CALLED IT
I had Max on pole in my predictions so I’ll take it.
Formula 1 returned to Sepang for qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, and Max Verstappen delivered his best Saturday of the season.
The Red Bull driver took his first pole position of 2026 with a brilliant 1:35.130, beating Lewis Hamilton by nearly three tenths of a second. Verstappen topped all three qualifying sessions and looked like the man to beat from the moment Q1 began.
Q1 — Verstappen Sets the Pace
Qualifying began with several teams trying different tyre strategies in the brutal Malaysian heat.
Kimi Antonelli initially went quickest for Mercedes, but Verstappen immediately responded and jumped to the top of the timesheets. Ferrari also showed strong pace on the medium tyres, with Hamilton and Charles Leclerc moving near the front.
Verstappen ultimately finished Q1 fastest with a 1:36.477.
Nico Hülkenberg narrowly missed Q2 by just 0.087 seconds, while Ollie Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez were also eliminated.
Q2 — Kimi Survives a Scare
Verstappen continued his dominance in Q2, becoming the first driver to break into the 1:35s with a 1:35.696.
Antonelli, meanwhile, suddenly found himself under pressure after his first lap was deleted for exceeding track limits. Mercedes had to send him back onto the circuit with a fresh set of soft tyres, but the championship leader responded well and jumped into second place to comfortably advance.
Gabriel Bortoleto produced one of the more impressive performances of the session, reaching Q3 for Audi and knocking Liam Lawson out in the process.
Lawson, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad were eliminated.
Q3 — Verstappen Delivers
When it came time to decide pole position, nobody had an answer for Verstappen.
His first Q3 effort already gave him provisional pole, but he improved again on his final run to set a 1:35.130.
Hamilton produced an excellent final lap for Ferrari to take second, 0.298 seconds behind Verstappen.
Isack Hadjar continued an impressive Red Bull qualifying session by taking third, although a five-place grid penalty means he will start Sunday’s race from eighth.
That promotes Antonelli, who qualified fourth, onto the second row in third alongside Leclerc.
Lando Norris qualified sixth ahead of Oscar Piastri, while George Russell endured a surprisingly difficult session and could only manage eighth. Pierre Gasly and Bortoleto completed the top 10.
Mercedes Has a Saturday to Forget
For Mercedes, this was a strange qualifying session.
Antonelli had actually topped FP3 earlier in the day, while Russell arrived in Malaysia fresh off his dominant victory in Baku. Instead, Mercedes struggled when qualifying arrived.
Antonelli managed to salvage a strong starting position, especially after Hadjar’s penalty promotes him to third, but Russell never looked comfortable and finished eighth-fastest. He will start seventh because of Hadjar’s grid drop.
Mercedes also brought a significant upgrade package to Sepang, making its lack of qualifying pace even more surprising.
Verstappen Is Back on Pole
This was vintage Max Verstappen.
He was fastest in Q1.
Fastest in Q2.
And when pole position was on the line, he delivered again.
It is Verstappen’s first pole of the 2026 season and the first time this year that a car without a Mercedes power unit has taken pole position. It also comes at a circuit where Verstappen won the most recent Malaysian Grand Prix back in 2017.
Now he has an opportunity to turn pole into his first victory of the season.
Hamilton alongside him should make the run into Turn 1 extremely interesting, while Antonelli starts directly behind them and Russell has plenty of work to do from seventh.
With Sepang’s extreme heat, heavy tyre degradation and the possibility of changing weather, qualifying may only be the beginning of what could be a chaotic race.
Provisional Starting Order at the Front
- Max Verstappen — Red Bull
- Lewis Hamilton — Ferrari
- Kimi Antonelli — Mercedes
- Charles Leclerc — Ferrari
- Lando Norris — McLaren
- Oscar Piastri — McLaren
- George Russell — Mercedes
- Isack Hadjar — Red Bull
Hadjar qualified third but drops five positions because of his grid penalty.
Can Verstappen finally grab his first victory of 2026, or will Hamilton, Antonelli or someone else spoil Red Bull’s return to the front?
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