Verstappen claims first pole of the season at Bahrain GP in Malaysia

Four-time Formula One champion Max Verstappen was fastest on Saturday to claim pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

It’s a first pole position for the Red Bull driver since the Abu Dhabi GP in December 2025 as the Dutchman will bid to claim his first victory since that same race.

Verstappen clocked 1 minute 35.130 seconds, beating the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton by 0.298 seconds.

“It’s fantastic. We have been trying many Grands Prix to get pole, sometimes closer than others. To finally get it after where we started the season is incredible,” Verstappen said.

“I’m happy with today and for sure I am going to try and win tomorrow.”

Third place also went to Red Bull with Isack Hadjar, who was 0.428 seconds behind his team-mate. The French driver, however, has been handed a five-place grid penalty after he took a seventh internal combustion engine, with four permitted throughout the current season.

“It’s a bit unfortunate we take the penalty at a track where we at this fast, but hopefully, we can come back through the field,” Hadjar said.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes was fourth ahead of the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, while title holder Lando Norris clocked the sixth-best time to beat McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, who was seventh.

Title contender George Russell had a tricky session and was only eighth in the second Mercedes. Pierre Gasly of Alpine and Gabriel Bortoleto of Audi completed the top 10.

F1 has returned to the Sepang International Circuit for the first time in nine years as the venue hosts the rearranged Bahrain GP, which was cancelled earlier this year due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Verstappen won the last race in Sepang in 2017, when the circuit hosted the Malaysian GP.

Antonelli tops the standings with 66 points ahead of Russell and eight rounds to go. Their Mercedes team have brought a raft of new parts to Malaysia to mark their biggest upgrade since the Miami GP in May, but those haven’t worked so far.

“Something else is going on, which we need to understand. We need to look through the data and put our heads together as we still believe the upgrades work,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said.

“We expected to be three tenths forward, and we are four or five backwards.”