Verstappen Grabs Bahrain GP Pole in Malaysia as Hamilton Secures Front Row
Max Verstappen claimed pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, edging out Lewis Hamilton. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli moves to third after Isack Hadjar's penalty.
Max Verstappen will start from pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix, unusually held in Malaysia, after edging out Lewis Hamilton in qualifying at Sepang. The pair will share the front row for the first time since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Verstappen dominated the entire qualifying session, finishing first in all three segments. In Q3, he set two laps, either of which would have been enough to secure pole. He ultimately stopped the clock at 1:35.130, beating Hamilton by 0.298 seconds to claim his and Red Bull's first pole of the 2026 season.
Hamilton was extremely satisfied at the end of the session. "Come on guys, come on! Finally! Great job guys, truly great job. The car felt amazing," he said over the team radio after securing second place.
Isack Hadjar equaled his career-best qualifying result by finishing third, but a five-place grid penalty for changing an internal combustion engine will drop him to eighth on the grid. Consequently, championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who finished fourth, will start from third.
Antonelli's path to fourth was not smooth. A mistake in Q2 forced him to use an extra set of tires and left him with only one attempt in the final part of qualifying. Despite this, he finished ahead of his Mercedes teammate George Russell, who will start seventh after a difficult day.
Charles Leclerc will start fourth, ahead of the McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. For Formula 1, this marks a return to Malaysia for the first time since 2017. The Bahrain Grand Prix was moved to Malaysia after being postponed from its original April slot due to the security situation in the Middle East.
