F1 Stock Watch: Who Gained and Lost More After Malaysia?

Max Verstappen left Sepang as a winner in 2017, and he returned in 2026 as a winner.  The four-time World Champion's victory in the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia earns him the lion's share of the spotlight in this week's Formula 1 Stock Watch.

First pole and first victory of 2026. Verstappen celebrated a perfect weekend at the Sepang International Circuit, where he's now won two straight, the other back in 2017. 

Moreover, Verstappen is making steady gains in the Drivers' Standings, as he finds himself tied with McLaren's Lando Norris for fifth place. Most importantly, the Dutchman has finished at least P2 in the last three races. The Red Bulls are going for it. 

Yes, it was another clean and consistent drive for Kimi Antonelli, but the Mercedes driver gets his stock up mostly because of his stronger hold on the championship. With George Russell retiring in Sepang due to another car reliability issue, Antonelli's 2026 championship is almost a sure thing.

To be fair, we won't put Russell on the bad side today. But we'll mention more about this team later on.

Imagine if Ferrari got their tyre strategy correct at the start of the race. The headlines might be focused on a Maranello celebration. Instead, Ferrari guessed wrong, putting their drivers on the soft tyres when the track wasn't dry enough.

But Lewis Hamilton put his head down and went to work. He endured a difficult opening stint, but eventually, his soft tyres became more effective once the track started to dry up. From as low as 18th on the grid, the seven-time World Champion climbed to P3 for a spectacular podium finish.

Aston Martin had their two cars in the second session of qualifying for the first time, and Fernando Alonso made sure that their celebrations didn't end on a Saturday. The Spaniard driver took advantage of the chaos in front of him and finished in P8. 

It was Alonso and Aston Martin's best haul of points in 2026. Things are looking up for the Silverstone-based outfit.

After a let-down in Baku, Liam Lawson had a quiet but efficient race in Sepang. The Kiwi driver finished in P7, and crucially, ahead of any Alpine driver. With the team taking a double-points finish and Alpine scoring zero, the Racing Bulls have increased their midfield lead to 22 points.

It wasn't a good Saturday for the reigning World Champion, and then things turned worse on Sunday. After admitting that they didn't have the one-lap pace to stay competitive in qualifying, Lando Norris had a mix of bad luck and driver error in the race. 

He was one of the drivers caught out by the decision to start on medium slicks in damp conditions. Norris eventually recovered, but was caught sleeping behind the Safety Car late in the race. He ran off the track and dropped to P11 before recovering to a P9 finish.

The last two races haven't been good for Norris. He has only scored two points in two weekends, which included that unfortunate DNF in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Another day, another lost podium for George Russell and Mercedes. They came into this race with the most upgrades of any team. They couldn't extract their expected performance on Saturday, although a good start in the race brought them back into the fight.

However, it was obvious that the WR17 wasn't up to its usual dominant performance. Antonelli led the early laps, but he couldn't get farther away from Verstappen, who eventually overtook him.

Then, with Russell on course for a surefire podium, a power-unit failure forced him out with only a handful of laps remaining. The WR17's reliability issues, especially for Russell's side of the garage, have haunted the British driver's championship aspirations.