Red Bull driver Max Verstappen claimed pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, the 16th round of this year's Formula 1 championship, which is taking place this weekend at the Sepang Circuit. The Dutchman set a lap time of 1:35.130 to secure the 49th pole position of his career and his first of the season, finishing 298 thousandths of a second ahead of his closest rival, Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari.Formula 1's return to Malaysia after nine years, where Verstappen was the last winner, clearly inspired the Dutchman. From the start of the weekend, he showed excellent pace in practice before confirming his speed in qualifying, which appeared to be under his control after just the opening runs.MAX VERSTAPPEN TAKES POLE FOR THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX IN MALAYSIA!! 👊#F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/NgtaCAZacL— Formula 1 (@F1) October 3, 2026 Verstappen was then three-tenths ahead of his Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar, while the Mercedes drivers continued to struggle, as they had also done during practice. Championship leader Antonelli completed just one flying lap and briefly moved into third place before Hamilton snatched the position in the closing stages.In the end, Verstappen even improved on his previous benchmark thanks to an excellent final sector, leaving the Briton almost three-tenths behind. Although Hadjar qualified third, he will be forced to start the race from eighth following a five-place grid penalty after changing components.That means Kimi will start from third, followed by Leclerc in the second Ferrari, McLaren duo Norris and Piastri, teammate George Russell and Hadjar, while Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto complete the top ten.##EDITORS_CHOICE##The second part of qualifying was somewhat dramatic for Antonelli, whose first lap was deleted after he went beyond track limits at Turn 6. However, after a brief visit to the garage, the Italian returned to the track and comfortably set a lap good enough to secure a place in the top ten.The drivers eliminated at this stage were Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Carlos Sainz of Williams, Aston Martin's other driver Lance Stroll, Alpine's Franco Colapinto and Racing Bulls' other driver Arvid Lindblad. However, following penalties for causing an incident in Baku and component changes, Colapinto will start the race from 20th, while Lindblad will line up at the very back due to a new power unit.Max Verstappen 🤜🤛 Sepang International CircuitRide onboard with the flying Dutchman as he secures pole for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia 💨#F1 #BahrainGP @pirellisport pic.twitter.com/kKSy6mU1Ol— Formula 1 (@F1) October 3, 2026 The opening part of qualifying saw a fierce battle to make it into the top 16, with the surprise being that both Aston Martin drivers managed to advance for the first time this season, just days after extending their contracts with the British team. That was not the case for Hulkenberg at Audi, Haas duo Bearman and Ocon, or Albon of Williams, while the final two places went to Cadillac drivers Bottas and Sergio Perez.The Malaysian Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday at 10:00.##NAJAVA_MECA_9999608##
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