Max Verstappen took his and Red Bull’s first pole position of 2026 with an imperious performance in qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen, whose last pole and victory was at the season finale in Abu Dhabi in 2026, was 0.298 seconds quicker than Hamilton after topping all three sessions of qualifying.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar was third fastest but has a five-place grid penalty, which will promote runaway championship leader Kimi Antonelli to third place.
The Italian’s closest rival, team-mate George Russell, could manage only eighth fastest.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fifth fastest, ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Fernando Alonso, fresh from confirming he will stay in F1 for at least another year in 2027, gave Aston Martin their best qualifying position of the year with 12th place, behind Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.
The second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll was 14th, split from Alonso by Williams’ Carlos Sainz.
Where have Red Bull (and Ferrari) come from?
Red Bull introduced a aerodynamic upgrade at the last race in Azerbaijan this weekend, and it has proved to be a major step forward at the demanding Sepang track, hosting this race after it was postponed earlier in the year because of the war in the Middle East.
Verstappen has had a difficult year, struggling for pace and balance for much of it, but he is on a strong run of results after steady improvements to the car.
“Fantastic,” he said. “We have been trying many grands prix to get pole, sometimes a bit closer than others. But to finally get it from where we started the season, pretty incredible.”
Hamilton’s position on the front row revives memories of their bitter title battle in 2021, when the seven-time champion was at Mercedes, and whets appetites for the grand prix on Sunday.
Hamilton said: “It’s so hot here. That’s made it a massive challenge for the cars, the tyres, the mechanics in the garage.
“Because the tyres are sliding, it’s so hard to find a good balance and we made one change and we finally hit the sweet spot.”
