Verstappen Claims First Pole Position of Season

Max Verstappen claimed pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, marking Red Bull's first pole of the season. The Dutch driver was 0.298 seconds quicker than Lewis Hamilton after topping all three sessions of qualifying. (aljazeera.com; bbc.co.uk; theguardian.com)

Verstappen's team mate Isack Hadjar equalled his best career qualifying result with third but will start eighth due to a five-grid place penalty for a new internal combustion engine. Hadjar had exceeded his seasonal allowance for engines, which resulted in a five-place grid penalty. (aljazeera.com; skysports.com)

Red Bull introduced a aerodynamic upgrade at the last race in Azerbaijan, and it has proved to be a major step forward at the demanding Sepang track, hosting this race after it was postponed earlier in the year because of the war in the Middle East. (bbc.co.uk)

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will be fourth, ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri who were never in contention for pole. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli will start third after a costly mistake in Q2 forced him to use an extra set of tyres prior to Q3, leaving him with just one run in the final part of qualifying. (skysports.com)

On the race simulation runs, Verstappen also looked like the car to beat, taking stint length and tyre wear into account. Red Bull were tipped by George Russell and Charles Leclerc as the team to beat after the first day at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. (bbc.co.uk)