Verstappen seals 49th career pole at Bahrain GP as Hamilton lines up alongside on Ferrari's front row

Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Bahrain Grand Prix, held at Sepang in Malaysia, setting a 1m35.130s to head a front row that also features Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari. It is Verstappen’s 49th career pole and his first since the 2025 Abu Dhabi finale, and it arrives on the weekend Malaysia returns to the F1 calendar after a nine-year absence, hosting the Bahrain race due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The Red Bull driver was fastest in every session across the weekend, topping FP1 on Friday before going quickest in Q1, Q2, and Q3. In the final runs of qualifying, Verstappen set a provisional best of 1m35.250s — 0.308s clear of team-mate Isack Hadjar — before a purple final sector on his second attempt shaved a further 0.120s off his time and put the result beyond doubt.

Hamilton’s 1m35.428s for Ferrari was 0.298s off the pace but enough for second, nudging Hadjar to third after the Red Bull sophomore failed to improve on his final lap. It is a notable front-row start for Hamilton in his debut Ferrari season.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli had a difficult afternoon for Mercedes. His first push lap in Q2 was deleted for a track-limits violation at Turn 6, forcing him to use an extra set of new softs and leaving him with only one flying lap in Q3. The Italian managed a 1m35.631s for fourth, 0.501s off Verstappen’s benchmark.

Charles Leclerc took fifth with a 1m35.666s, sharing the third row with Lando Norris, who was 0.627s off the pace on a weekend McLaren has struggled for outright speed. Team-mate Oscar Piastri qualified seventh, with George Russell eighth for Mercedes at 0.741s adrift. Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top ten for Alpine and Audi respectively.

Liam Lawson narrowly missed Q3, ending up 11th after Bortoleto pushed him into the elimination zone late in Q2. Fernando Alonso took 12th for Aston Martin — his best qualifying result of 2026 — while Carlos Sainz qualified 13th for Williams. Lance Stroll took 14th, giving Aston Martin a double Q2 appearance for the first time in 2026, days after the team confirmed both drivers for 2027.

Franco Colapinto qualified 15th but will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid, serving a 15-place penalty accumulated from a five-place sanction for his Baku incident and a ten-place penalty for a power unit change.