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Max Verstappen takes his first pole of 2026 at Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

Chris Medland says the result also delivered Red Bull Ford Powertrains its first pole.

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20 Sources, 6h ago, first seen 6h ago

TLDR

Max Verstappen took his first pole of 2026 at the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang in Malaysia. Lewis Hamilton qualified second, while BBC Sport says Isack Hadjar's five-place penalty drops him from third to eighth and The Race says Kimi Antonelli starts third. The Race calls it the season's first pole by a non-Mercedes-powered car.

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1.6M

20 Sources, first seen 6h ago

97.5K likes805 comments1.2K saves18.7K reposts
Featured Source

Combined views

1.6M

20 Sources, first seen 6h ago

97.5K likes805 comments1.2K saves18.7K reposts

Max Verstappen took his first pole of 2026 at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Formula 1 announced the pole, while Motorsport identified the circuit as Sepang.

Lewis Hamilton qualified second. BBC Sport reported that Isack Hadjar qualified third but will drop to eighth because of a five-place grid penalty, and The Race said Kimi Antonelli will start third.

The result was the first Red Bull Ford Powertrains pole, according to Chris Medland. The Race also called it the first pole of the season for a non-Mercedes-powered car.

Formula 1 noted that the season has produced four different pole sitters in four races. The Race said Verstappen and Hamilton will start first and second in that order for the first time since the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Sentiment

Positive52.6%47.4%Negative

Based on 490 sentiment-bearing replies from 413 accounts across 11 conversations.

Useful Links

espn.com

2026 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia Weekend Results - ESPN

WRAL.com

Verstappen takes his first pole position of the year at F1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

F1-Fansite.com

Verstappen Takes first Pole for 2026 Bahrain F1 GP at Sepang

Related Videos

  • Max Verstappen's Pole Lap | 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia | PirelliFORMULA 1 · YouTube
  • LIVE : F1 Qualifying Press Conference - Bahrain GP | Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Isack HadjarFormula 1 Info · YouTube

Useful links

espn.com

2026 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia Weekend Results - ESPN

FORMULA 1 · YouTube

Max Verstappen's Pole Lap | 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia | Pirelli

WRAL.com

Verstappen takes his first pole position of the year at F1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

Formula 1 Info · YouTube

LIVE : F1 Qualifying Press Conference - Bahrain GP | Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Isack Hadjar

F1-Fansite.com

Verstappen Takes first Pole for 2026 Bahrain F1 GP at Sepang

Sentiment

Positive52.6%47.4%Negative

Based on 490 sentiment-bearing replies from 413 accounts across 11 conversations.

Useful Links

espn.com

2026 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia Weekend Results - ESPN

WRAL.com

Verstappen takes his first pole position of the year at F1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

F1-Fansite.com

Verstappen Takes first Pole for 2026 Bahrain F1 GP at Sepang

Related Videos

  • Max Verstappen's Pole Lap | 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia | PirelliFORMULA 1 · YouTube
  • LIVE : F1 Qualifying Press Conference - Bahrain GP | Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Isack HadjarFormula 1 Info · YouTube

