STATS: VERSTAPPEN AVOIDS FIRST WIN-LESS SEASON SINCE 2015, RED BULL-FORD’S FIRST WIN AND MORE

Verstappen's win at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia—held at Sepang after the Middle East round was cancelled—keeps his winning streak alive at 11 consecutive seasons and delivers the first victory for Red Bull-Ford power units. Ford's last contribution to a grand prix win came in 2003 with Fisichella's Jordan-Cosworth in Brazil. The Blue Oval badge is back on top.

This marks the first win for a genuinely new engine constructor since BMW in 1982, cutting through the rebrands and Honda derivatives that have shuffled nameplates in recent years. Red Bull built this power unit in-house with Ford's backing, ending Mercedes' 15-race pole position streak in the process.

The win came at Sepang's first race in nine years—Verstappen won there in 2017, too—and follows Russell's Baku thriller where Verstappen finished 0.196 seconds back, the closest finish since 2002. Red Bull-Ford's momentum heading into the final rounds could reshape the constructor battle.