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F1 Bahrain GP in Malaysia: Verstappen Dominates for First Pole of 2026 From Hamilton
Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton by 0.298 seconds for his first pole of 2026, while several grid penalties will reshape the starting order.
- On Saturday, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli topped final practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit with a 1:36.302 lap, outpacing Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar.
- Mercedes optimized their W17 performance overnight after Friday struggles, allowing Antonelli to set the benchmark at Sepang, which hosts Formula One for the first time since 2017.
- A mid-session red flag halted practice when debris from Haas driver Oliver Bearman's brake duct shed at Turn 10, forcing teams to compress qualifying simulations into final minutes.
- Max Verstappen secured pole position for Sunday's race, edging Antonelli, who qualified second after track limit deletions during his Q2 run compromised his final session preparation.
- Sunday's race grid features adjustments: Isack Hadjar serves a five-place penalty for an engine change, while Franco Colapinto starts at the back after a 15-place grid drop.
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115 Articles
115 Articles
Waiting for the first pole position has come to an end for the Dutchman. Is he ending the victory curse on Sunday?
·Berlin, Germany
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Max Verstappen takes first pole position of the year in Malaysia
·Stockholm, Sweden
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Max Verstappen was the fastest in qualifying in Malaysia and will start at the front in Sunday's grand prix.
·Copenhagen, Denmark
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Max Verstappen scored pole position for the first time this year and is chasing the first victory of the year with Lewis Hamilton as the main challenger
·Copenhagen, Denmark
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Total News Sources115
Leaning Left10Leaning Right14Center15Last UpdatedBias Distribution38% Center
Bias Distribution
- 38% of the sources are Center
38% Center
L 26%
C 38%
R 36%
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