Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of 2026 by dominating qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, finishing ahead of Lewis Hamilton at the Sepang International Circuit.
Verstappen Takes First Pole of 2026 at Sepang
Max Verstappen set the pace throughout all three qualifying sessions to capture his first pole position of the 2026 Formula 1 campaign at the Sepang International Circuit. The Red Bull driver locked down the top spot with a lap time of 1m 35.130s, establishing a 0.298-second advantage over his nearest challenger during the Saturday afternoon session in Malaysia. The four-time world champion secured the pole at the Sepang venue.
Fantastic, we've tried for many rounds to get pole, sometimes it was so close, and finally we got it,
Max Verstappen said according to TrueVisions, adding, First time since the start of the season, it's unbelievable, I'm glad we did it today and of course I'll try to win tomorrow when we start in P1, that's the goal.
Grid Penalties Change the Order Behind the Front Row
Lewis Hamilton drove his Ferrari to second place in qualifying, splitting the Red Bull cars to secure a front-row start for Sunday’s grand prix alongside Verstappen. Isack Hadjar finished third-fastest for Red Bull but will drop five places on the starting grid due to taking on new engine components. Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli claimed fourth in qualifying, which elevates the Mercedes driver to third on the provisional grid following Hadjar’s penalty at the Sepang circuit.
Charles Leclerc rounded out the top five for Ferrari ahead of reigning world champion Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in sixth and seventh for McLaren during the Saturday session. George Russell managed eighth for Mercedes, while Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top 10 for Alpine and Audi respectively. Liam Lawson narrowly missed a Q3 appearance, taking 11th for Racing Bulls after being pushed down the order by Bortoleto during the closing moments of Q2. Fernando Alonso achieved Aston Martin’s best qualifying result of the season by taking 12th place on the grid, sharing the sixth row with Lawson. Carlos Sainz slotted his Williams machine into 13th position between Alonso and Lance Stroll, with Stroll taking 14th to cap off Aston Martin’s first double Q2 appearance of the year. Both Aston Martin drivers were recently confirmed on Tuesday for the 2027 season. Franco Colapinto secured 15th for Alpine but is set to start at the back of the grid due to a 15-place penalty consisting of five spots for a clash in Baku and ten spots for changing his Mercedes power unit. Rookie Arvid Lindblad qualified 16th for Racing Bulls and will also start from the back of the grid after his team fitted a completely new pool of engine components. Nico Hulkenberg encountered trouble in Q1 after starting on medium tires, resulting in a 17th-place knockout just 0.087 seconds shy of advancing. Haas driver Oliver Bearman placed 18th following a lock-up at Turn 1 on his second lap, finishing just ahead of outgoing team-mate Esteban Ocon in 19th. Alexander Albon rounded out the timesheets in 20th position for Williams with a time of 1m 38.600s, followed by Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez in the two Cadillac cars.
Race Organisers Move F1 to Sepang After Regional Conflict
The unusual venue choice stems from geopolitical conflict in the Middle East that forced the cancellation of the traditional season stop at the Bahrain International Circuit. The weekend marks Formula 1’s return to the Malaysian venue for the first time since 2017.
