Verstappen takes first 2026 pole ahead of Hamilton
Max Verstappen takes his and Red Bull's first pole position of 2026 with an imperious performance in qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.
Max Verstappen secured his and Red Bull's first pole position of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The Dutch driver outperformed Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton by 0.298 seconds after dominating all three qualifying sessions. Red Bull's Isaac Hadjar finished third, but a five-place grid penalty will move him to third place on the grid.
Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes' Fernando Alonso's teammate, was fourth, while Charles Leclerc of Ferrari placed fifth. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri rounded out the top ten for McLaren. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso secured the team's best qualifying result of the year in 12th place, while Aston Martin's Lance Stroll finished 14th.
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Also reported by 6 other outlets
- Hamilton finds his spark at Sepang but Verstappen denies Ferrari star pole malaymail.com
- Antonelli finds his rhythm to top final Sepang practice freemalaysiatoday.com
- Antonelli finds his rhythm to top final Sepang practice sabcnews.com
- Antonelli finds his rhythm to top final Sepang practice nst.com.my
- Verstappen takes first 2026 pole ahead of Hamilton bbc.co.uk
- Antonelli finds his rhythm to top final Sepang practice channelnewsasia.com
