{
  "id": 11367963,
  "title": "F1 Bahrain GP in Malaysia: Max Verstappen tops FP1",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/f1-bahrain-gp-in-malaysia-max-verstappen-tops-fp1",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-02T05:38:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Motorsport.com",
    "slug": "motorsport-com",
    "url": "https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-bahrain-gp-in-malaysia-/10860811/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Max Verstappen topped the first practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, held at the Sepang track. He drove a 2026 Red Bull Formula 1 car and posted a time of 1m37.520s, 0.383s quicker than Mercedes' George Russell.\n\nIsack Hadjar, Verstappen's teammate, was third fastest with a time of 1m38.303s. According to Yahoo Sports and BBC Sport, Hadjar and Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson will incur grid penalties for using too many engine parts.\n\nThe session was uninterrupted, and the top five was completed by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, with Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes in between them, according to Yahoo Sports and BBC Sport. Pierre Gasly was seventh fastest for Alpine. The Bahrain Grand Prix was moved to Malaysia due to the war in the Middle East, with Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa negotiating to hold the race at Sepang.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}