Max Verstappen claimed his first pole of the year in Malaysia. He had reached the podium at every race weekend since his crash at Zandvoort; this latest performance represents another step forward, after Red Bull was not the benchmark at Monza, Madrid or Baku. Verstappen believes Mercedes in particular is struggling more in the heat, while the technical team led by Pierre Wache has significantly improved the RB22.
The contrast with Monza is striking. Less than a month ago, after qualifying sixth there, Verstappen described his Red Bull as a “car made of paper”. The remark referred to car degradation in races, an issue Verstappen and team principal Laurent Mekies believe can no longer be fully resolved in 2026. But significant progress has been made in pure pace since those frustrations.
Verstappen had already completed impressive long runs on Friday before securing a convincing pole the following day. “I think the car has been in a good operating window all weekend,” he said after qualifying. He also stressed that the changes have allowed the team to get more out of the car and made it easier to drive. The driver acknowledged that a better balance lets him push harder, although regulations still limit the difference an individual driver can make.
The upgrade introduced in Baku, the final major package of the year, delivered what the team had expected internally. Verstappen also said the changes have made both Red Bull drivers more comfortable behind the wheel. He remains cautious about the apparent advantage over Mercedes: in his view, the team often struggles more at very hot circuits, and its upgrades will need to be assessed over the coming races. He still sees Mercedes as a general benchmark and described its weekend in Malaysia as an off-weekend.
The race is still to come, and tyre management could be crucial on an extremely rough surface where degradation is high, as Pirelli indicated. Verstappen said he was confident in his own preparation: “If others make bigger sacrifices for the race, then good luck to them, but I’m ready.” He nevertheless warned that the start will already be difficult and that race pace must be judged carefully, with other teams’ changes since Friday still to be seen.
Formula 1After heat-related symptoms among drivers at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, George Russell says the FIA should help teams make cooling vests more widely available. He says Mercedes did not commit the resources needed to develop a sufficiently robust solution.
Formula 1After a difficult qualifying session, the driver thought he had set the fourth-fastest time. A grid penalty for Isack Hadjar moved him up to third, news he greeted with a broad smile.
Formula 1McLaren described a moment shared by Oscar Piastri and Harry at Sepang as “heartwarming”. The meeting, arranged during the Bahrain Grand Prix schedule, brought the young karting enthusiast, who has beaten leukaemia twice, a garage tour and advice from the Australian driver.
Formula 1George Russell was eighth fastest, but both Mercedes drivers will move up a place on the grid after Isack Hadjar’s engine penalty. The team is still trying to understand why its new upgrade did not translate into stronger qualifying performance.
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