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Posted on 10/04/2026 4:09:08 AM PDT by WhiteHatBobby0701
Max Verstappen has tasted victory for the first time in 2026, beating Kimi Antonelli to win a dramatic Gulf Air Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
In a race that started nearly two hours later than scheduled, Verstappen overcame rain, software issues, two Safety Car periods and a chaotic opening to beat the championship leader by 2.3s, claiming his first grand prix victory since Abu Dhabi last year and delivering RBPT Ford its maiden win as a power unit supplier.
Antonelli drove a strong race to take the runner-up spot, leading early after the race finally got underway before losing the advantage to Verstappen following the first Safety Car period.
His result also delivered another significant boost to his championship advantage after teammate and closest title rival George Russell suffered a late retirement while running third, pulling his Mercedes to the side of the road with an apparent power issue during the second Safety Car period.
Russell’s third retirement of the season, combined with Antonelli’s second place, increased the championship gap to 84 points with seven rounds remaining.
Russell’s retirement benefited Lewis Hamilton, with the Ferrari driver recovering from running at the rear of the field during the early stages to ultimately finish third.
Torrential rain before the start caused the first significant delay before another stoppage of almost an hour followed the initial attempt to get the race underway, with several cars suffering apparent software issues during chaotic scenes across two formation laps behind the Safety Car.
More drama followed when the field eventually lined up for a standing start, with nearly half the drivers gambling on dry tyres despite parts of the circuit remaining too wet. Those on intermediates immediately capitalised, creating a major split through the field over the opening laps.
A Safety Car following the retirement of Valtteri Bottas then arrived at the perfect time for the intermediate runners, just as those who had started on dry tyres were beginning to match their pace.
It allowed the early beneficiaries of the wet conditions to switch to slicks without losing their advantage and helped shape the order for the remainder of the race.
A late Safety Car closed the pack back together, but did little to stop Verstappen from holding off Antonelli and claiming his 72nd career victory.
Charles Leclerc finished fourth, leading home the second Red Bull of Isack Hadjar, who had looked on course for a podium following Russell’s retirement before being passed by both Ferraris late in the race.
Oscar Piastri finished sixth after an eventful race for the Australian. He started from the pit lane following a late switch from dry tyres to intermediates before fighting his way through the field, holding off a late challenge from Liam Lawson and surviving a near miss with Alex Albon on pit entry midway through the race.
Lawson finished seventh after an impressive opening phase saw him challenge Verstappen for third into Turn 1 at the start, while Fernando Alonso also drove a strong race to come home eighth for Aston Martin’s best finish of the season.
Lando Norris recovered from a late off to finish ninth, while Arvid Lindblad claimed the final point after starting from the back of the grid.
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Verstappen came in defending his Sepang crown and won the race. First win for Ford in the 21st century and wth more unrest we may see F1 start in Sepang next season
The computers running the cars were the story. They had to be reprogrammed for rain racing and the 3-hour clock started because of the formation lap.
Next week is the Singapore Airlines Grand Prix. Concerts for ticket holders for that race include The Killers, Lana del Rey, JJ Lin, CORTIS, Zara Larsdotter, James Arthur, Split Enz, Goo Goo Dolls, Janet Jackson, Mark Ronson, DJ Snake, Major Lazer Soundsystem, and Joseph "Rev Run" Simmons.
You REALLY shouldn’t do this.
I watch middle-of-the-night races by video replay so now you’ve spoiled the outcome for me.
How to make F1 more interesting: Put F1, Indy car and NASCAR drivers on the same track at the same time. Let them run 300 laps...
As long as it wasn’t that jackass Lewy Hamilton I’m good with it
SUMMATION:
ELECTRONIC DO NOT LIKE WET CONDITIONS
Glad I watched the race before seeing this post!
Speedcafe: These cars have bad code that caused the issue.
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