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Updated: May 7, 2026
SEPANG, Malaysia — Max Verstappen finally had a qualifying afternoon to smile about. The four-time champion claimed his first pole position of 2026 at the Sepang International Circuit on Saturday, less than a month after he dismissed Red Bull’s car as being “made of paper.” It is a symbolic swing that says as much about Red Bull’s technical progress as it does about an unusually difficult weekend for Mercedes.
Verstappen’s “paper car” line came after a frustrating Monza qualifying, when he started sixth. In fairness, his complaint was aimed at component degradation during race stints, and team principal Laurent Mekies has admitted that issue cannot be completely fixed this season. But the pure pace issue appears to be moving in the right direction.
Verstappen has not won yet in 2026, but he has been relentless since his Zandvoort crash. Every race weekend since then has ended with a podium. The problem was that Red Bull was never the quickest car in Monza, Madrid or Baku; it simply collected points while others fought ahead. At Sepang, the Milton Keynes-based team has been the reference from Friday onward.
Verstappen’s long-run pace was strong in both Friday practice sessions, and his qualifying lap confirmed the trend. The RB22 has looked much more settled in Malaysia, with Verstappen able to lean on the rear of the car without the nervous reactions that marked the early season.
“The car has been in a good operating window all weekend,” Verstappen said to a small group of Dutch reporters after qualifying. “Is that perhaps because of the heat here? It could be. But I also think we have made good steps with the set-up over the past few weeks, and of course the upgrades we brought to the car.”
That last point is worth focusing on.
There are two plausible explanations for the Sepang turnaround. The first is contextual: heat and track layout. Sepang has always been a punishing venue because of its high ambient temperatures and abrasive surface. Mercedes, in particular, has often struggled there.
Verstappen is reluctant to read too much into one afternoon. He pointed out that Mercedes may simply be having an off-weekend, and that their long-awaited upgrade still needs to be judged over the next few races.
“I think they always struggle more at circuits where it’s very hot, so we have to wait and see with their upgrades over the coming races,” he said. “In general, they are still very efficient in many areas. Last weekend they were faster—actually they have been all season, just not now. They’re having a bit of an off-weekend.”
That respect is rooted in data. Mercedes has spent most of 2026 as the yardstick, and no single qualifying session is enough to rewrite that story. But there is more to Red Bull’s Saturday than Mercedes’s discomfort.
Pierre Waché’s technical group has been fine-tuning the RB22 all year, but the Baku package appears to be the turning point. It was planned as the last major update of the season, and Verstappen says it has delivered what the team expected. More importantly, it has made the car easier to drive.
“It’s clear that, with the changes we’ve made, we’ve been able to get much more out of the car,” Verstappen said. “The car is also easier to drive. That is obviously positive, also for next year. There are a few things we can’t change anymore this season, so we want to address those for next year and I hope it will then move even further in the right direction.”
The difference is not only in data; it is also in the driver’s hands. Verstappen gave a vivid description of the early-season RB22: “At the start of the season, I had weekends where I would turn the steering wheel and strange things would happen. Now it’s all a bit more normal again.”
That “normal” feeling allows him to push closer to the limit. Asked whether this means a driver can make a bigger difference again, Verstappen was careful. Yes, he can extract more from the package, but the modern regulations still limit what any driver can do on an average weekend.
“That’s still a bit of an issue. But the more our car gets the right balance again, the more I can push and the more I can get out of the car,” he said.
One important detail should not be lost amid the celebration. Verstappen has been vocal about the regulations and energy management. Asked whether pole position changes his opinion on those subjects, his answer was unambiguous.
“No! That has nothing to do with whether I’m first, sixth or 10th. Those are two separate things.”
The implication is clear: Red Bull has improved its performance window, but Verstappen’s concerns about how the sport’s rules force drivers to manage energy during races remain untouched. Pole position and philosophical complaints can coexist.
Starting from pole at Sepang is never a guarantee of victory. Pirelli warned on Friday that the extremely rough tarmac and high tyre degradation would turn Sunday into a lesson in management. Long runs are often more important than one-lap pace.
Verstappen seems aware of that. He was encouraged by his own work on Friday, even if he could not know what the cars around him had changed for qualifying.
“Personally, I’m confident with what I did. If others make bigger sacrifices [for the race], then good luck to them, but I’m ready,” the four-time champion said.
A “decent start” is another concern. Red Bull’s race starts have been somewhat vulnerable all year, and Verstappen has already been caught out before. He admitted that a smooth launch is “already difficult enough for us this year.”
If he gets through the first corner cleanly, the question becomes whether the RB22 can protect its tyres as well as it protected pole. Friday suggested it can. Qualifying proved the speed. The win would be the evidence that the revival is real and not just a product of Sepang’s heat.
There is a risk of overreacting to one Saturday. Mercedes will probably reclaim some ground at cooler circuits, and Red Bull’s race-day degradation has not fully disappeared. But the direction of travel has changed.
The Baku upgrades have allowed Verstappen to trust the rear of the car again. That gave him the confidence to push for the pole and, just as importantly, gave the team a more stable platform as development shifts toward next year’s car. Whether Verstappen can convert that into his first win of the year is the next step. If he does, “paper car” will feel like a very old story indeed.
