Max Verstappen secured pole position at the Formula One Grand Prix in Malaysia, with Lewis Hamilton second. This marks the first time since the Hungarian Grand Prix that two main rivals have shared the front row of the grid. Despite having a significant upgrade package, Mercedes faced difficulties, leaving George Russell to start seventh—a stark contrast from his recent victory in Azerbaijan. Verstappen's performance was highlighted by his 1 minute 35.130 seconds lap time, underscoring Red Bull's strong showing ahead of Sunday’s race.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-03,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix was held at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia this weekend, marking its return to the country after a nine-year absence. Max Verstappen, driving for Red Bull, secured pole position with a time of 1:35.130 seconds, his first of the season. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton qualified second, despite Mercedes having brought an upgrade package to Malaysia; George Russell started seventh, leaving team boss Toto Wolff puzzled by their performance.
The track at Sepang is described as resembling "sandpaper" due to its rough surface and high temperatures, causing significant tyre degradation. Red Bull introduced a major aerodynamic update following the Azerbaijan race, which proved effective on this demanding circuit. With Verstappen's teammate Isack Hadjar facing a five-place grid penalty, championship leader Kimi Antonelli is set to start third alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, positioning him well for Sunday's race.
Verstappen's performance underscores his dominance and potential for another strong season, while Mercedes faces questions about their competitiveness after the upgrades failed to deliver expected results.
Written for “F1 In Malaysia” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the season at the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Saturday, with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton joining him on the front row.
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Hamilton → claim → row
It is the first time two great rivals have shared the front row of the grid since the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2023.
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rivals → share → 2023
Verstappen's teammate, Isack Hadjar, was third fastest but will start eighth due to a grid penalty, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli in third alongside Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
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teammate → start → Leclerc
Oscar Piastri was pipped to sixth by his teammate Lando Norris, but will move up a position as a result of Hadjar's penalty to start sixth as McLaren locked out the third row of the grid.
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McLaren → pip → grid
George Russell, who so spectacularly won the last Grand Prix in Azerbaijan last week, will start seventh in what was an alarming performance for Mercedes, who came to Malaysia with a big upgrade package.
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who → win → package
"It's very difficult to understand," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports.
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Wolff → understand → Sports
"We have been a little bit caught out on Friday with some car behaviour that we didn't see all year.
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we → catch → that
But then you can say it's very hot, with the tarmac very different to all the tracks.
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it → say → tracks
"[We] looked really good in the morning; we seemed to have, at least with Kimi [Antonelli], made a step in understanding.
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we → look → understanding
And then in qualifying, it was a little bit back to what we saw before — just no performance."
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we → see → performance
Verstappen was the last driver to win a Grand Prix in Malaysia in 2017, in what was his second career victory, before the race was taken off the calendar after the government said it could not justify the costs.
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it → win → costs
Nine years and four championships later, the Dutchman showed he was still the man to beat in Sepang with a time of 1 minute 35.130 seconds.
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he → show → minute
"It's fantastic, we've been trying for many Grands Prix to get more, sometimes a bit closer to the others.
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we → try → others
But to finally get it from where we started the season [it's] pretty incredible," said Verstappen as he eyes his first win of the season.
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he → get → season
Hamilton, who also has one victory in Sepang, struggled with tyre degradation in practice sessions but the veteran Briton snatched second from Hadjar in the dying stages of the final qualifying session.
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Briton → have → session
"It's so hot here, I keep saying it.
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I → keep → it
But that's made it a massive challenge for the tyres, for the car, for the mechanics in the garage," Hamilton said.
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Hamilton → make → garage
"We made so many changes through all these practice sessions because the cars are sliding, these tyres are overheating.
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tyres → make → sessions
It was really, really hard to find a good balance.
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It → find → balance
We made one last change going into qualifying and I think we hit the sweet spot.
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we → make → spot
"
Hadjar had exceeded his seasonal allowance for engines, which resulted in a five-place grid penalty.
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which → exceed → penalty
"It's a bit unfortunate we take the penalty on a track that fast," Hadjar said.
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Hadjar → take → track
"But you know, from P8, I'm confident we can go through the field and come back for a good result."
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we → know → result
The Aporia
