One F1 star suffered a devastating grid penalty at the Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying in Malaysia as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen went head-to-head
Max Verstappen ruled the roost in qualifying at Sepang, securing his first pole position of the year. He’ll be joined on the front row by Lewis Hamilton, who couldn’t contain his excitement over the radio when it was confirmed he’d clocked the second fastest time in his Ferrari.
The Brit legend asked his team “where are we?” and when told “P2” replied: “Let’s go guys!” Meanwhile Sky Sports’ F1 icon Martin Brundle reacted: “Verstappen versus Hamilton. Imagine that! What could possibly go wrong…”
Isack Hadjar completed the top three on track, but unfortunately, the Frenchman’s stellar performance won’t receive its due reward as he has to serve grid penalties for exceeding his annual allowance of new engine parts.
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Hadjar has opted for a new internal combustion engine, which carries an automatic five-place grid penalty. This means he’ll start in eighth place, but Red Bull will still be pleased with his showing. If he can replicate his qualifying pace on Sunday, Hadjar might still have a shot at a podium finish.
As a result, Kimi Antonelli will move up to third on the grid, while Mercedes team-mate George Russell advances to seventh. However, this won’t do much to alleviate the disappointment felt by the Silver Arrows, who never seemed in contention for pole despite bringing their first major car upgrade in months to this weekend’s race, reports the Express.
An early strategic battle unfolded when Ferrari took to the track for Q1 on medium tyres and demonstrated impressive speed against those on softs. They sailed through comfortably, as did both Aston Martin cars for the first time this year.
For Cadillac, however, it was business as usual, finishing slowest overall.
Haas were gutted to completely stumble at the first hurdle, while the day was also over for Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg. It proved particularly galling for the latter, considering his team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto discovered sufficient pace in the other Audi to secure a spot in the top-10 shootout.
Liam Lawson was refused a place in the top 10, as was Fernando Alonso despite showing impressive pace once more in Q2, but it still proved to be the end of the line for Aston Martin. Franco Colapinto, carrying grid penalties, fulfilled his role by providing a tow for Pierre Gasly into Q3 before contentedly settling for 15th, knowing he would start from the rear regardless.
However, as Q3 commenced, there appeared to be only one likely result. Verstappen was the quickest driver on track throughout and successfully converted that into his first pole position of the year.
A maiden victory in 2026 will now be the objective for the four-time world champion.