There was everything you could ask for when Formula 1 returned to Malaysia. From rain and a delayed race start to incidents and car failures, split strategies, and, just like nine years ago when the last Malaysian Grand Prix was held at this venue, the winner was Red Bull driver Max Verstappen!The Dutchman mastered the chaos at the Sepang International Circuit to triumph at the Malaysian Grand Prix, the 16th round of this year’s Formula 1 championship. On his way to the 72nd victory of his career, his first of the season and also the first for Red Bull Powertrains, Verstappen finished more than two seconds ahead of his closest rival, Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes.Third place went to Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari after George Russell retired late in the race in the second Mercedes, while Verstappen also passed Isack Hadjar in the second Red Bull.Masterful Max 🤩 Verstappen powers to his first win of the season 💪 #F1 #BahrainGP https://t.co/sULNFUhTC1— Formula 1 (@F1) October 4, 2026 The weather in Malaysia had caused no problems throughout the weekend until just over half an hour before the scheduled race start, when a massive downpour accompanied by thunder hit the circuit. It was impossible to predict when the storm would end, while standing water covered large sections of the track, forcing the race start to be delayed. Forty minutes later, as the rain finally began to ease, it was time for the cars to head out onto the circuit.With the track still wet, the drivers had to complete two laps behind the Safety Car, but even then, more drama followed. Verstappen, who was leading the entire field, appeared to have an issue with acceleration, holding up the drivers behind him as the Safety Car pulled further away, while his teammate Hadjar briefly went off into the gravel.##EDITORS_CHOICE##But that was not all, as second-placed Hamilton then slowed down and eventually stopped, with Ferrari informing him that they were dealing with a software problem. The seven-time world champion managed to restart his car, but Ocon in the Haas and Cadillac driver Bottas also briefly stopped with the same issue related to Ferrari’s power unit. Amid all the chaos, the red flag was brought out and the race start had to be delayed once again.More than half an hour later, and an hour and a half after the originally scheduled start, it was finally time for another restart. After a poor launch, Verstappen quickly recovered and comfortably passed Russell for second place before closing in on race leader Antonelli.However, just as the Dutchman caught the Italian, the Safety Car was deployed on Lap 9 after Bottas' Cadillac became stuck in the gravel, allowing the drivers to make a “free” pit stop for fresh tyres.Toto couldn't hide his frustration 😠 #F1 #BahrainGP https://t.co/YBHGdiOwpB— Formula 1 (@F1) October 4, 2026 At the restart on Lap 13, Verstappen, running on soft tyres, made an excellent move through Turn 2 to pass Antonelli, who was on mediums. The Italian then lost another position at the very next corner, this time to Russell. A few laps later, however, Antonelli reclaimed second place from his Mercedes teammate, while Verstappen continued to extend his lead at the front.While waiting for the restart, Russell suffered a power unit problem that forced him to park his car at the side of the track, dealing a major blow to his championship ambitions.Following Russell's retirement, Antonelli leads the championship standings with 320 points, 84 ahead of the Briton, who has 236, while Hamilton has 214.The next Formula 1 race is already scheduled for next weekend in Singapore, which will also host the sixth and final Sprint race of the season.##NAJAVA_MECA_9999929##