Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the season for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix – as George Russell’s outside title hopes were dealt a significant blow after he qualified only eighth.
Verstappen delivered an emphatic lap on F1’s return to Malaysia – with Sunday’s rearranged Bahrain round taking place at the Sepang International Circuit because of the conflict in the Middle East – to take his first pole since the concluding round in Abu Dhabi last December.
Verstappen, in a class of one all afternoon, saw off Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton by three tenths of a second.
Mercedes arrived for the 16th round armed with a raft of upgrades but Kimi Antonelli and Russell never appeared in with a shout.
Antonelli had to settle for fourth, with Russell, who trails his team-mate by 66 points in the standings, four places further back and an alarming eight tenths off the pace. Isack Hadjar qualified third for Red Bull, with Hamilton’s team-mate Charles Leclerc fifth. World champion Lando Norris was sixth for McLaren.
Verstappen won the last race staged in Sepang and, nine years on, the four-time world champion will be the overwhelming favourite to claim another triumph on Malaysian soil – his first of a disappointing campaign in his underperforming Red Bull.
“It is fantastic,” said the Dutchman. “We have been trying to get pole and to finally get it – from where we started the season – is pretty incredible.
“I am happy with today, and for sure I am going to try to win tomorrow. When you start first, that is the target.”
Hamilton said: “It was really hard to find a good balance, and we made one change before qualifying and we hit the sweet spot. I am so, so grateful. I will try my best to hold on to Max tomorrow.”
TOP-10 - BAHRAIN GP IN MALAYSIA QUALIFYING
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
3. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Lando Norris (McLaren)
6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
7. George Russell (Mercedes)
8. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)*
9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
10. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
*Hadjar has a five-place grid drop due to exceeding his power unit allocation
Antonelli was made to sweat in the second phase after his lap was deleted for exceeding track limits when he ran wide at turn six.
The championship leader safely booked his Q3 spot with the second-fastest time of the session. But the knock-on effect meant he was afforded only one shot at pole.
Antonelli trailed Verstappen in third by 0.381 seconds after his sole attempt and was then relegated a place as his rivals went again. In the end, he finished half-a-second slower than Verstappen.
Russell had two attempts in Q3 but failed to trouble the top of the order and his hopes of building on his dominant win in Azerbaijan a week ago and launch a championship comeback have been severely dented.
For the second time this season, both Aston Martin drivers progressed to Q2. The British team, bankrolled by fashion billionaire Lawrence Stroll, have endured a campaign beyond their worst nightmares.
So, they will take some solace from Fernando Alonso – who this week agreed a new one-year extension to carry him to his 46th birthday – and Lance Stroll making it out of Q1.
Alonso will start 12th, two places ahead of Stroll. Franco Colapinto qualified 15th but he will be demoted to the back of the grid.
Colapinto was already due to serve a five-place drop after he wiped Norris and Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly out in Baku. And the Argentinian was hit with an additional grid sanction for taking on a new power unit which is set to leave him last.
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