Max Verstappen of Red Bull secured his first pole position of the 2026 season in qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix. At the Sepang circuit, he beat Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton by 0.298 seconds. Sunday's race is round 16 of the 23 world championship events. idnes.cz ↗
Verstappen reached the top of qualifying with his fastest final lap. The four-time world champion will therefore start from first place and will aim for his first win of this season. He had waited until the sixteenth qualifying attempt of 2026 for pole position. sport.sk ↗
Hamilton took second place and will start from the front row alongside Verstappen in his Ferrari. Isack Hadjar originally set the third time, but received a five-place grid penalty. Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes, leader of the championship standings, will therefore move up to third. Le Figaro ↗
Mercedes arrived at the race weekend with a large package of upgrades. However, during Friday's sessions, the team reportedly failed to find the necessary pace in qualifying. Antonelli was the fastest in Saturday's free practice, but in the decisive part of the weekend he was overtaken by Verstappen and Hamilton. Telex ↗
Qualifying was also accompanied by significant weather changes and interruptions caused by stopped cars and a red flag. Despite the complications, Verstappen held onto the best position, and Red Bull will go into the race aiming for its first win of the season. Index.hu ↗
Verstappen won the first pole position of the season ahead of Hamilton
This summary was generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies. Please verify information in the original sources below.
Sources (12)
Formel 1 in Malaysia: Max Verstappen auf der Pole, Saisonfinale in Abu Dhabi soll stattfinden
Spiegel.de
| 11:48 03.10.
Verstappen takes first 2026 pole ahead of Hamilton
BBC News
| 11:13 03.10.
Max Verstappen kann's doch noch: "Ratlos" - Mercedes' Formel-1-Plan geht mächtig nach hinten los
n-tv
| 12:13 03.10.
Verstappen holt Pole Position in Malaysia
Der Standard
| 11:23 03.10.
Nagy gödröt ásott magának a Mercedes, Verstappen és Hamilton a leggyorsabb a malajziai Bahreini Nagydíj időmérőjén
Telex
| 11:14 03.10.
Diretta qualifiche F1, caccia alla pole a Sepang
La Repubblica
| 09:26 03.10.
Verstappen poprvé v sezoně ovládl kvalifikaci. V Sepangu předčil Hamiltona
idnes.cz
| 11:42 03.10.
Őskáosz a Formula–1-es Bahreini Nagydíjon: monszun, leálló autók és piros zászló – videó!
Index.hu
| 09:56 04.10.
Verstappen firma la ‘pole’ en Sepang y Red Bull encuentra al fin lo que buscaba
El Pais
| 11:55 03.10.
Megtört a várakozás: Verstappen vasárnap olyat tehet, amire tavaly óta nem volt példa
Index.hu
| 11:41 03.10.
Formule 1 : Verstappen signe sa première pole position de l’année, Hadjar troisième mais rétrogradé
Le Figaro
| 11:56 03.10.
Verstappen po prvej pole position v sezóne neskrýval nadšenie: Je to neuveriteľné
sport.sk
| 12:00 03.10.
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