Sepang (Malaysia) (AFP) - Dutchman Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion, continued his strong performance with the Red Bull team after achieving his first pole position of the season on Saturday, by recording the fastest time in the official trials for the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia.
Published on: 03/10/2026 - 12:44
The 29-year-old driver, who currently ranks sixth in the world championship standings, recorded the best lap with a time of 1:35.130 in the final minute of a close session held in high temperatures at the Sepang International Circuit.
He outperformed British Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, by 0.298 seconds. Frenchman Ishak Hajjar came third with Red Bull, but he will fall five places on the starting grid due to a penalty imposed on him after installing new engine components that exceeded the permissible quota.
Behind them came Italian overall leader Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), then Charles Leclerc (Monaco) in the second Ferrari car, and British world champion Lando Norris, driver of McLaren.
Australian Oscar Piastri came seventh in the second McLaren car, ahead of British Mercedes driver George Russell.
This will be the first time that Verstappen has started from first place since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last season.
The happy Verstappen said: “It is wonderful. We have been trying for several grand prizes to achieve pole position, so finally achieving it is incredible. I am happy with what we presented today and I will try to win tomorrow.”
In Malaysia
The Bahrain Grand Prix is being held in Malaysia due to unrest in the Gulf region linked to the US-led war against Iran.
Verstappen recorded the fastest time in the first attempt, amounting to 1:36.447 minutes, ahead of the two Ferrari cars that used medium tires, while all other competitors relied on soft tires.
With track temperatures reaching the mid-50s on a track with low grip and high tire consumption, drivers tried to keep their tires cool by slowing their pace during the preparation laps in the second section of qualifying.
This resulted in Verstappen receiving a black and white warning flag for "driving unnecessarily slowly". But the situation changed once he pushed with all his might to record a time of 1:35.696 minutes and lead the standings.
Antonelli exceeded the circuit limits and the time for his first lap was cancelled, which cost him a set of soft tires and forced him to exit again to set a fast lap.
With more caution, he was able to finish second by two-tenths of a second.
The third section of qualifying began with Russell exiting first, but Verstappen recorded an amazing time of 1:35.250 minutes in his first attempt, ahead of his teammate Hajjar and Hamilton.
Antonelli then moved up to third place after his only lap, using his last remaining set of soft tyres.
The final attempts remained for the rest of the drivers, as Verstappen improved his time, while Hamilton advanced to second place, next to him on the front row, in an exciting final minute.
- Arrangement of the third round of official trials:
1. Max Verstappen (Netherlands/Red Bull) 1:35.130 minutes
2. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Ferrari) 1:35.428
3. Ishak Hajjar (France/Red Bull) 1:35.558
4. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Italy/Mercedes) 1:35.631
5. Charles Leclerc (Monaco/Ferrari) 1:35.666
6. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren) 1:35.757
7. Oscar Piastri (Australia/McLaren) 1:35.762
8. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 1:35.871
9. Pierre Gasly (France/Alpine) 1:37.210
10. Gabriel Bortoletto (Brazil/Audi) 1:37.673
© 2026 AFP
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