Verstappen takes pole for Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Hamilton alongside

Centre · 2Red Bull's Max Verstappen took pole position for the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, which is being held in Sepang, Malaysia, with a time of 1 minute 35.130 seconds. 1 2 Centre · 2It was his and Red Bull's first pole of the season. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton joins him on the front row, 0.298 seconds slower, according to the BBC. 1 2 Centre · 2Red Bull's Isack Hadjar was third fastest but takes a five-place grid penalty, which CNA says is for exceeding his seasonal engine allowance. He will start eighth, and championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes moves up to third. 1 2

Centre · 1Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fifth fastest, ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Antonelli's Mercedes team-mate George Russell managed only eighth fastest, and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top ten. 2 Centre · 1Fernando Alonso gave Aston Martin their best qualifying position of the year in 12th, with Lance Stroll 14th, according to the BBC. 2 Centre · 1The BBC says Red Bull introduced an aerodynamic upgrade at the previous race in Azerbaijan and that it proved a major step forward at Sepang, which is hosting the race after it was postponed earlier in the year because of the war in the Middle East. It says Verstappen has struggled for pace and balance for much of the year. 2

Centre · 1Verstappen called the pole "fantastic" and "pretty incredible" given where the team started the season. Hamilton said the heat made the weekend a big challenge for the tyres and car, and that one last change before qualifying "hit the sweet spot". 1 Centre · 1CNA notes that Verstappen won the last Grand Prix held in Malaysia, in 2017, before the race left the calendar after the government said it could not justify the costs. It adds that Hamilton also has one Sepang victory and had struggled with tyre degradation in practice. 1 Centre · 2The BBC says Hamilton on the front row recalls the 2021 title fight between the two, when Hamilton drove for Mercedes. Hadjar said he was confident of recovering from eighth on the grid. 2 1

Mixed · 2Mercedes arrived with a big upgrade package but struggled: Antonelli was fourth fastest, half a second off Verstappen, and Russell, winner of the previous race in Azerbaijan, was about eight tenths off the pace, starting seventh after Hadjar's penalty. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports it was "very difficult to understand", citing car behaviour not seen all year and the hot, very different tarmac. 3 4 Right · 1The Irish Independent adds that Antonelli had a lap deleted in Q2 for exceeding track limits at turn six, leaving him one attempt at pole in Q3, and that Russell trails him by 66 points in the standings. 4 Centre · 1World champion Lando Norris, sixth fastest and starting fifth, blamed the Sepang surface for McLaren's struggles, saying "We are just slow. The car's not good enough here" and that the Red Bulls were "in a class of their own here". Oscar Piastri, seventh fastest, starts sixth and said McLaren could do a lot with strategy. 5

Mixed · 2ABC says it is the first time two great rivals have shared the front row since the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2023. The Irish Independent says it is Verstappen's first pole since Abu Dhabi last December and that he is the overwhelming favourite on Sunday, while Hamilton said he would try his best to hold on to him. 3 4 Right · 1Further back, Franco Colapinto qualified 15th but will drop to the back of the grid, the Irish Independent reports, for a new power unit on top of an earlier five-place drop for the Baku collision that took out Norris and Gasly. Alonso, who this week agreed a one-year extension, starts 12th, two places ahead of Stroll. 4