{"id":3449,"date":"2026-10-05T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=3449"},"modified":"2026-10-04T15:14:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T18:14:50","slug":"verstappen-explains-why-red-bulls-sepang-breakthrough-was-emotional-for-jos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/verstappen-explains-why-red-bulls-sepang-breakthrough-was-emotional-for-jos\/","title":{"rendered":"Verstappen explains why Red Bull\u2019s Sepang breakthrough was emotional for Jos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">News Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Max Verstappen explained Jos\u2019s emotional reaction to his victory at Sepang.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Dutchman said his father remains closely involved, even without attending every race.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The result delivered the first Grand Prix victory for Red Bull Ford Powertrains.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Max Verstappen explained that <strong>Jos\u2019s emotional reaction to his Sepang victory reflected the difficulties they had experienced throughout the season<\/strong>, as well as the significance of Red Bull winning with its own power unit for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jos was present in Malaysia as his son ended his wait for a first victory of 2026. The result also marked a breakthrough for Red Bull Ford Powertrains, turning a challenging opening season into a winning campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking during the post-race press conference, Verstappen connected his father\u2019s response to their shared commitment and the years they have spent pursuing success in <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/\">Formula 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re all very much invested in it,\u201d Verstappen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1012\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Jos-Verstappen.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1010252048\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Jos-Verstappen.jpg 1012w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Jos-Verstappen-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Jos-Verstappen-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Jos-Verstappen-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1012px) 100vw, 1012px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jos Verstappen and Max (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jos remains involved behind the scenes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although Jos no longer attends every Grand Prix, Verstappen explained that his father remains informed about what is happening. When they are together at a race, they discuss the car, the team and the challenges facing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe\u2019s not coming to every race, but when he is there, we talk a lot about everything. He knows everything,\u201d Verstappen continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The difficult beginning of the season had been frustrating for both of them.<\/strong> Verstappen described a car that was unpleasant to drive, while Jos watched a team struggling to produce the competitiveness his son needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The emotion at Sepang came after seeing that situation change. Verstappen credited Red Bull\u2019s continued development work with addressing its problems and producing a package capable of winning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Red Bull converts progress into a milestone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Verstappen\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/verstappen-ends-win-drought-in-chaotic-sepang-race-as-hamilton-recovers-to-podium\/\">victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia<\/a> followed another strong performance in Azerbaijan. At Sepang, he combined pole position with victory, finishing ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The achievement carried additional importance because Red Bull was competing with a power unit developed through its partnership with Ford. Verstappen had already <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/verstappen-hails-red-bulls-first-engine-win-pretty-impressive\/\">celebrated the first victory for the engine project<\/a> immediately after the finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible project with a lot of partners and a lot of people that are dedicated to be where we are now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The win required more than outright speed. Verstappen lost positions at the start, recovered against the Mercedes drivers and retained the lead after a late Safety Car erased his advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verstappen praises the atmosphere inside Red Bull<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alongside the technical progress, Verstappen highlighted the working relationship within Red Bull. He described a team whose members understood one another and were aligned in their efforts to improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>His explanation placed Jos\u2019s reaction within that wider celebration:<\/strong> the victory rewarded a sustained recovery after months of difficulties, with his father there to witness the result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Verstappen left Malaysia sixth in the Drivers\u2019 Championship on 188 points, level with Lando Norris. Red Bull now heads directly to Singapore with its first win of the season secured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Formula 1 returns next weekend, from 9\u201311 October, for the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay. <strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> will cover all the action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">F1 today: FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What time is the 2026 Singapore GP?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Singapore GP starts at <strong>20:00 local time on Sunday, October 11<\/strong>. That is <strong>13:00 in the UK, 08:00 ET in the US and Canada and 17:30 in India<\/strong>. Singapore is a sprint weekend, with sprint qualifying on Friday and the sprint on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why does George Russell have a grid penalty in Singapore?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russell has exhausted his permitted allocation of four engines after suffering a power-unit failure at Sepang. Mercedes must introduce another unit, triggering a grid penalty for <strong>Sunday&#8217;s Grand Prix<\/strong>. The penalty does not apply to Saturday&#8217;s sprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can Kimi Antonelli win the F1 championship in Singapore?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. Antonelli leads Russell by <strong>84 points, 320 to 236<\/strong>, but cannot mathematically secure the 2026 title in Singapore. His first opportunity to become world champion comes at the <strong>United States GP in Austin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Max Verstappen says his father shared the frustrations of Red Bull\u2019s difficult start to 2026, making its first victory with its own power unit particularly meaningful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020317158,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Max Verstappen","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Red Bull Content Pool","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":75,"location":""}],"footnotes":"","42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[630,722,64,716],"42wp_author":[75],"class_list":["post-3449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-bahrain-grand-prix-in-malaysia","tag-jos-verstappen","tag-max-verstappen","tag-red-bull-ford-powertrains","42wp_author-pedro-henrique-marum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3449"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3450,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3449\/revisions\/3450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020317158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3449"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=3449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}