Kuala Lumpur, Oct 3 (IANS) Max Verstappen returned to the top of the Formula 1 qualifying standings in style, securing his first pole position of the 2026 season for the Malaysian Grand Prix after beating Lewis Hamilton and Isack Hadjar in a dramatic session at the Sepang International Circuit.
Verstappen, having led both the first and the second qualifying sessions, held back until the last lap and recorded a time of 1:35.130 to finish 0.298 seconds ahead of Hamilton and thus secure pole position.
Hadjar seemed set to secure a spot in the front row following a solid qualifying performance, but he will in fact start in eighth position after being given a five-place grid penalty. Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli came fourth in qualifying, beating Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri from McLaren achieved positions six and seven respectively, whereas George Russell from Mercedes could only secure eighth place. Pierre Gasly from Alpine and Gabriel Bortoleto from Audi finished in the top ten.
In the qualifying session, each of the three practice sessions was won by a different team: Verstappen led Red Bull in FP1, Leclerc took the lead for Ferrari in FP2, and Antonelli placed Mercedes at the top in FP3, so the competition for the pole position remained open when qualifying began.
However, Verstappen soon proved himself to be the driver to beat, for in Q2 he was the first to enter the 1:36 mark with a time of 1:35.696 and then improved again in the last session.
Hamilton delivered his best lap of the weekend when it counted most and thus earned himself a position side by side with Verstappen on the front row.
Antonelli had a tough beginning in the second quarter since his first lap was discarded for going beyond the track limits. He then went out with a set of fresh soft tyres and managed to qualify in fourth place.
Liam Lawson, who came in at position 10, ended up qualifying 11th but will now start from the back of the grid due to a power-unit change. The drivers who followed him in qualifying were Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll, and Aston Martin had shown better speed than earlier in the season.
Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad from Racing Bulls were unable to submit their times in Q2 as a result of their grid penalties. Colapinto will be penalised by five positions for the collision he had in Baku and by another ten for using a new engine, while Lindblad too is expected to start at the back of the grid because of his power-unit change.
Nico Hulkenberg came very close to securing a spot in Q2, finishing in 17th position by just 0.087 seconds, whereas the Haas drivers Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon qualified behind him, and Alex Albon managed to secure 20th place for Williams.
Cadillac finished in the last two spots, with Valtteri Bottas coming ahead of Sergio Perez, even though both drivers are going to move up the grid because of penalties received by other drivers.
--IANS
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