Max Verstappen secured his first pole position of 2026 at Sepang on Saturday, leading Red Bull’s return to the front after a season that began with the car more than half a second per lap slower than Mercedes on average. Lewis Hamilton qualified second, nearly three-tenths of a second behind, and said he would “just try my best to hold on to him tomorrow” in Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

Formula 1 returned to the Sepang circuit for the first time since 2017. Verstappen has led the weekend, having been competitive from the opening practice and completed strong long-run work on Friday. He also skipped the soft-tyre qualifying simulation in Friday’s second session, an unusual choice, before taking pole the next day.

The result followed three consecutive podium finishes for Verstappen after his crash at Zandvoort. He had also stood on the podium at Monza, Madrid and Baku, though Red Bull was not the leading team at those events. At Baku last Sunday, he finished less than two-tenths of a second from victory after Red Bull introduced the final major upgrade package planned for this year. The team hoped to confirm its effectiveness in Malaysia, and the new floor was central to the update.

Verstappen said the car had been working well throughout the Sepang weekend. “I think the car has been in a good operating window all weekend,” he told Dutch journalists in the paddock after qualifying. He said the Malaysian heat could be a factor, while also pointing to improvements made through set-up work in recent weeks and the new parts fitted to the car.

He described the pole as “an incredible result for us,” given the team’s early-season struggles and the progress since then. “We have been adding bits to the car and they have worked. It’s simple as that,” Verstappen said. He added that successful updates bring lap time and a better overall balance, which is especially useful with tyres that react strongly to changes in balance. On a hot track where drivers need a stable, connected feel, he said, the team had found more of that over the past few weekends.

Verstappen sees two factors behind Red Bull’s speed: its own technical progress and rivals’ difficulties in the heat. He said Mercedes often struggles more at very hot circuits, but cautioned against drawing firm conclusions about the rival team’s new upgrade from one qualifying session. “I think we have to wait and see with their upgrades over the coming races,” he said.

He still considers Mercedes the general benchmark. The team has been faster for most of the season, he said, including the previous weekend, and was having “a bit of an off-weekend” in Malaysia. Mercedes brought its first major aerodynamic update since the Canadian Grand Prix in June. The team has lagged rivals in development, apparently partly because it spent more heavily early in the season, and the new parts have not yet produced the expected improvement. It remains unclear whether the shortfall stems from the upgrade itself or Sepang’s particular heat, rough surface and tyre demands, which have restricted useful set-up laps.

Red Bull’s gains have made the RB22 easier to drive as well as faster, Verstappen said. “It’s clear that, with the changes we’ve made, we’ve been able to get much more out of the car and the car is also easier to drive,” he said, adding that the improvement was positive for next year. Some problems cannot be changed during this season, he said, and the team wants to address them for next year so the car can move further in the right direction.

The improved feel has also helped Verstappen make more of his own ability, within the limits set by the regulations. “That’s still a bit of an issue. But the more our car gets the right balance again, the more I can push and the more I can get out of the car,” he said. He recalled that early in the season he could turn the steering wheel and have strange things happen; now, he said, the car feels more normal. He added that his objections to the regulations and energy management are separate from qualifying position: “Those are two separate things.”

Team-mate Isack Hadjar said the car had changed substantially while he was away. He missed three rounds before last weekend after breaking his wrist while boxing as part of his training programme. He said he had returned in Baku to a car “way better than when I left it in Budapest,” and that the last two weekends had surprised him. Having watched while sidelined, he said he was still surprised by how the car felt when driving it again.

Hadjar qualified third in Malaysia but will start eighth after a grid penalty for exceeding his permitted number of engine parts. He said the car still needs major improvements, while describing its current performance as encouraging. The low-grip tarmac usually does not suit Red Bull, he said, so its pace at Baku and Sepang, two very different circuits, was welcome news.

Hamilton’s second place is his equal-best starting position of the year and recalls his title battle with Verstappen five years ago. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth, then moves up to third on the grid after Hadjar’s penalty. Antonelli, the world championship leader, had a slightly underwhelming qualifying session after an unusual tyre strategy and an error on an early run. He is 66 points ahead of team-mate George Russell, who starts four places behind him after a loss of momentum following his Baku win. Russell was perplexed by the pace of both himself and Mercedes.

Antonelli said Mercedes was quick in high-speed corners but lacking in low-speed sections. “With this new package, obviously the window of the way the car operates is different,” he said, explaining that the team was working to understand where the car performed best. He said they needed to find the reason for the low-speed weakness and improve. For the race, he said track position and strategy would be significant, and that an undercut, where a driver stops first and gains time on fresh tyres, could be very powerful. The race might require two or three stops, he said, but the teams know it will be “roasting hot out there.”

Tyre management is expected to determine much of the race. Pirelli said on Friday that the very rough asphalt and high degradation would make tyre care central. Sepang’s long corners and possibly the roughest surface of the season are putting heavy demands on tyres, while the extreme heat is limiting how many useful laps teams can complete during set-up work. Rain has also been threatened, though it is uncertain whether it will arrive.

Verstappen said he was confident about his own race preparation, while acknowledging that teams may have changed their plans since Friday. “Personally, I’m confident with what I did. If others make bigger sacrifices [for the race], then good luck to them, but I’m ready,” he said. He added that Red Bull needed a decent start, which had been difficult for the team this year, and that the long race would test the tyres. “My race pace did look good, but of course you don’t know what others have changed since Friday, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

Verstappen came within two points of a fifth world title last year after a major comeback. Earlier this year, questions arose about whether he would remain with Red Bull into 2027. After McLaren pursued him, he signed a two-year contract extension during the summer break, saying he believed in the Red Bull project and was willing to work to turn the season around.

Based on reporting by BBC Sport, Autosport and RaceFans.