Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the 2026 Formula 1 season after topping qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Saturday. The Red Bull driver set a time of 1:35.130 in Q3 to beat Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton by 0.298 seconds and secure the top spot for Sunday’s race at Sepang International Circuit.
Verstappen had been building towards a strong qualifying session after topping final practice earlier in the day. The Dutchman, who won the last Malaysian Grand Prix in 2017 before the race disappeared from the calendar, returned to the Sepang circuit nine years later and once again finished qualifying fastest.
“It’s fantastic, we’ve been trying for many Grands Prix to get more, sometimes a bit closer to the others. But to finally get it from where we started the season, pretty incredible,” Verstappen said after qualifying as he looks for his first victory of the season.
Hamilton Secures Front-Row Start For Ferrari
Hamilton produced a late improvement in Q3 to take second place, with his final lap of 1:35.428 putting him ahead of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar. The Ferrari driver had struggled with tyre degradation during practice, but changes made before qualifying helped him find a better balance.
“It’s so hot here,” Hamilton said, highlighting the challenge posed by the conditions. “The cars are sliding, these tyres are overheating. It was really, really hard to find a good balance.”
Hamilton said Ferrari made one final change before qualifying and felt the team had “hit the sweet spot”. His second-place finish gives Ferrari a front-row starting position alongside Verstappen.
Hadjar Qualifies Third But Will Start Eighth
Hadjar was third fastest in qualifying with a 1:35.558, just 0.428 seconds off Verstappen’s pole time. However, the Red Bull driver will not start from the third position after receiving a five-place grid penalty for exceeding his seasonal engine allowance.
That moves Mercedes’ championship leader Kimi Antonelli up to third on the starting grid, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc alongside him in fourth. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will start fifth and sixth respectively, while George Russell moves up to seventh and Hadjar drops to eighth.
“It’s a bit unfortunate we take the penalty on a track that fast,” Hadjar said. “But you know, from P8, I’m confident we can go through the field and come back for a good result.”
McLaren Drivers Make The Top Seven
McLaren placed both cars inside the top seven, with Norris qualifying sixth and Piastri seventh before the grid adjustments. Norris set a 1:35.757 in Q3, only 0.627 seconds behind Verstappen, while Piastri was just 0.005 seconds slower.
Russell completed the original top eight with a 1:35.871. Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top 10, recording 1:37.210 and 1:37.673 respectively in Q3.
What The Starting Grid Looks Like
With Hadjar’s penalty applied, Verstappen will start from pole alongside Hamilton on the front row. Antonelli and Leclerc occupy the second row, followed by Norris and Piastri. Russell starts seventh, with Hadjar eighth.
The qualifying result sets up Verstappen’s first pole of the season as he targets his first Grand Prix victory of the year. The race also marks Formula 1’s return to Malaysia, with Sepang hosting the relocated Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.
F1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2026 Qualifying Results:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:36.477 | 1:35.696 | 1:35.130 | 12 |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:36.595 | 1:36.032 | 1:35.428 | 15 |
| 3 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull Racing | 1:36.898 | 1:36.192 | 1:35.558 | 12 |
| 4 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:37.041 | 1:35.959 | 1:35.631 | 12 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:36.730 | 1:35.970 | 1:35.666 | 12 |
| 6 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:37.092 | 1:36.173 | 1:35.757 | 12 |
| 7 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:36.852 | 1:36.020 | 1:35.762 | 12 |
| 8 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:37.264 | 1:36.245 | 1:35.871 | 12 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:37.174 | 1:36.410 | 1:37.210 | 18 |
| 10 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:37.106 | 1:36.814 | 1:37.673 | 18 |
| 11 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:37.332 | 1:37.023 | — | 12 |
| 12 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:37.721 | 1:37.220 | — | 9 |
| 13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:37.651 | 1:37.527 | — | 12 |
| 14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:37.729 | 1:37.566 | — | 12 |
| 15 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:37.179 | DNF | — | 8 |
| 16 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:37.883 | DNF | — | 9 |
| 17 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 1:37.970 | — | — | 6 |
| 18 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 1:37.980 | — | — | 9 |
| 19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | 1:38.233 | — | — | 9 |
| 20 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:38.600 | — | — | 6 |
| 21 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 1:38.611 | — | — | 6 |
| 22 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | 1:38.933 | — | — | 6 |
(With inputs from Reuters)
