“From a hole in the ground to race winner in five years. Huge congratulations to Red Bull Ford Powertrains, Max and the whole team. An incredible achievement!”
Horner posted the message on his Instagram story on Sunday as Verstappen won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, the Dutchman’s first victory of the 2026 season. For Red Bull Powertrains, the in-house engine project established in 2021 after Honda’s departure, it was a first race win in collaboration with Ford.
The win came in the kind of race Verstappen tends to collect. The start at Sepang International Circuit was pushed back twice by weather. Fifty-five laps followed, interrupted by two safety-car periods, and Verstappen held the lead from pole to flag.
Verstappen: “pretty impressive”
The team principal who delivered the engine project at the finish line was not Horner. Laurent Mekies, appointed to the role in July 2025, has run Red Bull through a season in which Verstappen and the team have slipped off the sharp end of the grid. Mekies’s own forecast at the start of the year was that Red Bull would be “trailing” on the new Ford-partnered power unit.
Read also: The England debutant Tuchel calls the ‘complete package’ is already on Liverpool’s list
Verstappen framed Sunday as a payoff rather than a turning point.
“To win our first race in our first year with our own power unit is pretty impressive,” he said.
“It’s a really nice one after the year we’ve had and the progression we have made. I’m incredibly proud of everyone.”
It was Verstappen’s first win since the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Read also: ‘For me, he is a guaranteed starter’: Matthäus backs Kimmich amid Klopp silence
Antonelli still 84 clear with seven to go
Kimi Antonelli finished second for Mercedes and now leads the drivers’ standings by 84 points over teammate George Russell with seven rounds remaining. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton completed the podium.
Verstappen’s 25 points cut rather than erase the gap to the Mercedes pair, and the result does not disturb Antonelli’s control of the championship.
The man no longer at the team
Horner was dismissed by Red Bull after the 2025 British Grand Prix, ending twenty years as team principal. He has since spoken publicly about an intention to return to Formula 1, with a preference for roles that include an ownership stake, and has described Ferrari as the exception where he would accept an employee position.
The project he commissioned in 2021 has now delivered its first grand prix victory, under Mekies.
Read also: Nico Paz says he made ‘the right choice’ after rejecting Real Madrid return
