Max Verstappen secured his first pole position of the 2026 Formula 1 season in Bahrain GP qualifying at Sepang, but Ferrari emerged as Red Bull’s closest challenger as Lewis Hamilton produced an outstanding final lap to take second place. Isack Hadjar initially qualified third before a grid penalty changed the order, while Mercedes struggled to extract the full potential of its new package.
The numbers reveal considerably more than the final classification. Sector times, tyre usage and telemetry show where Red Bull built its advantage, why Lewis Hamilton was exceptionally quick through Sepang’s middle sector and how Ferrari approached qualifying differently from its rivals. The session also provided important clues ahead of a race in which tyre availability and degradation could become decisive. Full weekend timings and circuit information are available in the 2026 Bahrain GP at Sepang schedule and circuit guide.
Max Verstappen takes his first pole of 2026
Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of 2026 with a 1:35.130, placing Lewis Hamilton second at 0.298 seconds, Isack Hadjar third at 0.428 and Kimi Antonelli fourth at 0.501. George Russell finished eighth, 0.741 seconds away from the benchmark.
For Max Verstappen, it was his first pole since last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and also the first pole of 2026 for a car not powered by a Mercedes engine.
“We’ve been trying for so many Grands Prix, sometimes getting closer and sometimes less so, but to achieve it after the way we started the season is really incredible,” Max Verstappen explained. Asked about his intentions for the race, the Dutch driver was clear: “When you start at the front, that’s the goal.”
Red Bull was rapid from Q1 through to Q3, while Ferrari showed its strongest performance through the central section of the lap. Mercedes endured a more complicated session as it continued trying to understand a newly introduced technical package.
The starting order changed after qualifying because Isack Hadjar received a five-place grid penalty for using a seventh internal combustion engine. The penalty dropped him to eighth and promoted Kimi Antonelli into third position.
Sepang track temperatures remain extreme
Conditions were almost unchanged from FP3. Air temperature remained between 32°C and 33°C, humidity hovered around 50% and there was no rain. The track reached 59°C at the beginning of Q1 before falling to 53.7°C by the end of Q3, producing an average of 55.8°C compared with 55.5°C during final practice.
The asphalt temperature had also remained remarkably consistent throughout the rest of the weekend, averaging 55.0°C in FP1 and 54.6°C in FP2. What did increase was grip.
Lap times progressively fell on Sepang’s abrasive surface, although not by as much as teams had expected. Pirelli motorsport director Dario Marrafuschi explained that the circuit improved during the day and allowed the Soft compound to perform well, but lap times remained significantly slower than the pre-event simulations had predicted.
Between Q1 and each driver’s best qualifying lap, the leading eight improved by between 1.06 seconds in Charles Leclerc’s case and 1.41 seconds for Kimi Antonelli. That improvement combined track evolution, fresh tyres and setup work, making it impossible to isolate precisely how much each factor contributed. The tyre characteristics that make Sepang particularly interesting for Ferrari are explored further in the analysis of why Pirelli’s Sepang compounds may suit the SF-26.
Ferrari saves a set of Soft tyres in Q1
Max Verstappen immediately established the benchmark in Q1 with a 1:36.477, ahead of Lewis Hamilton by 0.118 seconds and Charles Leclerc by 0.253.
Ferrari took a different strategic approach from most of the field. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc completed only one attempt on Medium tyres, following the same route as Audi with Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, while every other driver used the Soft compound.
The decision allowed Ferrari to preserve a fresh set of Soft tyres for Sunday’s race without paying a meaningful price in qualifying performance.
The Q1 elimination threshold was Arvid Lindblad’s 1:37.883, 1.406 seconds away from Max Verstappen. Nico Hülkenberg missed progression by only 0.087 seconds, with Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Alexander Albon, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez also eliminated.
Nico Hülkenberg’s exit was particularly costly. Both the German driver and Alexander Albon locked a front tyre at Turn 14. Telemetry indirectly confirms the impact: on their best Q1 laps they recorded the lowest minimum speeds in that corner, at 80 km/h and 89 km/h respectively compared with approximately 105 km/h for the benchmark drivers.
