Max Verstappen will start the Bahrain Grand Prix from pole position after a scorching qualifying session at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. The Red Bull driver set a best time of 1:35.130, his first pole since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last season.
Lewis Hamilton joined him on the front row for Ferrari, 0.298 seconds back. It was Hamilton’s first front-row start since Barcelona, where he won earlier this season. Isack Hadjar qualified third for Red Bull, but a five-place grid penalty will drop the Frenchman to eighth.
Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader, qualified fourth with a time of 1:35.631. The Mercedes driver will move up to third on the grid because of Hadjar’s penalty. Charles Leclerc was fifth for Ferrari, followed by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of McLaren, George Russell of Mercedes, Pierre Gasly of Alpine, and Gabriel Bortoleto of Audi.
The session took place in punishing conditions. Air temperature was 33C, track temperature 58C, and humidity was high. The meeting has been declared a heat-hazard race. The risk of rain was only 10%, but the Sepang circuit has always been a favourite for drivers and fans.
F1 returned to Malaysia for the first time since 2017. The Bahrain Grand Prix was postponed from its original April date because of ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Sepang stepped in to stage the race, and the track produced a tense qualifying hour.
Antonelli had a scare in Q2. His first time was deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 6, and he had to use another set of soft tyres to make it through. He responded with a lap that put him second behind Verstappen, 0.263 seconds adrift. Toto Wolff wore a stern look in the pit lane as the Mercedes garage scrambled.
Verstappen was fastest in Q2 with a 1:35.696. He also set the pace in Q1 with a 1:36.477. In third practice earlier, Antonelli was quickest with a 1:36.302, ahead of Verstappen and Hadjar. Mercedes had struggled on Friday, when Russell and Antonelli were seventh and eighth, but the team found more pace.
Hamilton used the weekend to back Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur. Speculation had linked Christian Horner to the role. Ferrari issued a statement saying they had full confidence in Vasseur, who said the team needed serenity and stability.
Channel 4 will show free-to-air highlights in the UK. Coverage begins on Saturday October 3 with a 90-minute qualifying highlights show at 2.45pm BST. On Sunday October 4, a two-and-a-half-hour programme with Bahrain Grand Prix highlights starts at 1pm BST. Sky Sports has live coverage.
Hadjar, Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto all carry grid penalties for using more internal combustion engines than allowed. Colapinto already had a five-place penalty after his crash into Gasly and Norris at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Norris called for a one-race ban for Colapinto and said some drivers should not be in F1, but he later apologised.
In the standings, Antonelli leads with 302 points. Russell is second on 236, Hamilton third on 199, Norris fourth on 186, Leclerc fifth on 179 and Verstappen sixth on 163 with eight races to go. Russell won in Azerbaijan last weekend.
The final qualifying order behind Verstappen and Hamilton was Leclerc, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Gasly and Bortoleto in the top ten. Liam Lawson was 11th, Fernando Alonso 12th, Carlos Sainz 13th, Lance Stroll 14th, Colapinto 15th, Lindblad 16th, Nico Hulkenberg 17th, Oliver Bearman 18th, Esteban Ocon 19th, Alex Albon 20th, Valtteri Bottas 21st and Sergio Perez 22nd.
