Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

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Max Verstappen took his and Red Bull's first pole position of 2026 with an imperious performance in qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen, whose last pole and victory was at the season finale in Abu Dhabi in 2026, was 0.298 seconds quicker than Hamilton after topping all three sessions of qualifying.

Red Bull's Isack Hadjar was third fastest but has a five-place grid penalty, which will promote runaway championship leader Kimi Antonelli to third place.

The Italian's closest rival, team-mate George Russell, could manage only eighth fastest.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fifth fastest, ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Read the full report here

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The Sepang International Circuit will host its first grand prix in nine years tomorrow, and there are two very familiar faces taking their places on the front row.

Max Verstappen has been the form man so far, and he was also the last man to take the chequered flag in Malaysia in 2017. A first win of the campaign is within reach for the Dutchman, but he won't have Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar around at lights out to lend a hand if needed.

For championship leader Kimi Antonelli, Hadjar's penalty lifts him from fourth to third on the grid. But will the Italian, knowing he has 66 points in title race to play - and closest rival George Russell starting four places lower - try and be a bit cautious and keep himself out of any early squabbles for the race lead?

It's another early start tomorrow, but you can have a little lie-in if you want, as build-up will begin on the live page at 07:30 BST, with lights out at 08:00.

See you on Sunday!

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Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, speaking to Sky Sports, on his performance today: "I mean definitely it's a shame for the mistake but all in all, I think, in all honesty, without the track limit Maybe P2, P3 on the road would have been possible because obviously with only one setting, Q3 is never easy, especially with the track cooling down. Max today did an incredible job and was quick and also Ferrari, they made a huge step compared to FP3.

"All in all we have to be happy because it could have been much worse and we focus on being good tomorrow.

"I think it’s going to be be interesting. However, I think Max still has a little bit of the edge on pace and also the Ferrari looked pretty strong, so it’s going to be tight and also tomorrow the deg is going to be huge.

"If we can win, we’ll go for it. If we have to settle for a P2 or P3 we’ll do that."

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Mercedes' George Russell speaking to Sky Sports after qualifying eighth at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia: "From the first practice, we seemed to be OK but have not made improvements since and it is a very demanding circuit on the tyres. The tarmac is all broken up, it is extremely rough.

"It is so hot out there and the tyres are going through hell. For whatever reason it seems to be affecting us far more than others.

"I hope we can fight for the podium, I think Max and Red Bull are out of reach but I think tyre deg is going to be huge tomorrow. I think all three tyres are going to be viable as well.

"You saw the Ferraris, Max save a set of new softs that points to them using that as their tyre at some point in the race and I am sure we will see drivers on the hard tyre as well. So a lot of options."

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It doesn't matter the year or where Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are in the championship standings. Having these two start alongside each other on the front row is always a box office draw.

The last time these two went head to head at lights out was the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2023. The roles were reversed that day, and it was Verstappen who came out on top with a dominant display, with Hamilton eventually finishing fourth after starting on pole.

Four-time world champion Verstappen is searching for his first victory since the season finale in Abu Dhabi last year, while seven-time title winner Hamilton would love to add to the maiden Ferrari win he claimed in China four months ago.

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Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who will start on the front row in P2: "I think this is the biggest crowd I've ever seen here at least in my time of driving. I love this energy, so big, big thank you to Malaysia for welcoming us.

"It's so hot here. I keep saying it, but that's made it a massive challenge for the tyres, for the car, for the mechanics in the garage and I'm really really thankful to my team.

"We made so many changes throughout all these practice sessions and because the cars are sliding, these tyres are overheating, it's really hard to find the balance and we made one last change going into qualifying and I think we hit the sweet spot, so to be able to close the gap to two or three tenths to Max who's been so quick all weekend, it's great so I'm so so grateful.

"I'm much happier with where the car is but tomorrow is a completely different ball game. Making these tyres last around this track, I mean they're overheating from the get go, so every little bit of wheel spin have, every little snap you have depending on the wind, makes a difference of how far you're gonna go. But I like to think we've got a good balance.

"Max was really quick on his long runs so I'll just try my best to hold on to him tomorrow."

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Red Bull's Isack Hadjar who qualified third but will take a five-place grid penalty and drop to eighth: "The car has been very good since last week. It is good to come back at such a time and I am enjoying it, fighting for top three, even though it was not my finest qualifying session, it is a good feeling.

"It is a bit unfortunate that we'll take the penalty on a track where we were that fast but from eighth, I am confident that we can go through the field and come back for a good result."

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Red Bull's Max Verstappen who will start at the front of the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia: "It is fantastic, we have been trying in many grands prix to get pole, sometimes a bit closer than others but to finally get it from where we started this season, pretty incredible.

"I am happy with today and for sure I am going to try to win tomorrow. When you start first, that is the target."

What happened to Mercedes in qualifying? With a big upgarde package brought to the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, many felt they were going to be the team to beat all weekend. Both Kimi Antonelli and George Russell will gain a place because of Isack Hadjar's grid penalty, but neither driver was knocking on the door of pole position today.

"[It's very difficult to understand," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff tells Sky Sports. "We have been a little bit caught out on Friday with some car behaviour that we didn't see all year.

"But then you can say it's very hot, with the tarmac very different to all the tracks. Looked really good in the morning; we seemed to have, at least with Kimi [Antonelli], made a step in understanding. And then in qualifying, it was a little bit back to what we saw before - just no performance."

11. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

12. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

13. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

14. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

15. *Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

16. *Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)

17. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

18. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

19. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

20. Alex Albon (Williams)

21. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)

22. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)

*Colapinto has 15-place grid penalty and Lindblad 30

Sam Bird
Former Formula E driver on 5 Sports Extra

I think it has all teed up very nicely for what could be a fascinating grand prix tomorrow.

1. Max verstappen (Red Bull) - 1:35.130

2. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.298

3. *Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +0.428

4. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.501

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.536

6. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.627

7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.632

8. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.741

9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +2.080

10. Gabreil Bortoleto (Audi) +2.543

*Hadjar has five-place grid penalty

"Let's go guys, let's go! Finally! Great job guys, really great job. Car felt great."

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

Pole position for Max Verstappen, it's a first pole in 2026 for the Dutchman, who will start at the front of the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

Kimi Antonelli's time was a 1:35.631, which put him just ahead of the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton has banked a purple sector in the middle sector, but Max Verstappen has improved once again. The Dutchman's provisional pole time is 1:35.130.

Is that fast sector going to serve Hamilton well? Yes! Front row in P2 for the Scuderia driver.