Horner hails Red Bull-Ford's first F1 win as Verstappen claims 72nd career victory in Malaysia

Max Verstappen delivered Red Bull-Ford’s first Formula 1 victory at the 2026 Malaysian Grand Prix, claiming his 72nd career win and ending Ford’s 23-year wait for a top-tier motorsport triumph. The result marked a landmark moment for Red Bull Powertrains, the in-house engine operation Christian Horner set in motion just five years ago.

Horner, who has been linked with a team principal role at Ferrari after publicly expressing interest, took to Instagram Stories to celebrate the milestone. Alongside a photograph of a bare Red Bull Ford Powertrains engine on a dyno rig, he wrote: “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!”

Red Bull Powertrains was established in 2021 after Honda confirmed its departure from Formula 1, leaving the Milton Keynes outfit facing a stark choice: source a power unit from a rival manufacturer such as Mercedes or Ferrari, or build one from scratch. Horner chose the latter path, and the partnership with Ford — formalised as the project matured — has now produced a race win in only its 16th grand prix.

Verstappen had already recorded seven podium finishes before the Malaysian weekend, but converting that pace into a victory carried particular significance given Ford’s long absence from the top step. The American manufacturer’s last major motorsport win had come in 2003, making the 23-year gap all the more striking.

Former F1 driver and commentator Martin Brundle was quick to acknowledge the scale of the accomplishment. “Christian Horner got a very good group of people together to start the Red Bull Powertrains project,” Brundle said. “That’s a hugely impressive victory for the team — power unit and chassis — from Milton Keynes.”

The win adds another chapter to Verstappen’s dominant era in the sport, with the four-time world champion now sitting on 72 victories. For Red Bull and Ford, however, the result represents something beyond individual statistics: validation that building a competitive power unit from nothing, in under half a decade, was not just ambitious but achievable.