Max Verstappen 2026: Results, First Wins and Radio | Formula Dream
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Max Verstappen's 2026 season, measured: no wins in fifteen rounds, then three in four
Max Verstappen went fifteen rounds of 2026 without a win and retired four times, then won at Sepang, Singapore and Mexico City to climb to second. Every race, every retirement, and what he said on the radio.
Max Verstappen started the 2026 season from twentieth on the grid, after his rear axle locked on his first flying lap in Melbourne and put him into the wall. He finished sixth.
That set the tone for the first half of his year. Fifteen rounds in, he had no wins and four retirements. Then he won the rain-hit Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, took pole, the sprint and the Grand Prix in Singapore a week later, was third in Austin and won again in Mexico City. After nineteen rounds he has 261 points, second in the championship, and the numbers split cleanly in two:
49 race points in the first seven rounds, 192 in the twelve since
, with every finish from Austria onward on the podium.
Every message he exchanged with his engineer on air this season, from the Canadian Grand Prix onward, is on Max Verstappen's team radio page, with the audio and a transcript coloured by who is speaking.
Every race of his 2026 season
The first seven rounds:
Round
Grand Prix
Started
Finished
1
Australian
20th
6th
2
Chinese
8th
Retired
3
Japanese
11th
8th
4
Miami
2nd
5th
5
Canadian
6th
3rd
6
Monaco
2nd
Retired, lap 1
7
Barcelona
5th
4th
Grand Prix results only. Sprint results are below.
Rounds 8 to 19:
Round
Grand Prix
Started
Finished
8
Austrian
5th
2nd
9
British
7th
Retired, lap 48
10
Belgian
2nd
3rd
11
Hungarian
4th
2nd
12
Dutch
7th
Retired, lap 1
13
Italian
5th
3rd
14
Spanish (Madrid)
3rd
2nd
15
Azerbaijan
8th
2nd
16
Bahrain (at Sepang)
1st
1st
17
Singapore
1st
1st
18
United States
2nd
3rd
19
Mexico City
5th
1st
Starting positions are the grid after penalties.
The season in numbers
3 wins, at Sepang and Singapore, both from pole, and Mexico City from fifth.
11 podiums: third in Canada, second in Austria, third at Spa, second in Hungary, third at Monza, second in Madrid, second in Baku (0.196 seconds behind the winner), the wins at Sepang and Singapore, third in Austin and the win in Mexico City.
4 retirements, in China, Monaco, Silverstone and at his home race in Zandvoort.
261 points, 241 from Grands Prix and 20 from sprints, second in the championship.
49 race points in rounds 1 to 7, 192 in rounds 8 to 19. From Austria onward he has finished on the podium in every race he finished.
His sprints: ninth in China, fifth in Miami, seventh in Canada, sixth at Silverstone, sixth at Zandvoort, and a win in Singapore.
Four retirements, four different causes
China, a car failure. His Red Bull lost power with ten laps to go after an energy recovery system coolant failure. He had dropped to fourteenth on the first lap and fought back to sixth.
Monaco, before the race had really started. The engine was misbehaving on the formation lap, and when he dropped the clutch at the start it simply died. He fell from second to last, crawled around one lap, and retired. His radio as it happened:
"What should I do?" He lives in Monaco, and afterwards told reporters he was going home: it was only 500 metres.
Silverstone, a spin. On lap 48 he lost the rear of the car at Stowe and stopped in the gravel, bringing out the safety car.
Zandvoort, the last Dutch Grand Prix. Heavy rain in the hour before the start left the circuit damp, and his home race ended in a high-speed accident on the opening lap. It was the final Formula 1 race at Zandvoort.
The second half
From Austria onward, the picture changed. Second in Austria, third at Spa, second in Hungary, third at Monza, second in Madrid. After Spa his engineer told him what the whole team was thinking:
The engineer: "The pace is getting better... we have more coming." Verstappen: "It's a tiny bit unlucky, but it's still a good podium."
In Hungary he finished second, and his engineer called it "an excellent drive, really, really, really spot on".
At Monza he was blunter about the car than anyone at Red Bull would be in a press release:
"It is a very nice podium. You can see clearly our weaknesses here." His Monza radio, and the rest of that weekend's, is collected in the Italian GP 2026 team radio.
The first wins: Sepang and Singapore
The win that had been coming since Austria arrived in the rain. The Bahrain Grand Prix, moved to Sepang this year, started on intermediates, and Verstappen dropped from pole to sixth in two laps as both Mercedes went by. When Valtteri Bottas spun on lap nine and the Safety Car came out, the field switched to slicks on a drying track, and Verstappen used the restart to pass both Mercedes. He won by 2.307 seconds from Antonelli and set the fastest lap on the last lap. The full race is in our Bahrain GP 2026 race report.
"Amazing job, guys. What a fantastic weekend," he told the team after the flag.
Singapore was the opposite kind of win: no rain, no chaos, just control. He took pole by 0.054 seconds from Charles Leclerc, won the Saturday sprint, then led every lap of the Grand Prix and won by 7.335 seconds. For much of the night his team could not hear his replies, so when they needed his view on a late safety car they asked him to answer by staying silent.
