Verstappen Claims First 2026 F1 Pole for Red Bull in Bahrain

Max Verstappen secured Red Bull Racing's first pole position of the 2026 Formula 1 season during the Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying session. The four-time world champion dominated all three qualifying rounds, finishing 0.298 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton from Ferrari.

This marks Verstappen's first pole of the season, with his last pole position occurring at the previous year's Abu Dhabi season finale, where he also won the race. Isack Hadjar of Red Bull Racing recorded the third-fastest time but will start lower due to a five-place grid penalty, promoting Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes to third on the grid.

George Russell, Antonelli's closest title rival, struggled to qualify, ending up in eighth place. Other notable qualifiers include Charles Leclerc from Ferrari in fifth, and McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in sixth and seventh, respectively.

Fernando Alonso achieved Aston Martin's best qualifying result of the season with a 12th-place finish.