Verstappen takes first 2026 pole at Sepang: Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying order and starting grid
Max Verstappen secured his first pole position of the 2026 Formula One season by leading every segment of Saturday’s qualifying session at Sepang and setting a final lap of 1:35.130. The Red Bull driver beat Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton by 0.298 seconds for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar was third-fastest, but a five-place grid penalty means he is due to start eighth.
The venue is unusual but not a mix-up: this edition of the Bahrain Grand Prix is being held at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit, rather than in Bahrain. Qualifying took place on October 3, with the race scheduled for Sunday, October 4.
How Verstappen claimed pole
Verstappen set the quickest time in Q1, then lowered the benchmark to 1:35.696 in Q2. That was the first lap below 1 minute 36 seconds in the second segment. In the final shootout, his opening 1:35.250 put him on provisional pole before he improved by another 0.120 seconds on his last run.
Hamilton also improved late, taking the other front-row place. Hadjar’s 1:35.558 was good enough for third in the final qualifying classification, ahead of Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli had needed an additional Q2 run after a lap was deleted for exceeding track limits, leaving him fewer fresh soft tyres for Q3.
The result gives Verstappen his 49th career pole and his first since the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It does not, however, give Red Bull two cars in the first two rows: Hadjar’s penalty for using an additional power-unit element changes the race grid substantially.
Final qualifying order
The classification below records where each driver finished qualifying, before grid penalties:
- Max Verstappen — Red Bull, 1:35.130
- Lewis Hamilton — Ferrari, 1:35.428
- Isack Hadjar — Red Bull, 1:35.558
- Kimi Antonelli — Mercedes, 1:35.631
- Charles Leclerc — Ferrari, 1:35.666
- Lando Norris — McLaren, 1:35.757
- Oscar Piastri — McLaren, 1:35.762
- George Russell — Mercedes, 1:35.871
- Pierre Gasly — Alpine
- Gabriel Bortoleto — Audi
- Liam Lawson — Racing Bulls
- Fernando Alonso — Aston Martin
- Carlos Sainz — Williams
- Lance Stroll — Aston Martin
- Franco Colapinto — Alpine
- Arvid Lindblad — Racing Bulls
- Nico Hülkenberg — Audi
- Oliver Bearman — Haas
- Esteban Ocon — Haas
- Alexander Albon — Williams
- Valtteri Bottas — Cadillac
- Sergio Pérez — Cadillac
Bortoleto took the last Q3 place, eliminating Lawson in Q2. Colapinto and Lindblad advanced from Q1 but did not set representative times in Q2; both faced substantial grid penalties.
Starting grid and race time
With Hadjar moving from third to eighth, the provisional first five rows pair Verstappen with Hamilton, Antonelli with Leclerc, Norris with Piastri, Russell with Hadjar, and Gasly with Bortoleto. Behind them, the provisional grid runs Lawson, Alonso, Sainz, Stroll, Hülkenberg, Bearman, Ocon, Albon, Bottas and Pérez. Colapinto is listed 21st and Lindblad 22nd.
Hadjar’s five-place drop is for an additional power-unit element. Colapinto carries a combined 15-place penalty: five places following a collision at the previous race in Azerbaijan and 10 for an additional power-unit element. Lindblad has a 30-place power-unit penalty. Those sanctions explain why the final qualifying order and the provisional starting grid differ, particularly at the back.
The 56-lap race is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Malaysia time on Sunday, October 4. That is 7 a.m. UTC, or 3 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time in the United States. The grid remains provisional ahead of the race start.