The mistake cost Nico Hülkenberg around 0.44 seconds in a single corner. Without it, he would have progressed into Q2.
Kimi Antonelli loses a fresh Soft after Q2 lap deletion
Every driver switched to Soft tyres for Q2. Max Verstappen completed his first attempt in 1:35.696 and was followed by Kimi Antonelli at 0.263 seconds, Charles Leclerc at 0.274, Oscar Piastri at 0.324 and Lewis Hamilton at 0.336.
Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso both received black-and-white flags for unnecessarily slow driving, although neither incident led to an investigation.
Gabriel Bortoleto established the Q2 cut-off at 1:36.814, 1.118 seconds away from the provisional pole time. Liam Lawson missed progression by 0.209 seconds and was joined by Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll. Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad, already destined to start from the rear, did not pursue a competitive time.
Kimi Antonelli’s session changed after his opening attempt. His 1:36.075 was deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 6. The lap would only have placed him fifth and his progression was not under serious threat, but the deletion forced Mercedes to fit another new set of Soft tyres.
Kimi Antonelli then recorded a 1:35.959. The cost became important in Q3 because he had only one fresh set remaining.
Lance Stroll, meanwhile, collected two warnings for exceeding the maximum permitted time of 1:59.0 between the Safety Car lines, receiving one in Q1 and another in Q2.
Lewis Hamilton finds more than three tenths on his final Q3 lap
All the Q3 runners began on new Soft tyres and almost everyone completed two attempts. Max Verstappen opened with a 1:35.250 before finding another 0.120 seconds on his final run to secure pole with a 1:35.130.
Lewis Hamilton produced a much larger improvement. The Ferrari driver gained 0.317 seconds, moving from a 1:35.745 to a 1:35.428. Charles Leclerc improved by 0.212 seconds, Lando Norris by 0.225 and George Russell by 0.161.
Isack Hadjar was remarkably consistent, recording 1:35.558 and 1:35.559 on his two fresh sets. Oscar Piastri, by contrast, went 0.125 seconds slower on his second attempt.
Kimi Antonelli completed only one Q3 lap because Mercedes had only one new Soft remaining. The team sent the Italian driver out while the others were in the pits between their two attempts, giving him clear track. His 1:35.631 was completed at 16:56:48, more than three minutes before Max Verstappen’s final pole lap.
Traffic does not explain the final gaps. Track-position data shows that almost all of the decisive laps were effectively clear, with no more than 11% of lap time spent with another car less than three seconds ahead.
Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top ten with 1:37.210 and 1:37.673 respectively, both using previously used Soft tyres and finishing more than two seconds away from pole.
Bahrain GP starting grid changes after Isack Hadjar penalty
On qualifying times, the leading order was Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Isack Hadjar, Kimi Antonelli, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and George Russell.
After Isack Hadjar’s grid penalty, that sequence became Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Isack Hadjar.
Further back, Franco Colapinto loses 15 grid positions, while Arvid Lindblad is set to start last with a 30-place penalty.
Qualifying gains show who improved most at Sepang
Comparing each driver’s deficit to Max Verstappen from one qualifying segment to the next offers a clearer picture than the final classification alone.
In Q1, Lewis Hamilton was 0.118 seconds behind, Charles Leclerc 0.253, Oscar Piastri 0.375 and Isack Hadjar 0.421. The field compressed during Q2, with Kimi Antonelli 0.263 seconds away, Charles Leclerc 0.274, Oscar Piastri 0.324 and Lewis Hamilton 0.336.
Then Red Bull raised the level in Q3. Max Verstappen improved by 0.566 seconds between Q2 and Q3, Isack Hadjar by 0.634 and Lewis Hamilton by 0.604. Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and the two Mercedes drivers improved by between 0.258 and 0.416 seconds.
Only Lewis Hamilton and Isack Hadjar therefore reduced their deficit to Max Verstappen during the final session. Everyone else lost between 0.15 and 0.31 seconds relative to the pole-sitter.
The difference was not caused by tyre availability because everyone used fresh rubber. Pirelli explained that degradation prevented drivers from producing another genuinely competitive lap on the same set, although that effect may have influenced different cars in different ways. Track evolution nevertheless appears to have helped the drivers as qualifying progressed.
