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Max Verstappen took his first pole of the season for Red Bull at the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia, beating Lewis Hamilton by 0.298 seconds, while title leader Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth and George Russell only eighth.
Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the season on Saturday, topping qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix with a best lap of 1min 35.130sec in the final minute of a close session run in high temperatures at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
The four-time world champion, who has yet to win a race this season and is out of the title fight, beat seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari by 0.298 seconds. Hamilton's front-row start is his best qualifying result since the Hungarian Grand Prix. Isack Hadjar qualified third for Red Bull but will drop five places on the starting grid after a penalty for fitting new engine components beyond the permitted quota.
Verstappen Takes Bahrain Grand Prix Pole
That promotes standings leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes to third on the grid. Charles Leclerc was fifth for Ferrari and defending world champion Lando Norris sixth for McLaren. Oscar Piastri was seventh in the second McLaren, ahead of George Russell of Mercedes, Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto of Audi. With Hadjar's penalty applied, Russell will start seventh.
The gap between title leader Antonelli and his Mercedes team-mate was of greatest import for the championship. After his victory at the last round in Baku, Russell had closed the gap to Antonelli to 66 points with eight rounds remaining. Verstappen, who has been wrestling with a recalcitrant Red Bull all season, was delighted with pole. He said: It is fantastic.
To finally get it from where we started this season, pretty incredible. I am happy with today and I am going to try to win tomorrow. When you start first, that is the target. It will be the first time Verstappen has started at the front of the grid since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last season.
Hamilton Set to Challenge Verstappen
Few would bet against him, although a jubilant Hamilton will expect to mix it with the Dutchman at the off, setting up a mouthwatering opening to the race. The Bahrain Grand Prix is being raced in Malaysia due to disruption in the Gulf linked to the US-led war with Iran. Sepang was the venue for the Malaysian Grand Prix between 1999 and 2017, and Verstappen was the last driver to win there in 2017.
The session began in sizzling humidity with Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman leading out for Haas. Verstappen set the first run pace in 1:36.447 ahead of the two Ferraris, both running mediums while all their rivals used softs. With track temperatures in the mid-50s on a low-grip, high-degradation circuit, drivers tried to keep their tyres cool by taking things slower on their Q2 preparatory laps. The move earned Verstappen a black-and-white warning flag for driving unnecessarily slowly.
All that changed once he put his foot down and clocked 1:35.696 to go top. Antonelli exceeded track limits and had his first lap deleted, costing him a set of softs and requiring him to go out again. Taking greater care, he was fast enough to go P2, two-tenths down. Q3 began with Russell out first, but Verstappen scorched to the top again in 1:35.250 on his first run ahead of teammate Hadjar and Hamilton.
Final qualifyingMinute Shapes Front Row
Antonelli's sole lap, on his single remaining set of softs, then lifted him to P3. That left the rest with their final runs as Verstappen trimmed his time and Hamilton progressed to take P2 and join him on the front row in a dramatic final minute. Antonelli's crucial error occurred when he had his first time in Q2 deleted for exceeding track limits, leaving him with only one set of new rubber for Q3.
Antonelli said: It is a shame for the mistake, but with a clean qualifying without the track limit, maybe P2, P3 on the road would have been possible. Max did an incredible job and also Ferrari. We have to be happy because it could have been much worse. It is going to be interesting but I think Max has the edge on pace.
Tomorrow, the tyre deg is going to be huge. Mercedes were also left a little perplexed as to why the swathe of upgrades they brought to the race did not deliver. The pressure is now on Russell to try to come back at his team-mate, who has every opportunity to further extend his lead. Red Bull had been hoping to continue to bring their car on in the second half of the season.
Verstappen Eyes First Win of 2026
Although Verstappen's dissatisfaction with energy-management has remained throughout, he will be buoyed by the advances the team are making and that they are coming to terms with their car, which bodes well for next season. On this form in qualifying, Verstappen has every chance to claim his first win of 2026. The race is likely to be a two or even three-stop affair given the high tyre degradation in Malaysia.
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IrishTimes:Max Verstappen ends pole wait at Bahrain GP in Malaysia but Russell risks losing more groundThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Max Verstappen Red Bull Bahrain Grand Prix Formula 1 Sepang International Circuit Formula One Qualifying Kimi Antonelli George Russell
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