Verstappen takes his first pole of 2026, Hamilton returns to the front row

This time, the potential seen on Friday translated into a result. Max Verstappen claims his first pole of the season at Sepang with a 1:35.130, 0.298 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The Dutchman topped all three phases of qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia.

Red Bull also put Isack Hadjar third in qualifying, but his five-place engine penalty drops him to eighth on the grid. Kimi Antonelli inherits third, ahead of Charles Leclerc. For Red Bull, this is also its first pole with the power unit developed with Ford.

Hamilton credits a final setup change before qualifying for his improvement. After struggling with the car sliding and the tires overheating in practice, Ferrari found a balance that suited him better. The Briton remains cautious, though: keeping the tires alive over a full stint will be a different challenge against a Verstappen whose long-run pace he also rates highly.

At Sepang, Norris and Piastri occupy the third row ahead of Russell and Hadjar. Gasly and Bortoleto complete the top 10. At the back, Colapinto is 21st and Lindblad 22nd: Colapinto combines his five-place penalty from Baku with another 10 places for an engine change. These are the positions shown on the official grid at the editorial cutoff, distinct from the qualifying classification.

The F1 Grand Prix starts on Sunday, October 4, at 9 a.m. in Paris and 3 a.m. in Ottawa.