Red Bull’s Max Verstappen turned pole into victory at a drenched Sepang

Sepang was never supposed to be this kind of race. Fifteen rounds in, Verstappen and Isack Hadjar had nine podiums between them, plenty of promise and a few reliability headaches. Then the tropical skies opened an hour before the start, and Malaysia delivered the best race of the season! Verstappen's win was built on Saturday, and on history. He won the last F1 race at Sepang in 2017, and came back to the scene of that triumph with unfinished business. 

Pole by almost three tenths over Lewis Hamilton. A near miss in Baku, two tenths short, to fuel it. And an engine Red Bull built from scratch, now finally matching the ambition. Suspended starts, Safety Car restarts and a track that kept changing its mind couldn't shake him. But is he too late for the title? Yes. Is this a warning for 2027? Absolutely!

The real drama sat behind him. Ferrari put both cars on softs on a wet track, a call that nearly sank them. Hamilton held his nerve, got the Pirelli C4 compound working as the surface dried and charged to P3, his first podium since Silverstone. Charles Leclerc, tagged early by Hulkenberg’s Audi and dumped to last, still clawed back to P4. Would the intermediates have won it for Hamilton? We'll never know, and that's what keeps us watching.

Mercedes left with mixed feelings. Antonelli took second on a day that could have wrecked his campaign, a clean answer to Baku. Russell was heading for P3 when his power unit gave up. The gap is now 84 points, more than three wins. Worse, the first major upgrade since Canada didn't deliver. Championship leaders can survive a bad day. Can they survive a development stall? McLaren gambled on mediums and got a lively afternoon. Oscar Piastri finished sixth. Lando Norris nearly rear-ended him under the late Safety Car, went gravel exploring at Turn 1 and fell to P9! Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, held off Norris by half a second for P8, Aston Martin's best result of a grim season.

Sepang's fast, flowing layout reminded us what F1 can be when the track fights back. Now comes Singapore, Round 17. Can Mercedes decode its upgrades in a week? Can Red Bull make it two in a row? And will Ferrari finally trust the data over the gamble? 

Singapore has a habit of punishing the unprepared. Sepang just reminded us why that's the best kind of race.

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Round 17 | Singapore | Sunday, 11th October, 17:30 | F1TV & FanCode App

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