The complete progression through Q1, Q2 and Q3 can be examined through the ScuderiaFans F1 Qualifying Pace & Sector Comparison.
Why Max Verstappen took Bahrain GP pole
The explanation for Max Verstappen’s pole lies mainly in the first and third sectors. The Red Bull driver set the fastest time in both, recording 24.504 seconds in sector one and 39.016 in sector three.
The middle sector told a completely different story. Lewis Hamilton produced a 31.201, more than two tenths faster than anybody else.
Adding each driver’s best individual sector times gives Max Verstappen an ideal lap of 1:34.976, 0.154 seconds faster than his actual pole lap. Lewis Hamilton’s ideal lap was 1:35.402, only 0.026 seconds quicker than the time he actually achieved. In other words, the Dutch driver theoretically had even more performance available.
The pattern against the rest of the field was consistent. In the first sector, every driver lost between 0.14 seconds for Lewis Hamilton and 0.33 for Lando Norris compared with the pole lap. In sector three, the losses ranged from 0.20 seconds for Charles Leclerc to 0.49 for Oscar Piastri.
The middle sector was much closer. Lewis Hamilton was approximately three tenths ahead, while Oscar Piastri, Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar and Lando Norris were separated by only a few hundredths.
Isack Hadjar closely matches Red Bull’s speed profile
Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull produced a very similar speed profile. Both cars reached 321 km/h at the end of the main straight, while his 0.428-second qualifying deficit was distributed almost equally between sectors one and three, at 0.240 and 0.234 seconds respectively.
Telemetry shows that Isack Hadjar left approximately two tenths between braking and corner entry at Turn 1, with slightly less time lost through Turns 14 and 15.
Detailed speed, braking and corner behaviour from qualifying can be explored in the ScuderiaFans F1 Qualifying Telemetry & Corner Comparison.
Ferrari’s middle sector belongs to Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton was the only driver who seriously threatened Max Verstappen, and he did so in the part of Sepang where Ferrari was strongest. His 31.201 was comfortably the fastest second-sector time, but the complete lap ended 0.298 seconds behind because the Ferrari lost 0.138 in sector one and 0.464 in sector three.
On the final straight, Lewis Hamilton’s SF-26 reached 301 km/h on his quickest lap, compared with 305–310 km/h on earlier attempts and 306 km/h for Max Verstappen.
The available information is not sufficient to establish whether that was the result of a deliberate choice or a limitation, but it does point towards a different energy-management profile.
Lewis Hamilton described a Saturday of continuous changes, with the SF-26 sliding and Ferrari making an intervention before qualifying. “I was losing four tenths on the straights, then came the miracle in the garage,” Lewis Hamilton explained.
Charles Leclerc lost more overall, finishing 0.536 seconds away from pole. His largest deficits came through the faster corners, with approximately 0.24 seconds lost between Turns 5 and 7 and another 0.15 between Turns 9 and 11.
In the final two slow corners, Turns 14 and 15, Charles Leclerc was actually slightly faster than Max Verstappen. Between approximately 1,800 and 2,300 metres into the lap, Lewis Hamilton averaged 255.8 km/h compared with 251.4 km/h for Charles Leclerc.
“I’m struggling with the rear,” Charles Leclerc said after qualifying, while Frédéric Vasseur described the Ferrari drivers as having completed two good laps and said Charles Leclerc had been on the defensive.
The contrasting performances of the two Ferrari drivers add another significant data point to their season-long Charles Leclerc vs Lewis Hamilton F1 head-to-head statistics.
What telemetry reveals about Ferrari’s energy deployment
Battery behaviour is the most difficult element to interpret. State of Charge data is not publicly available, while the telemetry provides only speed, throttle, braking and gear information.
FIA Document 4 establishes the regulatory framework. During qualifying, every car may recover a maximum of 7.5 megajoules per lap, while MGU-K power can be reduced within specified sections of the circuit. What can be observed publicly is the effect this has on vehicle speed.
On the main straight, all eight leading cars lose between 4 and 6 km/h between approximately 300 and 450 metres despite remaining at 100% throttle. The reduction is similar across all of them. The differences appear elsewhere.
