Verstappen delivers jaw-dropping lap to finally end pole drought in Malaysia

Max Verstappen was fastest in Q1 of the Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying session, setting a 1:36.477 to take first place. Lewis Hamilton finished second, 0.118 seconds behind the Red Bull driver, with Charles Leclerc third at 0.253s. Oscar Piastri was fourth, followed by Isack Hadjar, Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris, Gabriel Bortoleto, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto to complete the top ten.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both progressed to Q2, finishing 14th and 15th respectively. Alonso recorded a 1:37.721, while Stroll was just 0.008s slower.

The drivers eliminated in Q1 were Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Alexander Albon, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez. Hulkenberg ended the session in 17th with a 1:37.970, just 0.087s behind the driver ahead, while Bearman followed in 18th at 1:37.980. Ocon was 19th with a 1:38.233, ahead of Albon in 20th on 1:38.600.

Bottas finished 21st with a 1:38.611, just 0.011s behind Albon, while Perez completed the order in 22nd with a 1:38.933. The Cadillac driver was 2.456 seconds off Max Verstappen's benchmark.

Q2 once again saw Verstappen at the top of the timesheets, with the Red Bull driver setting the pace in 1:35.696, ahead of Antonelli in 1:35.959. The Italian was under pressure after having his first lap deleted for track limits, leaving him with just one final attempt to secure his place in Q3.

Antonelli delivered when it mattered, going second fastest, while Charles Leclerc followed in 1:35.970, ahead of Oscar Piastri in 1:36.020, Hamilton in 1:36.032, Norris in 1:36.173, Hadjar in 1:36.192 and Russell in 1:36.245.

Lawson tried to make the most of the slipstream provided by his Racing Bulls team-mate, but his 1:37.023 was not enough to take him into Q3. Bortoleto, meanwhile, put his Audi into the final part of qualifying with a tenth-place finish in 1:36.814.

Lawson was therefore joined among the Q2 eliminations by Alonso in 1:37.220, Sainz in 1:37.527, Stroll in 1:37.566 and Colapinto, who failed to set a representative time in Q2 and remained with a 1:48.421 from Q1. Lindblad was also eliminated, with the Brit already aware that he will have to serve a grid penalty in tomorrow's race.

Q3 saw Verstappen remain at the top of the timesheets, and this time it was enough to secure pole position. The Dutchman produced a stunning 1:35.130 to claim his first pole of the season, beating Lewis Hamilton by almost three tenths after the Ferrari driver set a 1:35.428. Isack Hadjar continued his impressive qualifying session by taking third in 1:35.558, while Kimi Antonelli secured fourth with a 1:35.631.

The Mercedes driver once again finished ahead of team-mate George Russell, who took eighth in 1:35.871, with Charles Leclerc fifth in 1:35.666, Lando Norris sixth in 1:35.757 and Oscar Piastri seventh in 1:35.762. Pierre Gasly completed the top ten in ninth with a 1:37.210, while Gabriel Bortoleto took tenth in 1:37.673.