Verstappen takes his first pole position of the year at F1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia
Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton by 0.298 seconds as Red Bull claimed its first pole of 2026 and Mercedes struggled in qualifying.
- On Saturday, Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the 2026 season at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit, posting a 1:35.130 lap to finish 0.298 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.
- Staged as a replacement event after the cancellation of races in the Middle East, the Bahrain Grand Prix returns to Malaysia's Sepang circuit for the first time since 2017.
- Red Bull's aerodynamic upgrades improved car balance and secured the team's first pole of 2026, while Isack Hadjar will serve a five-place grid penalty for engine component changes and Franco Colapinto faces a 15-place drop.
- Championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth for Mercedes but will start Sunday's race third on the grid due to Hadjar's sanction, while teammate George Russell qualified eighth, eight tenths off the pace.
- High heat and tyre degradation at Sepang present critical challenges for Sunday's race, where Verstappen will lead from the front row and teams must maintain stable balance under thermal stress to convert qualifying pace into points.
221 Articles
221 Articles
Max Verstappen Claims 1st Pole Of 2026 At Bahrain Grand Prix In Malaysia, Lewis Hamilton Right Behind
Max Verstappen qualified on pole position for the first time this year at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on a rare off day for Mercedes and Formula 1 standings leader Kimi Antonelli.
Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz will face the test from 12th and 13th place, respectively.
Since 2019, there had been no year in which Max Verstappen had not won a pole position. This season, he risked ending with a zero in the box, but the Dutchman of Red...
The four-time world champion was in his element again in qualifying, but Sunday's race is taking place far from Bahrain due to the extraordinary circumstances.
The quad Dutch world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) will be first released this Sunday at the Bahrain Grand Prix, the 16th Formula One World Championship, which is held on the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. Verstappen, 29, signed his forty-ninth ‘pole’ at the F1 – the first of the season – to ... Continue reading "Max Verstappen achieves pole position for the F1 Baréin Grand Prix"
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