Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the 2026 Formula 1 season on Saturday, leading qualifying at Sepang International Circuit for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The Red Bull driver set a best time of 1:35.130, finishing 0.298 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. It was the Dutchman’s 49th career pole and his first since the 2025 Abu Dhabi finale.

The race is being held in Malaysia after conflict in the Middle East led to the Bahrain Grand Prix being moved to Sepang. Malaysia returns to the F1 calendar after a nine-year hiatus, and the event had been postponed earlier in the year because of the war in the region. The race is scheduled for Sunday.

Verstappen was fastest in all three qualifying sessions after topping Friday’s first practice. He had also led the first runs in Q3, setting a provisional 1:35.250, 0.308 seconds quicker than team-mate Isack Hadjar. Verstappen did not improve in the first two sectors on his second lap, but a faster final sector brought his time down by 0.120 seconds.

Hamilton qualified second with a 1:35.428, securing a place alongside Verstappen on the front row. Hadjar was third fastest at 1:35.558, but a five-place grid penalty for an engine change drops him to eighth. That moves Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader, up to third on the starting grid.

Verstappen said: “Fantastic. 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.” The four-time world champion has struggled with pace and balance for much of the year, but Red Bull has made steady improvements and introduced an aerodynamic upgrade at the previous race in Azerbaijan.

The upgrade proved effective at the demanding Sepang circuit. The track’s characteristics also helped showcase recent aerodynamic and weight changes to Aston Martin’s chassis, while its Honda power unit remains the weakest in the field despite two recent upgrades. Sepang is less sensitive to engine power than some circuits, according to BBC Sport’s account of the team’s performance.

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.” His front-row start also recalls his 2021 title fight with Verstappen, when Hamilton was driving for Mercedes.

Antonelli ended qualifying fourth-fastest, 0.501 seconds off pole, with a 1:35.631. He had to use an extra set of new soft tyres in Q2 after his first push lap was deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 6. With Pirelli’s soft tyres lasting only one flying lap on Sepang’s highly abrasive surface, the extra set left the Italian with only one fresh set for the final session. He completed his sole Q3 run between the other front-runners’ attempts.

Antonelli had entered qualifying with four new sets of soft tyres rather than the usual five, and has received multiple track-limits penalties this season. Mercedes brought its first major upgrade since the Canadian Grand Prix in June, but it did not produce the step forward the team had hoped for. George Russell was eighth-fastest, 0.741 seconds off pole and 0.240 seconds behind Antonelli, after lacking pace compared with his team-mate throughout the day. Hadjar’s penalty moves Russell up to seventh.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fifth in 1:35.666, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who were sixth and seventh in qualifying. Norris recorded 1:35.757, 0.627 seconds off pole, while Piastri set 1:35.762. McLaren had been tipped by Russell as a possible front-runner because of strong recent results at tracks with similar characteristics, but the team struggled for speed throughout the weekend.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly qualified ninth in 1:37.210, and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top 10 in 1:37.673. Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson missed Q3 and was 11th in the qualifying results, two tenths short of advancing. Bortoleto secured the final place in the top 10 with a strong last lap, eliminating Lawson after Lawson had been pushed into the Q2 drop zone late in the session.

Bortoleto was the only Audi driver to get through Q1. Both Audi drivers had used medium tyres, but Nico Hulkenberg’s final lap was not enough to advance; he qualified 17th after starting Q1 on the mediums. In Q2, Racing Bulls used rookie Arvid Lindblad to give Lawson a tow down the back straight. The tactic offered some compensation after Lindblad crashed into his team-mate in Baku the previous week. Lindblad qualified 16th and also faces a grid drop.

Fernando Alonso qualified 12th for Aston Martin, behind Gasly, Bortoleto and Lawson in the results. BBC Sport described Alonso’s 1.524-second deficit to pole as the team’s strongest performance of the year, while Autosport reported 12th as his best qualifying result of 2026. The team’s two drivers both reached Q2 for the first time this season, five months after the FIA changed its Additional Development Update Opportunity regulations to help Honda, Aston Martin’s power-unit supplier.

Williams’ Carlos Sainz was 13th, splitting the Aston Martins, with Lance Stroll 14th. Alonso had recently confirmed he would stay in F1 for at least another year, in 2027. Aston Martin also confirmed both drivers for 2027 on Tuesday. Sainz was the only Williams driver to advance from Q1; Alex Albon qualified 20th after locking up and running wide at Turn 14, continuing his run of Q1 eliminations.

Franco Colapinto qualified 15th for Alpine but will start Sunday’s race at the back after a 15-place penalty: five places for his Baku clash and 10 for changing his Mercedes power unit. Haas drivers Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon were eliminated in Q1, qualifying 18th and 19th. Bearman went deep at Turn 1 on his first attempt, while Ocon, the outgoing Haas team-mate, was among the first to complete his final run and said he had left the pits too soon. It was Ocon’s first Q1 exit since Spa.

Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas qualified 21st, three tenths ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez, who was last. The full qualifying order, before penalties, was Verstappen, Hamilton, Hadjar, Antonelli, Leclerc, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Gasly, Bortoleto, Lawson, Alonso, Sainz, Stroll, Colapinto, Lindblad, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Ocon, Albon, Bottas and Perez.

Based on reporting by Autosport, BBC Sport and RaceFans.