Max Verstappen was the standout of this Saturday in Formula 1 at Sepang as he claimed his first pole position of the 2026 season. The Red Bull driver clocked 1:35.130 and also ended Mercedes’ engine dominance in pole positions for the championship, placing Lewis Hamilton alongside him on the front row of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished 0.298 seconds behind Verstappen and equaled his best starting position with Ferrari. The Briton revealed that a final adjustment to the setup before qualifying was decisive in finding the balance he was seeking, after facing the intense heat, tire overheating, and the car’s behavior throughout the practice sessions.
Gabriel Bortoleto also had a significant Saturday. After finishing 11th in FP3, the Brazilian sent the Audi into Q3 and secured the tenth position on the grid, his fifth appearance in the final stage of a qualifying session in 2026. Bortoleto described his laps as “incredible,” while Audi highlighted that the result underscored the evolution of the package introduced recently.
Mercedes, on the other hand, concluded the session trying to understand an unexpected drop in performance. Kimi Antonelli had led FP3 but couldn’t threaten Verstappen and will start third thanks to Isack Hadjar’s penalty, while George Russell will begin seventh. Toto Wolff admitted that the fall in performance still has no clear explanation.
Hadjar had set the third-best time on the track, but drops to eighth due to a power unit-related penalty. As a result, the grid will feature Verstappen and Hamilton on the front row, Antonelli and Charles Leclerc on the second, followed by Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Russell. Bortoleto sits tenth.
Off the track, Stefano Domenicali confirmed that Qatar and Abu Dhabi remain scheduled as the season’s two final rounds, despite the uncertainties in the Middle East. Imola stays as an alternative should any changes prove necessary, while Formula 1 continues monitoring the security situation ahead of the championship’s closing stretch.