On their fastest laps, the Red Bull cars reached 321 km/h at the end of the main straight, compared with approximately 315–318 km/h for Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren. On the back straight, however, McLaren recorded the highest top speeds at between 310 and 315 km/h.
The clearest difference appears in acceleration. On the back straight, Charles Leclerc accelerated at 4.21 m/s² between the 4,400- and 4,700-metre points, compared with 3.21 for Max Verstappen and 3.19 for Lewis Hamilton.
At 4,700 metres, Charles Leclerc was travelling at 311 km/h, compared with 304 km/h for Max Verstappen and 300 km/h for Lewis Hamilton. That could indicate more effectively managed electrical deployment, although it remains only a hypothesis based on the available data.
The speed differences can be compared through the ScuderiaFans F1 Top Speed Comparison, while further analysis of the SF-26 is available in the Ferrari technical analysis section.
Lando Norris’s assessment also needs to be viewed with the same caution. “We lose on every straight, and it’s frustrating,” the McLaren driver said. Yet McLaren was among the slowest cars on the main straight and the fastest on the back straight, illustrating how much the picture changes depending on the section being examined.
Mercedes still searching for the window of its new package
Mercedes arrived at Sepang with seven updates, most of them concentrated around the floor and rear of the W17, but emerged from qualifying with fourth and eighth on the timing sheets before Isack Hadjar’s penalty altered the grid.
Kimi Antonelli had been quickest in FP3 with a 1:36.302. He improved that time by only 0.671 seconds in qualifying, the smallest gain among the leading eight. George Russell improved by 1.041 seconds, compared with 1.450 for Max Verstappen and 1.613 for Lewis Hamilton.
George Russell finished 0.741 seconds behind pole, with almost all of that loss coming in sectors one and three: 0.283 and 0.401 seconds respectively.
The British driver described Sepang as the most aggressive asphalt of the season and called it his worst qualifying performance of the year. “It feels like driving on gravel,” George Russell said, while admitting he could not explain exactly what had gone wrong. He nevertheless remained confident about the race and believed the podium remained open.
Kimi Antonelli pointed to his deleted lap, the resulting Q2 complication, heavy understeer and a new package that Mercedes still does not fully understand and which remains slightly outside its ideal operating window.
The Italian driver believed that, with a normal qualifying session, second or third would have been possible because Max Verstappen was simply too quick to challenge for pole. Kimi Antonelli also expects Mercedes to perform better in the race, supported by Friday’s long-run pace on both Soft and Medium tyres.
Who impressed elsewhere in Bahrain GP qualifying?
Behind Max Verstappen, one of the standout performers was Isack Hadjar. He produced almost identical Q3 laps of 1:35.558 and 1:35.559 on two new sets of tyres and progressed comfortably through the first two qualifying segments.
Isack Hadjar was satisfied with the car, even though he acknowledged that it had not been his best qualifying performance. Starting eighth after his penalty, he believes a recovery drive is possible.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were separated by only five thousandths of a second, recording 1:35.757 and 1:35.762 respectively. They will start fifth and sixth.
Pierre Gasly put Alpine ninth after finishing Q2 only 0.165 seconds behind George Russell, while Gabriel Bortoleto reached Q3 for Audi despite having no updates available.
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll qualified 12th and 14th for Aston Martin, which brought no new parts and also had matters to discuss with the stewards. Williams and Cadillac remained towards the rear of the field.
Ferrari’s tyre advantage could matter on Sunday
The biggest consideration heading into the race is tyre availability. Charles Leclerc still has two new sets of Soft tyres, while Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton each have one.
Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, Isack Hadjar, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have no fresh Soft sets remaining. Ferrari’s decision to complete Q1 on the Medium compound therefore gives the team an additional strategic option heading into a race in which degradation has been a significant concern throughout the weekend.
The Bahrain GP qualifying session has established the hierarchy over a single lap: Max Verstappen and Red Bull were strongest overall, while Lewis Hamilton extracted Ferrari’s biggest strength through the middle sector to secure a front-row start.
Whether the same order survives over a full race distance is a different question. Tyre degradation, remaining sets and long-run pace will now become more important than the outright qualifying performance that decided Saturday at Sepang.
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