Bahrain GP in Malaysia 2026: Verstappen on pole ahead of Hamilton

Max Verstappen secured his first pole position of 2026 with a dominant performance at the Sepang International Circuit during qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Verstappen topped all three sessions and set a final benchmark lap time of 1:35.130 in Q3, finishing 0.298 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton. The event takes place at the track near Kuala Lumpur because the race was postponed earlier in the year due to the war in the Middle East, marking Formula 1's return to Malaysia for the first time since 2017.

Red Bull introduced an aerodynamic upgrade at the preceding race in Azerbaijan, which proved to be a major step forward on the demanding Sepang circuit. Verstappen acknowledged the turnaround after a difficult campaign marked by early struggles for pace and balance. Fantastic, Verstappen said, according to BBC Sport. We have been trying many grands prix to get pole, sometimes a bit closer than others. But to finally get it from where we started the season, pretty incredible.

Front-Row Reunion and Technical Challenges

Verstappen's pole places him alongside his former title rival Lewis Hamilton on the front row, reviving memories of their 2021 championship battle. Hamilton fought through difficult cockpit conditions caused by extreme heat, sliding tires, and an awkward balance before finding the sweet spot with a late setup change. It's so hot here. That's made it a massive challenge for the cars, the tyres, the mechanics in the garage, Hamilton said, as reported by BBC Sport. Because the tyres are sliding, it's so hard to find a good balance and we made one change and we finally hit the sweet spot.

Isack Hadjar initially took third fastest in the second Red Bull with a time of 1:35.558. However, Hadjar carries a five-place grid penalty for taking a new internal combustion engine, which drops him down the starting order.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli capitalized on Hadjar's penalty to move up to third on the grid. Antonelli's qualifying session was compromised when he entered Q3 with only four fresh sets of soft tires instead of the usual five, and had his first Q2 lap deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 6. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff noted that the team's car lost time to Verstappen on the straights and suffered understeer at Turn 2, though he maintained belief in the team's new upgrade package introduced since the Canadian Grand Prix in June. We still believe that the upgrade works, Wolff told Sky Sports F1, as reported by Motorsport.com. We just need to understand why not here.

Field Disparities and Midfield Surprises

While Antonelli secured a second-row start, teammate George Russell struggled throughout the day and could manage only eighth fastest, finishing 0.741 seconds away from Verstappen's pole time. Russell admitted the team lacked pace compared to the Red Bulls and failed to progress from Friday practice. McLaren also fell short of expectations on a track layout anticipated to suit their recent car characteristics, with Lando Norris managing sixth and Oscar Piastri seventh.

Further down the grid, Aston Martin delivered their best qualifying performance of the year. Fernando Alonso placed 12th, benefiting from chassis improvements in aerodynamics and weight implemented since the summer. It was definitely one the best qualifying of the year, Alonso said. 1.5secs to top of Q2, so smallest margin. It seems this circuit is a little better for our package and let's see tomorrow if we can take advantage of this. Teammate Lance Stroll qualified 14th, though he was summoned by stewards over allegations of driving unnecessarily slowly during the earlier qualifying phases.

The elimination stages brought misfortune for several competitors. Franco Colapinto will start 21st after accumulating a combined 15-place grid drop, ten places for a new internal combustion engine and five places for causing a multi-car collision in Azerbaijan. Arvid Lindblad must start from the very back of the grid after Racing Bulls fitted an entirely new pool of power unit components to his car.

Next Steps

Drivers and teams prepare for the 56-lap Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday, where high tire wear at the Sepang circuit presents a critical strategic challenge. Verstappen aims to convert his maiden pole of the season into his first grand prix victory of the year, with Lewis Hamilton alongside him on the front row and Kimi Antonelli pushing from the second row to defend his championship lead.