"If you would accept pitting behind Leclerc, say nothing. If you don't want to pit, key up on the radio, try to say so". No safety car came. The full story is in the Singapore GP 2026 race report.
Austin, then Mexico City
In Austin he started second, lost a place to Charles Leclerc at the start and stopped twice, while the winner, Kimi Antonelli, stopped once. He finished third, a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The race is in our US GP 2026 race report.
Mexico City was his third win in four races, and the most hard-fought. He started fifth, passed Hamilton on the first lap as the two Ferraris ran off the track at turn 4, and took the net lead when Leclerc served a five second penalty at his stop. His engineer passed on the decision:
Max VerstappenRed Bull · Mexico City Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 14:22:48 local
EngineerOK, Leclerc's been given a five-second penalty. I mean, Hamilton's already five seconds behind him.
"OK, Leclerc's been given a five-second penalty. I mean, Hamilton's already five seconds behind him." A red flag for Valtteri Bottas's crash closed the field up, Hamilton touched wheels with him into turn 1 at the restart, and a late safety car gave Hamilton one more try. Verstappen held on by 0.799 seconds. The race is in our Mexico City GP 2026 race report.
On the radio
Up to the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, Verstappen had 59 broadcast messages this season from Canada onward, fourth behind Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. He is also one of the two drivers with the most censored lines on air, level with Antonelli on four. The full count is in what F1 drivers actually say on the radio.
What is left
Four rounds remain: Sao Paulo, where he won from 17th on the grid in 2024, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The title went to Kimi Antonelli in Mexico City, so Verstappen's fight is for second, and it is close: he has 261 points, Hamilton 259, Russell 250 and Leclerc 245. The Sao Paulo times are in our Sao Paulo GP 2026 preview, the champion's season is measured in Kimi Antonelli's 2026, and Verstappen's longer rivalry in Lando Norris vs Max Verstappen.
What this measures, and what it does not
Results, grid positions and points come from formula1.com's official results and starting grids, and match the championship standings after the Mexico City Grand Prix.
The radio count is what Formula 1 broadcast, not everything said. Our 2026 radio begins at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Quotes are taken only from lines where the speaker label and the words agree. Where a transcript mixes the engineer's words into the driver's line, we have quoted only the part that is clearly one person's.
Frequently asked questions
Has Max Verstappen won a race in 2026?
Yes, three times. After fifteen rounds without a win he won the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang on 4 October and the Singapore Grand Prix on 11 October, both from pole, and the Mexico City Grand Prix on 1 November from fifth. He also won the Singapore sprint.
Why did Max Verstappen retire at Monaco in 2026?
His engine failed at the start. It was behaving strangely on the formation lap and died when he dropped the clutch, so he fell from second to last and retired after one lap.
Where is Max Verstappen in the 2026 championship?
Second, on 261 points after the Mexico City Grand Prix, two ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Kimi Antonelli has already won the title.
Why did Max Verstappen start 20th in Australia in 2026?
He crashed on his first flying lap in qualifying when the rear axle locked under braking into turn 1, so he set no time and started twentieth, ahead only of Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll, who did not run. He finished the race sixth.
Sources
Race and sprint results, grid positions and points: Formula 1 timing data via FastF1 and formula1.com results, matching the championship standings published after the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix
Every radio message quoted: our own team radio archive
Hear the next one live
"What should I do?" is not something you normally hear from Max Verstappen. It went out live, on lap one in Monaco.
The Formula Dream app plays live driver radio as it is broadcast, transcript beside the audio, and collects every FIA document of the weekend as the stewards publish it, including the decisions that follow a crash or a disputed move. There is also a live timing Dashboard, currently in beta.
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Every Miami Grand Prix winner, measured: five races, and pole has won only one of them
Five Miami Grands Prix have been held since 2022, and only one was won from pole: Kimi Antonelli's in 2026. Max Verstappen won from ninth in 2023, and Lando Norris took his first win there in 2024. Every winner, grid slot and safety car, measured.
Max VerstappenRed Bull · Hungarian Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 16:45:05 local
EngineerThat is an excellent drive Max, really, really, really spot on. I'd like to be a C-Sprog to your showpiece finale, but nonetheless, I'm going to be proud of that final sit. That's a great move there as well, so fantastic job.
DriverYeah, we had a second today in some way or another. Great job. Well, it's been quite a lot out there, so...
Max VerstappenRed Bull · Singapore Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 21:28:32 local
EngineerMax, under a safety car, we would lose position to Leclerc, but I'm worried about restarting on this tyre, sir. Not more, I promise. If you would accept pitting behind Leclerc, say nothing. If you don't want to pit, key up on the radio, try to say something. Okay, mate, understood. Thank you.
Max VerstappenRed Bull · Belgian Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 16:30:33 local
DriverYeah, good job guys. It's
Engineerthe
Driverlast podium. We're unlucky with that VSC, but it's all good. Well
Engineerdone Max. The pace is getting better, you were very strong as you say. Unlucky for P2, but it's close enough to the top and we have more coming. So, thanks for bearing with us.
DriverYeah, exactly that. It's a tiny bit unlucky, but it's still a good podium.
