2026 Bahrain GP in Malaysia: Verstappen on pole
Max Verstappen took pole for the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang, beating Lewis Hamilton by 0.298s after a 1:35.130 Q3 lap.
Max Verstappen took pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang International Circuit on 4 October 2026. The Red Bull driver set a 1:35.130 in Q3 and beat Lewis Hamilton by 0.298s.
Qualifying
Hamilton qualified second for Ferrari with a 1:35.428 in Q3. Isack Hadjar put the second Red Bull third on a 1:35.558, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli fourth for Mercedes on 1:35.631 and Charles Leclerc fifth for Ferrari on 1:35.666.
Lando Norris took sixth for McLaren with a 1:35.757, just ahead of Oscar Piastri in seventh on 1:35.762. George Russell qualified eighth for Mercedes on 1:35.871, while Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top 10 for Alpine F1 Team and Audi.
Pole lap and front row
Verstappen’s session progressed from 1:36.477 in Q1 to 1:35.696 in Q2 and then 1:35.130 in Q3. Hamilton opened with 1:36.595 in Q1, improved to 1:36.032 in Q2 and secured the other front-row place with 1:35.428 in Q3.
Chasing pack
Hadjar advanced through Q1 in 1:36.898 and Q2 in 1:36.192 before taking third with 1:35.558 in Q3. Antonelli improved from 1:37.041 to 1:35.959 to 1:35.631 across the three segments, while Leclerc went from 1:36.730 to 1:35.970 to 1:35.666.