Brief

Max Verstappen claims Bahrain pole while George Russell falls to eighth

Verstappen led qualifying for the relocated Bahrain GP in Malaysia, with Russell ending up eighth.

By Felo News Desk · Published Tue, 06 Oct 2026 21:18:19 GMT

Max Verstappen secured his first pole of the season for the rearranged Bahrain Grand Prix, held at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit, according to the Independent. The four‑time champion edged Lewis Hamilton by three‑tenths of a second, positioning himself as the favourite for the race win.

Mercedes driver George Russell qualified only eighth, finishing 0.8 seconds behind Verstappen and four places behind teammate Kimi Antonelli. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar took third but will start from the fifth row after a five‑place grid penalty for exceeding his power‑unit allocation. Lando Norris qualified sixth for McLaren, while Alpine’s Franco Colapinto will start from the back after a further power‑unit penalty.

Key facts

• Max Verstappen claimed pole for the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang (independent.co.uk)
• Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton by 0.3 seconds (independent.co.uk)
• George Russell qualified eighth, 0.8 seconds off Verstappen's pace (independent.co.uk)
• Isack Hadjar qualified third but faces a five‑place grid penalty (independent.co.uk)
• Franco Colapinto will start from the back after a power‑unit penalty (independent.co.uk)

Sources

• [1] independent.co.uk — originally reported as “Max Verstappen claims Bahrain pole as George Russell suffers qualifying disaster”