang, nine years after anyone thought it would see F1 again.

What’s next

Next up: Singapore on 11 October, then Austin on 25 October.