Max Verstappen took his first pole of the 2026 Formula 1 campaign to deliver on his early weekend promise by dominating qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The Red Bull driver was fastest in all three sessions after also dominating FP1 on Friday to claim his first pole since the Abu Dhabi 2025 finale with a time of 1m35.130s at Sepang.
Verstappen will be joined on the front row by Lewis Hamilton on the weekend Malaysia ends its nine-year hiatus from F1 to host the Bahrain Grand Prix due to conflict in the Middle East.
It comes after the four-time world champion was also fastest in the opening runs of Q3, taking provisional first place with a time of 1m35.250s, 0.308s faster than teammate Isack Hadjar in second.
Verstappen then failed to improve in the first two sectors of his second lap, before bouncing back with a final purple sector to go 0.120 seconds faster for the 49th pole of the Dutchman’s career.
His final time was 0.298 seconds faster than Hamilton’s 1m35.428s for Ferrari, which pushed Hadjar into third place after the second-year F1 student failed to improve on his final lap.
Hadjar will serve a five-place grid penalty for an engine change that will allow him to start the Bahrain GP in Malaysia from eighth place.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli struggled to take fourth place, 0.501 seconds off the pace, after an entry into Q3 already compromised by what happened in Q2.
The Mercedes driver had to use an extra set of new softs after his first push lap in Q2 was scrapped for track limits at Turn 6, causing him to do just one lap in the final session.
Antonelli’s time of 1m35.631 ultimately puts him in second row, one place above Hamilton teammate Charles Leclerc, with a time of 1m35.666, who will start fourth ahead of Lando Norris.
The reigning world champion was 0.627 seconds off the pace on a weekend where McLaren struggled for speed, with Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri having to start sixth with a time of 1’35.762 seconds.
It was even tougher for Antonelli’s teammate George Russell, who was 0.741 seconds off the pace in eighth, but will start seventh due to Hadjar’s penalty, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto completing the top 10.
Liam Lawson missed Q3 by two tenths to take 11th on the grid after being pushed into the Q2 elimination zone by Bortoleto right at the end.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Joe Portlock / Getty Images
The Racing Bulls driver will share row six with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who achieved his best result in 2026 qualifying, while 13th place goes to Williams driver Carlos Sainz.
Sainz will be joined on the seventh row by Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll in the first double Q2 appearance of 2026 for Aston Martin, which confirmed both drivers for 2027 on Tuesday.
Franco Colapinto took 15th place, but the Alpine driver will start Sunday’s race at the back of the pack due to a 15-place grid penalty: five for his clash in Baku and 10 for changing his Mercedes power unit.
Rookie Arvid Lindblad took 16th for Racing Bulls as he is also set to drop down the grid, one place above Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg who paid the price for his Q1 start with the mediums.
Haas driver Oliver Bearman will join him on the ninth row in 18th ahead of outgoing teammate Esteban Ocon in 19th – the Frenchman’s first Q1 outing since Spa.
Alex Albon’s frustrations continued with a 20th place finish for Williams ahead of the usual suspects: Valtteri Bottas in 21st, three tenths faster than his Cadillac teammate Sergio Perez at the rear.
F1 Bahrain GP in Malaysia – Qualifying Results
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