Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, dominating Saturday qualifying at the Sepang International Circuit ahead of Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton.
Max Verstappen delivered a commanding performance under punishingly humid conditions, setting a lap time of 1 min 35.130 sec to secure the 49th pole of his career. The Red Bull driver led all three practice and qualifying sessions, out-pacing Lewis Hamilton by 0.298 seconds at a circuit hosting Formula 1 for the first time since 2017.
Red Bull Upgrades Transform the Car in Malaysia
The dominant Saturday showing marks a turnaround for Red Bull, which started the year off the pace and more than half a second slower per lap than Mercedes during the first half of the campaign. Verstappen credited the team’s latest development package for stabilizing the car’s balance across high-speed and low-speed corners.
“It’s been an incredible result for us,” Verstappen said. “Looking at the season, how it started for us and the progression that we have made. At some tracks we were kind of close, but now I think this weekend it was very positive for us.”
Max Verstappen, via Yahoo
Hamilton capitalized on the competitive machinery to equal his best grid position of the year in second place for Ferrari, reacting over team radio with a jubilant Let’s go guys, let’s go. Finally
after a difficult stretch of results for the Scuderia.
Hadjar Grid Penalty Elevates Antonelli to Third
While Verstappen and Hamilton locked out the front row, Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar qualified third but will drop five places to start eighth on the grid due to changing his engine over the allocation for the season.
That penalty elevates championship leader Kimi Antonelli to third on the grid. Antonelli endured a difficult qualifying session after his first Q2 lap was deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 6, forcing him to burn an extra set of soft tires and leaving him with only a single set of fresh rubber for the Q3 shootout. Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate, George Russell, struggled to eighth fastest, though Hadjar’s penalty bumps Russell up to seventh for Sunday’s race start.
Midfield Battles and Penalties Shape the Starting Order
Further down the grid, Liam Lawson narrowly missed out on a spot in the top-ten shootout after being pushed into the Q2 elimination zone by Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto right at the end. Lawson took 11th for Racing Bulls, narrowly ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who secured his best qualifying result of the season in 12th place. Carlos Sainz slotted his Williams between Alonso and the second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, who placed 14th as both Aston Martins reached Q2 for the first time this year. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top ten in ninth and tenth respectively.
Behind the points-paying positions, Franco Colapinto took 15th for Alpine, though the driver will start at the back due to a 15-place grid penalty stemming from a five-place drop for a clash in Baku and a 10-place penalty for changing his Mercedes power unit. Formula 1 rookie Arvid Lindblad qualified 16th for Racing Bulls, but he is also set for a major grid drop after the team fitted a completely new pool of power unit components to his car. Nico Hulkenberg suffered a Q1 elimination in 17th after paying the price for starting the session on medium tires, placing him just ahead of the Haas pair of Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon, the latter of whom is exiting the American outfit at the end of the season. Alex Albon struggled to 20th for Williams, followed by the two Cadillacs of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez at the very back of the field.
Qualifying Results and Sunday Grid Order at Sepang
| Driver | Constructor | Qualifying Time / Gap | Starting Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:35.130 | P1 |
| Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.298s | P2 |
| Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.501s | P3 |
| Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.536s | P4 |
| Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.627s | P5 |
| Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.632s | P6 |
| George Russell | Mercedes | +0.741s | P7 |
| Isack Hadjar | Red Bull Racing | +0.428s | P8 (5-place penalty) |
| Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +2.080s | P9 |
| Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | +2.543s | P10 |