Verstappen claims pole at Bahrain GP in Malaysia, Hamilton joins front row
Max Verstappen secured his first pole of the 2026 season at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, with Lewis Hamilton qualifying second.
Max Verstappen recorded the fastest time in all three qualifying sessions at the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia, earning his first pole of the 2026 Formula One season with a lap of 1:35.130. The Red Bull driver will start alongside Lewis Hamilton, who posted a 1:35.428 to take second place on the grid.
Isack Hadjar initially posted the second-fastest time in Q3 but received a penalty for an engine change, dropping him to third. Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth after a lap in Q2 was deleted for exceeding track limits, forcing him to use an extra set of soft tyres.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris rounded out the top five, while Mercedes teammate George Russell qualified eighth. The top ten also featured Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto.
Further down the order, Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson missed the final qualifying segment, starting 11th, and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso qualified 12th, his best result of the season. Several drivers, including Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad, will incur grid penalties for power-unit changes or other infractions.
The qualifying session marked Malaysia’s return to the Formula One calendar after a nine-year hiatus, with the event scheduled amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.