By: The cars are back on track at Sepang as qualifying has just concluded. Here is a detailed recap of the session.
Q1: Verstappen starts strongly, Aston Martin shines!
Ocon and Bearman are the only drivers to head out as the green light comes on, with the Frenchman opening with a 1'38''879. With 13 minutes remaining, the rest of the field begins its running. After the first runs, Verstappen leads in 1'36''477, ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc, who are not far behind the Dutchman; the two Ferrari drivers, along with Bortoleto and Hulkenberg, used the medium tyres for their attempts, unlike the rest of the field. Piastri is fourth, followed by Hadjar and Antonelli; Norris is seventh and Russell ninth. Pierre Gasly once again stands out in the midfield in eighth.
With five minutes remaining, the drivers return to the pits for a brief stop. Only half the grid heads back out afterwards, while the frontrunners remain in the pits. At the chequered flag, the drivers eliminated in Q1 are: Hulkenberg, Bearman, Ocon, Albon, Bottas and Stroll. Both Aston Martin cars perform well and make it through to Q2.
Q2: Verstappen stays on top, nervous moments for Mercedes
The drivers quickly take to the track, with Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen the first to begin their laps. After the first runs, Verstappen leads in 1'35''696, followed by Leclerc and Piastri. Hamilton is fourth, ahead of Norris, Hadjar and Russell. Antonelli has his time deleted for track limits at Turn 6.
While everyone else is in the pits, the number 12 returns to the circuit to set a lap, moving into second place, two tenths behind Verstappen. The drivers eliminated in Q2 are: Lawson, Alonso, Sainz, Stroll, Colapinto and Lindblad.
Q3: The lion roars again
With the final minutes available, all drivers quickly take to the track, except Kimi Antonelli, who heads out after the rest of the field has already completed its first runs. The number 12 goes third. Max Verstappen is the provisional leader with a 1'35''250, followed by Hadjar and Antonelli. Hamilton is fourth and Leclerc sixth.
After a brief stop, the drivers return to the track for their final attempts. At the chequered flag, Max Verstappen takes a superb pole position, ahead of Hamilton and Hadjar, who must serve a five-place grid penalty. Antonelli is fourth and Leclerc fifth, but both will move up one place due to the penalty mentioned above. Below is the full classification, while Colapinto and Lindblad also have penalties of 15 and 30 places respectively.
Cover photo by Peter Kiss / WHYOUT images
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Bahrain GP 2026
