Verstappen Takes First Pole Of The Season At Sepang As Hadjar's Grid Penalty Reshuffles The Order
Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the season in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, setting a 1:35.130. The Red Bull driver was quickest in every session and beat the field by nearly three tenths with his final lap. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton took second with a 1:35.428. Isack Hadjar was third on a 1:35.558 but will start eighth because of a five-place grid penalty.
After penalties are applied, the starting order is Verstappen, Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Hadjar. On the road, Antonelli was fourth, Leclerc fifth, Norris sixth, Piastri seventh and Russell eighth.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said it was the first pole for the team as a full manufacturer with Red Bull Ford Powertrains, and that it came in the project's 16th grand prix. Verstappen said Sunday would be about tyre management and degradation, while Hadjar said he could have fought at the front without the penalty.
It was a disappointing day for Mercedes, who had looked strong in FP3 but fell back in qualifying. Antonelli ran wide in Q2 and lost his time to track limits, which forced him onto a second tyre set and left him with only one new set of softs for Q3. Russell described it as his toughest Saturday of the year, and Toto Wolff said the team would dig into the reasons.
At McLaren, Norris beat Piastri by just 0.005 seconds. Both accepted that Red Bull are in a class of their own at this track, and Norris said straight-line speed remains a problem.
Further down, Alpine's Pierre Gasly was ninth. Franco Colapinto, facing a grid penalty, did not run a proper qualifying programme and helped Gasly instead. Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto reached Q3 for the first time since Zandvoort and was 10th. Nico Hulkenberg locked up on his final lap and qualified 17th, but will start 15th after penalties. Aston Martin had their best qualifying of the year, with Fernando Alonso 12th and Lance Stroll 14th. Williams' Carlos Sainz was 13th and Alex Albon 20th, while both Haas and both Cadillac drivers went out in Q1.
Pirelli motorsport director Dario Marrafuschi said one-stop strategies are unlikely on Sunday, with medium-hard-hard and soft-hard-hard combinations looking the strongest on paper. Verstappen and Leclerc each have only one set of hard tyres left, so three-stop plans may come into play. The chance of rain remains another unknown that could influence strategy.