Verstappen Takes First Non-Mercedes-Powered Pole of 2026 as Hamilton Joins Him on the Front Row in Bahrain Grand Prix 2026 Malaysia Qualifying

Max Verstappen took pole in Bahrain Grand Prix 2026 Malaysia qualifying with a 1:35.130, the first pole of the season for a car without a Mercedes power unit and his first of 2026. Lewis Hamilton joins him on the front row for Ferrari, 0.298 seconds back. Verstappen topped Q1, Q2 and Q3 at Sepang. Isack Hadjar qualified third but takes a five-place grid penalty for his seventh internal combustion engine of the year, which hands Kimi Antonelli third on the grid. George Russell, on pole in Baku a week ago, qualified eighth, behind his teammate in every part of the session.

Key Points: Bahrain Grand Prix 2026 Malaysia Qualifying

• Verstappen takes pole with a 1:35.130, the first non-Mercedes-powered pole of 2026 and his first of the year, after topping Q1, Q2 and Q3
• Hamilton joins him on the front row for Ferrari, 0.298 seconds back after a purple second sector on his final run
• Hadjar qualifies third but drops five places for a seventh ICE, so Antonelli inherits third on the grid
• Russell eighth, 0.741 seconds off, a week after taking pole in Baku. Behind Antonelli in Q1, Q2 and Q3
• Lindblad starts from the back for a fifth ICE, turbocharger and exhaust. Colapinto takes a 15-place grid penalty
• Eliminated in Q1: Hülkenberg, Bearman, Ocon, Albon, Bottas, Perez. Eliminated in Q2: Lawson, Alonso, Sainz, Stroll, Colapinto, Lindblad

Q1: Verstappen Sets the Benchmark as Haas Lose Both Cars

Hot again. Track at 56°C, air at 33°C, humidity on top, no rain. Haas sent both cars out the moment the lights went green, Ocon ahead of Bearman, both on softs. Ocon beat his teammate by a tenth on their first laps.

Everyone else went out on softs except Ferrari and Audi, who started on mediums.

Verstappen’s first lap was a 1:36.477. Nobody beat it for the rest of Q1. Hamilton went second on mediums, 0.118 back, with Leclerc a further tenth behind on the same compound. Hadjar, Antonelli and Russell followed. Antonelli was over half a second off Verstappen, but ahead of his teammate.

With seven minutes left, Ocon, Albon, Bearman, Stroll, Bottas and Perez sat in the drop zone. Both Haas went straight back out on a second set of softs. Ocon aborted that run and pitted. Bearman didn’t improve on his.

Lindblad was wheeled into the garage after reporting a rattling noise, 11th at the time and half a tenth behind Lawson. He starts from the back regardless, with a grid penalty for extra power unit components.

Ferrari stayed in. Hamilton second, Leclerc third, both through on one set of mediums with a set of softs saved. The top seven, down to Norris, didn’t run again. Russell stayed in from ninth as well, slipped to 11th as the late laps landed and still got through, 0.787 off.

Lawson and everyone below him went back out. Bortoleto set a purple first sector after the flag and climbed to eighth.

Then Aston Martin. Stroll had been in the drop zone with seven minutes left. His final lap put him 11th. Alonso went one better and took 11th off him. The late laps pushed them down to 14th and 15th, but both were through, 0.008 apart and more than two tenths clear of the drop zone. Two Aston Martins in Q2.

Lindblad held on in 16th, 0.087 clear of Hülkenberg. Bearman used three sets of tyres and missed out by 0.097, 0.010 behind Hülkenberg.

Eliminated in Q1: 17th Nico Hülkenberg, 18th Oliver Bearman, 19th Esteban Ocon, 20th Alex Albon, 21st Valtteri Bottas, 22nd Sergio Perez.

Q2: Antonelli Loses a Lap and Recovers to Second

Track still at 56°C. Red Bull just beat Mercedes out of the pits, Hadjar leading Verstappen, Antonelli and Russell. Sainz, Stroll, Lawson and Lindblad followed on used softs.

Verstappen went purple in the first two sectors and set a 1:35.696, nearly half a second up on Hadjar. Antonelli crossed the line second, nearly three tenths back. Then he lost the lap for track limits.

Leclerc went second, 0.274 off. Piastri beat Hamilton, who had a slide on his lap. Norris fifth, Hadjar sixth, Russell seventh.

Antonelli went straight back out on his own on a new set of softs, Mercedes covering against a late yellow. Track to himself. Steady through the first two sectors, then a push in the final sector with tyre life left. Second, 0.263 off Verstappen.

