Verstappen takes first 2026 pole ahead of Hamilton
Summary
Max Verstappen earned his and Red Bull's first pole position of the 2026 Formula 1 season in qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. He was nearly three-tenths of a second faster than Lewis Hamilton, who qualified second ahead of Kimi Antonelli, promoted after a penalty to another driver.Key Facts
- Max Verstappen secured the pole position with the fastest time in qualifying.
- Lewis Hamilton qualified second, close behind Verstappen.
- Isack Hadjar was third fastest but received a five-place grid penalty.
- Kimi Antonelli moved up to third on the starting grid due to Hadjar’s penalty.
- George Russell qualified eighth, behind his teammate Antonelli.
- Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fifth fastest.
- Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso placed 12th, their best qualifying result this year.
- Malaysia hosted this Grand Prix for the first time since 2017 after a delay caused by conflict in the Middle East.
- Red Bull introduced an aerodynamic upgrade that helped performance at the Sepang track.
- Mercedes’ recent car upgrade did not improve their results as expected.
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