Lewis Hamilton delivered a superb final Q3 lap to put Ferrari on the front row for the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, while Charles Leclerc had to settle for fifth after struggling to extract the same level of performance from the SF-26. The result gave the Scuderia a welcome boost after FP3 had suggested Ferrari had taken a step backwards relative to its rivals.
During final practice, Ferrari had watched the opposition make progress without being able to match that improvement. Charles Leclerc ended the session fifth, but qualifying produced a very different outcome for Lewis Hamilton, whose final lap ultimately secured second place on the grid.
Ferrari saves a set of Soft tyres in Q1 at Sepang
Ferrari opened qualifying with both SF-26 cars leaving the pit lane on the yellow-marked Medium tyres. It was a compound on which the car could perform competitively, although getting the rubber into the correct operating window remained important. The Sepang layout naturally helped with tyre activation, allowing the drivers to complete a relatively controlled out-lap before attacking at full throttle.
The first attempts again revealed the SF-26’s tendency towards excessive rotation. That characteristic helped the car on corner entry but created difficulties when Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc returned to the throttle during acceleration. Turn 14 was particularly demanding in this respect.
Despite that behaviour, Ferrari placed second and third on the Mediums while most of its rivals had used Soft tyres. The times were comfortably good enough to reach Q2, allowing both cars to remain in the garage until the end of the session. Crucially, Ferrari therefore preserved a fresh set of Soft tyres for later in qualifying.
Q2 exposes Ferrari’s difficulty with the Soft compound
The situation changed in Q2 when both Ferrari drivers switched to Soft tyres. The compound offered greater overall grip, but it was also more difficult for the SF-26 to exploit because of its narrower operating window, a characteristic already apparent during FP3. The wider tyre context at Sepang had also been an important theme heading into the weekend, with the circuit characteristics potentially influencing how Pirelli’s compounds suited the Ferrari SF-26.
After the warm-up phase, the Ferrari pit wall informed the drivers that the track temperature had fallen by one degree. Neither first attempt was perfect. Both drivers had to open their lines on several occasions because of the car’s excessive rotation, costing valuable lap time and underlining the need to find a more precise handling balance.
Charles Leclerc was nevertheless fastest through the second sector, while Lewis Hamilton lost around 0.060 seconds to his team-mate in that part of the lap. After a brief return to the pits to study the telemetry, the Briton went back out on used Soft tyres with an adjustment to the brake balance. The lap was cleaner, but he did not improve because the scrubbed tyres no longer offered the additional grip available from a fresh set.
Lewis Hamilton delivers when Ferrari reaches Q3
Q3 revealed the true competitive picture. Ferrari had clearly been forced into compromises even though the overall setup window did not appear particularly poor. Some performance limitations remained, while Red Bull and McLaren had also introduced upgrades across the previous two championship rounds.
During the out-lap, both Ferrari drivers were instructed to use a tighter line through Turn 2, which was not straightforward given the SF-26’s oversteering balance. Charles Leclerc handled that particular phase better, although Lewis Hamilton was considerably faster once the timed lap developed.
The seven-time world champion needed to improve his exits from Turns 2 and 11, while Charles Leclerc had more to find through Turns 5 and 6. Both were also being asked to carry greater speed through Turn 7.
Lewis Hamilton made the decisive difference in the second sector, setting the fastest time there and gaining two tenths over his team-mate. Ferrari’s biggest deficit to its rivals instead appeared in the opening sector. The complete gaps can be explored through the ScuderiaFans F1 qualifying pace and sector comparison.
Lewis Hamilton maximises the SF-26 as Charles Leclerc settles for fifth
After a quick stop, Ferrari sent both cars back onto the track with fresh Soft tyres. Lewis Hamilton then produced his best lap of the session, extracting the maximum from the SF-26 and securing second place on the front row.
Charles Leclerc, by contrast, could not find the key to maximising the car in the final phase. The Monegasque finished fifth, more than a tenth and a half behind his team-mate, leaving the two Ferrari drivers with very different outcomes from the same qualifying session. Their evolving season comparison can also be followed through the Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton season comparison.
Even so, Ferrari had managed to dispel many of the concerns raised by FP3. On a historic circuit such as Sepang, the front-row result provided the team with significant relief. Lewis Hamilton was visibly delighted over the radio after completing the lap and celebrated the second-place result almost as enthusiastically as a pole position.
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