Max Verstappen claims pole position at Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying

Max Verstappen has taken his first pole position of the season after a blistering lap for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton starts second on the front row Kimi Antonelli in fourth, George Russell down in eighth Max Verstappen claimed pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang, taking the top spot for Red Bull for the first time this season. The Dutch driver beat Lewis Hamilton, who delivered a mighty lap into second, for his first pole since last year’s Abu Dhabi GP. The championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fourth but crucially for the title race his Mercedes teammate George Russell could mange only eighth. Continue reading...

After every Formula 1 qualifying session, Motorsport.com publishes each team's qualifying record in terms of team-mate battles. This record is based exclusively on qualifying results so that grid penalties don't alter the statistics. When a driver can't put in a representative lap time due to a technical issue or an incident, this will be mentioned in the table. Read ...Keep reading

Here's how things stand in the 2026 team-mate duels following qualifying at Formula 1's Bahrain Grand Prix 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.

Max Verstappen gave Red Bull Powertrains its first pole position, ending a run of Mercedes-powered poles for the season so far.

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.

Max Verstappen took his first pole of the 2026 Formula 1 campaign to deliver on his early weekend promise by dominating qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The Red Bull driver was fastest in all three sessions after also topping FP1 on Friday to take his first pole since the 2025 Abu Dhabi finale with a 1m35.130s at Sepang. Verstappen will be joined on the front row by Lewis ...Keep reading

The Red Bull driver topped all three sessions and is joined on the front row by old title rival 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 took his first pole of the 2026 Formula 1 campaign to deliver on his early weekend promise by dominating qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The Red Bull driver was fastest in all three sessions after also topping FP1 on Friday to take his first pole since the 2025 Abu Dhabi finale with a 1m35.130s at Sepang. Verstappen will be joined on the front row by ...Keep reading

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.

SEPANG, Malaysia (AP) — Max Verstappen qualified on pole position for the first time this year at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on a rare off day for Mercedes and standings leader Kimi Antonelli.298 of a second from Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, with Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar .

Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the season in Malaysia, at the same circuit where he won the last time the race was held at Sepang in 2017. Below is the full recap of qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.