Verstappen finally has pole, with old rival Hamilton beside him
SEPANG — Max Verstappen has claimed his first Formula One pole position of the 2026 season, beating Lewis Hamilton in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia and putting Red Bull in position to challenge for its first victory of the year.
The four-time world champion dominated qualifying at the Sepang International Circuit, topping all three sessions before setting a final lap of 1:35.130. Hamilton finished 0.298 seconds behind in his Ferrari, while Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar qualified third.
Hadjar will serve a five-place grid penalty for exceeding his permitted allocation of engine components, dropping him to eighth. That promotes championship leader Kimi Antonelli to third, alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fourth.
McLaren endured a more difficult qualifying session, with defending world champion Lando Norris sixth and Oscar Piastri seventh. Mercedes driver George Russell qualified eighth, behind the two McLarens, despite the team introducing upgrades for the weekend.
Verstappen’s pole ends a difficult run for Red Bull and is his first since the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It is also the first pole of the 2026 season achieved by a car without a Mercedes engine.
The result carries additional significance at Sepang. Verstappen won the last Malaysian Grand Prix held at the circuit in 2017, when he was still early in his Formula One career. Nine years and four world championships later, he has returned to the same circuit at the front of the grid.
The Bahrain Grand Prix is being staged in Malaysia this year following disruption in the Middle East, bringing Formula One back to Sepang for the first time since 2017.
Hamilton’s second place also sets up a familiar pairing on the front row. The former championship rivals have not started a Grand Prix alongside each other on the front row since Hungary in 2023.
Verstappen is now targeting his first victory of the season after narrowly missing out on the win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Red Bull has struggled to match the leading teams for much of 2026, leaving Verstappen sixth in the drivers’ standings heading into the weekend.
The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia takes place at Sepang on Sunday, with Verstappen and Hamilton leading the field into the first corner.
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