20 Sources

@F1MAX VERSTAPPEN TAKES POLE FOR THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX IN MALAYSIA!! 👊 #F1 #BahrainGP6h
@MotorsportPOLE for Max Verstappen at Sepang!6h
@ChrisMedlandF1It's a first pole position of 2026 for Max Verstappen and Red Bull! The first Red Bull Ford Powertrains pole, too Hamilton P2, Hadjar P3 (will start P8) Then Antonelli, Leclerc, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Gasly, Bortoleto #F1 #BahrainGP6h
@wearetheraceMax Verstappen takes POLE in Malaysia!!! He takes the first non-Mercedes powered pole position of the season! Hamilton takes P2, Antonelli will start P3!6h
@SkySportsF1Max Verstappen claims pole in the Bahrain GP in Malaysia! ⚡🏎️6h
@autosportA list of drivers without a Mercedes engine that have claimed a pole position this season: - Max Verstappen End of list.6h
@SkySportsNewsRT @SkySportsF1: Max Verstappen claims pole in the Bahrain GP in Malaysia! ⚡🏎️6h
@BBCSportMax Verstappen is back on pole! 🏎️🔥 He takes his first pole of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Isack Hadjar, who drops to P8 with a five-place grid penalty. Can Verstappen repeat his 2017 Sepang victory? 👀5h
@DeccanChronicleSepang: #MaxVerstappen qualified on pole position for the first time this year at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on a rare off day for Mercedes and standings leader #KimiAntonelli. https://www.deccanchronicle.com/sports/verstappen-takes-his-first-pole-position-of-year-at-f1s-bahrain-grand-prix-19927824h
@JunaidSamodien_GEORGE RUSSELL TALKS QUALIFYING ON SKY F1 AFTER BAH-LAYSIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING: _______________________________________ Craig Slater: I can hear you, George, sort of scratching your head a little bit about what's not been right? Has it basically been that you've been chasing the right setups since first practice? Is that the story of the weekend? George Russell: I mean, from the first practice we seem to be okay, but we've just not really made any improvement since, and it's a very demanding circuit on the tyres. The tarmac is broken up and is extremely rough. So, hot out there and the tyres are going through hell, and for whatever reason, it seems to be affecting us far more than others. Slater: You're starting P7; it will be an attritional race. Obviously the man you're fighting for the title is a few rows ahead. How do you size things up? Do your longer runs give you any kind of confidence? Can you hope to be racing him at some point? Russell: Yeah, I hope we can fight for the podium. I think Max and Red Bull are probably out of reach, but I think tyre deg is gonna be huge tomorrow. I think all three tyres are probably gonna be viable as well. So, you know, you saw the Ferraris and Max save a set of new softs, so that points towards them using that as their tyre at some point in the race, and also, I'm sure, we'll see drivers on the hard tyre as well. So yeah, a lot of opportunity. 📸XPB Images/NextGenAuto #F14h
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    Max Verstappen

    20 Sources

    @F1MAX VERSTAPPEN TAKES POLE FOR THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX IN MALAYSIA!! 👊 #F1 #BahrainGP6h
    @MotorsportPOLE for Max Verstappen at Sepang!6h
    @ChrisMedlandF1It's a first pole position of 2026 for Max Verstappen and Red Bull! The first Red Bull Ford Powertrains pole, too Hamilton P2, Hadjar P3 (will start P8) Then Antonelli, Leclerc, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Gasly, Bortoleto #F1 #BahrainGP6h
    @wearetheraceMax Verstappen takes POLE in Malaysia!!! He takes the first non-Mercedes powered pole position of the season! Hamilton takes P2, Antonelli will start P3!6h
    @SkySportsF1Max Verstappen claims pole in the Bahrain GP in Malaysia! ⚡🏎️6h
    @autosportA list of drivers without a Mercedes engine that have claimed a pole position this season: - Max Verstappen End of list.6h
    @SkySportsNewsRT @SkySportsF1: Max Verstappen claims pole in the Bahrain GP in Malaysia! ⚡🏎️6h
    @BBCSportMax Verstappen is back on pole! 🏎️🔥 He takes his first pole of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Isack Hadjar, who drops to P8 with a five-place grid penalty. Can Verstappen repeat his 2017 Sepang victory? 👀5h
    @DeccanChronicleSepang: #MaxVerstappen qualified on pole position for the first time this year at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on a rare off day for Mercedes and standings leader #KimiAntonelli. https://www.deccanchronicle.com/sports/verstappen-takes-his-first-pole-position-of-year-at-f1s-bahrain-grand-prix-19927824h
    @JunaidSamodien_GEORGE RUSSELL TALKS QUALIFYING ON SKY F1 AFTER BAH-LAYSIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING: _______________________________________ Craig Slater: I can hear you, George, sort of scratching your head a little bit about what's not been right? Has it basically been that you've been chasing the right setups since first practice? Is that the story of the weekend? George Russell: I mean, from the first practice we seem to be okay, but we've just not really made any improvement since, and it's a very demanding circuit on the tyres. The tarmac is broken up and is extremely rough. So, hot out there and the tyres are going through hell, and for whatever reason, it seems to be affecting us far more than others. Slater: You're starting P7; it will be an attritional race. Obviously the man you're fighting for the title is a few rows ahead. How do you size things up? Do your longer runs give you any kind of confidence? Can you hope to be racing him at some point? Russell: Yeah, I hope we can fight for the podium. I think Max and Red Bull are probably out of reach, but I think tyre deg is gonna be huge tomorrow. I think all three tyres are probably gonna be viable as well. So, you know, you saw the Ferraris and Max save a set of new softs, so that points towards them using that as their tyre at some point in the race, and also, I'm sure, we'll see drivers on the hard tyre as well. So yeah, a lot of opportunity. 📸XPB Images/NextGenAuto #F14h
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