By Holly Wright
Max Verstappen finally returned to the top of Formula 1 qualifying as the Red Bull driver produced a dominant performance at Sepang International Circuit to take his first pole position of the 2026 season.
Verstappen topped all three qualifying sessions and saved his best performance for Q3, setting a 1:35.130 to finish 0.298 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
The result gives the pair a front-row start together for the first time since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, adding an intriguing layer to Sunday’s race given their history from the 2021 title fight.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar completed the top three but will drop to eighth on the grid after taking a five-place penalty for a new internal combustion engine. That promotes championship leader Kimi Antonelli to third, while Mercedes team-mate George Russell could manage only eighth fastest.
Verstappen Finds Another Gear
There had been little to separate the leading teams across the three practice sessions, with Verstappen topping FP1, Charles Leclerc leading FP2 and Antonelli going fastest in final practice.
Mercedes had appeared to make progress overnight, with Antonelli finishing FP3 nearly three tenths ahead of Verstappen. However, qualifying told a very different story.
Verstappen immediately established himself as the driver to beat.
He went fastest in Q1 with a 1:36.477 before becoming the first driver into the 1:35s during Q2, setting a 1:35.696.
His advantage became even clearer in the final session.
Verstappen’s first Q3 run put him three tenths ahead of Hadjar, with Hamilton and Leclerc following behind. Antonelli then produced his first and only representative run of the session but could not close the gap.
Verstappen returned to the track for one final attempt and lowered his benchmark to 1:35.130, securing pole by almost three tenths.
Hamilton responded with his best lap of the weekend to claim second and secure Ferrari a place on the front row.
It was a significant result for Verstappen, who has endured a difficult campaign for pace and balance but has enjoyed a stronger run as Red Bull’s recent developments have started to unlock more performance.
The team introduced an aerodynamic upgrade in Azerbaijanand the package appears to have worked particularly well around the demanding Sepang circuit.
Verstappen’s performance also means Red Bull will have both of its cars starting inside the top three on qualifying pace, although Hadjar’s penalty changes the order for Sunday’s race.
Mercedes Left To Count The Cost
Mercedes arrived in Malaysia having won the previous three races and brought their first major upgrade package since the Canadian Grand Prix.
There had been genuine optimism that the Silver Arrows could continue their recent run, particularly after Antonelli’s FP3 performance.
Instead, the team’s qualifying pace left them searching for answers.
Antonelli’s afternoon was complicated by a track-limits infringement in Q2, which resulted in his first lap being deleted. Mercedes were forced to put another set of soft tyres onto his car to protect his place in Q3.
That left Antonelli with only one new set available for the final shootout.
The Italian waited until the other drivers had completed their opening runs before heading onto the circuit, but with the soft tyre appearing to offer its best performance over a single lap, he could not challenge Verstappen for pole.
Antonelli finished fourth in the initial classification, 0.501 seconds off Verstappen.
Hadjar’s penalty will promote him to third, giving the championship leader an important starting position as he looks to extend his advantage.
Russell, meanwhile, struggled throughout Saturday and finished 0.240 seconds behind his team-mate.
The Briton had won last time out in Baku and said his confidence was back, but he was unable to match Antonelli’s pace across final practice and qualifying.
With Russell currently 66 points behind his Mercedes team-mate in the championship, his eighth-place starting position leaves him with plenty of ground to recover on Sunday.
The abrasive Sepang surface and high temperatures appear to have exposed weaknesses in Mercedes’ latest package, despite the team’s recent run of victories.
Ferrari and McLaren Separated
Hamilton’s front-row result provided Ferrari with a strong qualifying return, although the team had to settle for fifth with Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc had been competitive throughout the session, butcould not match either Verstappen or his team-mate when the final laps mattered.
McLaren also found themselves some way short of the pace.
Lando Norris took sixth with a 1:35.757, while Oscar Piastri was only 0.005 seconds further back.
The pair had been expected to challenge at the front after their recent performances on circuits with similar characteristics, but McLaren lacked the outright pace required to threaten pole.
Norris ended the session 0.627 seconds off Verstappen, with Piastri only fractionally further behind.
Behind the leading four teams, Pierre Gasly delivered the fastest qualifying performance outside Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren to take ninth for Alpine.
Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto continued his impressive weekend by securing 10th, having already caught the eye in Q1 with the fastest first sector and a lap good enough for eighth at the time.
Aston Martin Show Signs Of Progress
Aston Martin enjoyed one of their strongest qualifying sessions of the season.
Fernando Alonso qualified 12th, while Lance Stroll took 14th, with Carlos Sainz splitting the two Aston Martins in 13th.
The result represents a marked improvement after a difficult run of races.
Aston Martin’s Honda power unit has continued to leave the team at a disadvantage on power-sensitive circuits, but Sepang’s characteristics allowed the improvements made to the chassis to become more evident.
The team has worked on aerodynamics and weight since the summer, and Alonso’s lap was just 1.524 seconds away from pole.
That gave Aston Martin their best qualifying performance of the season and provided a more encouraging indication of the progress made to the car.
At the other end of the top 15, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson qualified 11th despite an extensive effort from team-mate Arvid Lindblad to provide a tow.
Lindblad was already facing a back-of-the-grid start following a power-unit change and sacrificed his own representative Q2 attempt to help Lawson.
However, Bortoleto’s late improvement pushed Lawson out of the top 10.
Lawson will also drop to the back after changing his power unit, meaning several drivers further down the order will benefit from grid penalties.
Franco Colapinto and Lindblad did not set representative Q2 times because of their respective penalties.
Colapinto faces a five-place penalty for his Baku collision and a further 10-place drop for taking a new engine, while Lindblad is set to start at the rear.
Nico Hulkenberg narrowly missed Q2, finishing just 0.087 seconds short of progression, while Haas endured a difficult session with Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon eliminated in Q1.
Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez completed the Q1 eliminations.
With Verstappen starting from pole and Hamilton alongside him, Sunday promises an intriguing front-row battle, while Antonelli’s promotion to third and the various grid penalties will significantly alter the order established in qualifying.
