Max Verstappen has clinched his first pole position of the season for Red Bull at the Bahrain Grand Prix, held in Malaysia at Sepang. This marks the Dutch driver's first pole since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year.
Verstappen outpaced Lewis Hamilton, who delivered a strong lap for Ferrari to secure second place on the grid. Red Bull's Isack Hadjar initially qualified third but will start further back due to a five-place grid penalty for a new engine.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli will now start third, moving up from his qualifying position. His Mercedes teammate, George Russell, could only manage eighth in qualifying and will start seventh after Hadjar's penalty. Russell had closed the gap to Antonelli to 66 points after his victory in the previous round in Baku, with eight meetings remaining.
Verstappen's advantage of three-tenths over Hamilton highlighted his strong performance throughout the weekend. The Bahrain Grand Prix is being held in Malaysia after the original event was cancelled due to conflict in the Middle East.