Verstappen beats Hamilton to pole as old rivals share front row in Malaysia
Max Verstappen will start the Bahrain Grand Prix on pole position, with Lewis Hamilton alongside him on the front row.
It is the first time the two have shared the front row since July 2023, and Verstappen's first pole of the 2026 season The Guardian. The twist is the venue. The race keeps the Bahrain name but is being held at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.
Verstappen set a 1m 35.130s in qualifying for Red Bull, 0.298 seconds clear of Hamilton Formula 1. That is the 49th pole of his career and Red Bull's first of this season FIA. Pole means the fastest car in qualifying, so the first starting slot. The front row is the two places at the very head of the grid.
Hamilton said he did not expect to be on the front row. He qualified second for Ferrari, after he and teammate Charles Leclerc had slotted in behind Verstappen on their first flying laps on medium tyres. He was delighted with the lap around a fast, sweeping Sepang track he knows well.
The championship picture gives the duel extra edge. Kimi Antonelli arrived in Malaysia as the points leader for Mercedes. He topped final practice with a 1:36.302, with Verstappen 0.278 seconds behind in second and Isack Hadjar third.
Hadjar qualified third on the road but faces a five-place grid penalty, which will drop him down the order for lights-out. George Russell, Antonelli's Mercedes teammate, will start seventh. For fans, this means the title leader has fast cars out of position around him and two champions with a clear track ahead.
There is a wider reason the paddock is in Kuala Lumpur. The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were scrapped earlier in the 2026 season after the start of the US-led war with Iran The Guardian. Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali said the final 2026 races in Qatar on 29 November and Abu Dhabi on 6 December will go ahead as planned despite conflict in the Middle East.
Build-up to the race was scheduled from 8am BST on 4 October 2026. Five red lights, then a sprint to turn one. Verstappen has the best seat. Hamilton has another chance to spoil it.