Verstappen didn’t need another run. Leclerc, Piastri, Norris, Hadjar and Russell stayed in too. Hamilton was the only front-runner to go again, on used softs. He didn’t improve and stayed fifth, 0.012 behind Piastri.

Lindblad aborted his only lap. He’d gone out to tow Lawson. Colapinto did the same job for Gasly, who held ninth. Neither Lindblad nor Colapinto set a time, both facing grid penalties anyway.

When the flag fell, Alonso was 11th and Stroll 12th, one place away from Q3. Bortoleto’s last lap went tenth and pushed Lawson out by 0.209, which bumped both Aston Martins down a place. Alonso finished 12th, 0.406 off a Q3 spot. Sainz beat Stroll by 0.039 for 13th.

The front eight were covered by 0.549 seconds, from Verstappen to Russell.

Eliminated in Q2: 11th Liam Lawson, 12th Fernando Alonso, 13th Carlos Sainz, 14th Lance Stroll, 15th Franco Colapinto, 16th Arvid Lindblad.

Q3: Verstappen Takes Pole by 0.298 Seconds

Seven cars had two sets of new softs left for Q3. Three had to run a used set or go once. Nobody rushed. The wind picked up as the cars finally went out, Russell leading Hadjar, Leclerc, Hamilton, Gasly, Norris, Piastri, Verstappen and Bortoleto. Antonelli waited.

Hadjar set the early mark, two tenths up on Hamilton. Russell was beaten by Hadjar, Hamilton, Leclerc, then Norris. Verstappen went top with a 1:35.250, three tenths clear.

After the first runs it was Verstappen, Hadjar, Hamilton, Piastri, Leclerc and Norris. Russell seventh. Bortoleto ahead of Gasly.

Antonelli ran alone. No traffic, no tow. Personal best in the first sector, but four tenths down on Verstappen. He lost another tenth in the second. Third, 0.381 back. It was his only Q3 run.

Final runs. No personal bests from either Red Bull in the first sector. Hamilton and Leclerc both found time there. Hamilton went purple in the second.

Verstappen improved anyway. A 1:35.130, more than four tenths clear of Hadjar.

Hamilton went second, 0.298 back. Hadjar kept third, 0.073 ahead of Antonelli. Leclerc couldn’t beat Antonelli and finished fifth. Norris sixth, Piastri seventh. Russell dropped to eighth, 0.741 off pole.

Gasly and Bortoleto completed the top ten, both more than two seconds back.

Qualifying Classification: Bahrain Grand Prix 2026 Malaysia

Race Ahead

Lights out on Sunday 4 October at 08:00 UK time, 15:00 in Malaysia.

Verstappen starts from pole with Hamilton alongside. Hadjar’s five-place grid penalty moves Antonelli up to third, with Leclerc next to him on row two. Norris and Piastri share row three. Russell starts seventh, Hadjar eighth.

Colapinto takes a 15-place grid penalty, ten for a fifth ICE and five carried over from the Baku collision involving Gasly and Norris. Lindblad goes to the back for a fifth ICE, turbocharger and exhaust. The grid order is provisional until the FIA publishes the official starting grid.

Coffee Corner Take

Fifteen rounds, fifteen poles for Mercedes-powered cars. Mercedes, McLaren and Alpine had shared them all. Verstappen ended that at Sepang and topped every part of qualifying on the way.

His first lap in Q1 was never beaten. Same in Q2, and he didn’t bother with a second set. In Q3 he found another 0.120 on his final run without a personal best in the first sector.

Hamilton put the Ferrari on the front row. Ferrari got through Q1 on one set of mediums and kept a set of softs back. Hamilton found a purple second sector when it counted.

Mercedes topped FP3 with Antonelli. By the end of Q3 they were fourth and eighth. Antonelli lost a Q2 lap to track limits and burned an extra set of softs to recover. In Q3 he ran on his own with no tow. Russell took pole in Baku a week ago. Here he was behind his teammate in Q1, Q2 and Q3.

Hadjar’s on his second race back from injury, with a new contract signed, and he’s been quick all weekend. Third on the timesheet, 0.073 ahead of Antonelli. Two Red Bulls in the top three show the pace they’ve brought to Sepang.

He starts eighth anyway. A seventh ICE in a season with an allowance of four. Lindblad, also Red Bull Ford-powered, starts from the back. Power unit usage is costing them grid positions.

The works Mercedes took most of those 15 poles. Tomorrow they start third and seventh.

Red Bull have the one-lap pace. Turning it into race pace is another job. My read of the data says two stops, and I’d expect Pirelli to confirm it. That’s on tyres Hamilton says are overheating from the get go. If Mercedes have the better long-run pace once the degradation bites, Antonelli starts third, right in range of the front row.