F1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia Qualifying as it happened

KEY MOMENTS

• Max Verstappen claims first pole of 2026
• Lewis Hamilton joins great F1 rival on front row
• Mercedes struggles despite upgrade

The 2026 Formula 1 season continues this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, which marks the 16th round of the campaign. 

This weekend marks F1's first visit to the Sepang International Circuit since the last Malaysian Grand Prix in 2017. 

However, this will not be officially counted as a Malaysian Grand Prix, as the event is being run and paid for by the Bahrain Grand Prix. As such, the event is being called the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. 

Despite the tropical setting, the Bahrain organisers have flown in around 500 marshals from the country, while much of the branding around the circuit reflects that of the Sakhir track. 

The event has been moved to Malaysia this year due to the ongoing war in Iran. The Bahrain Grand Prix had originally been due to run in April back-to-back with Saudi Arabia. 

Andrea Kimi Antonelli comes into the Bahrain Grand Prix leading the championship still, though a fifth-place finish after a crash in qualifying last time out at Baku has seen his advantage reduced to 66 points by Mercedes team-mate George Russell. 

Mercedes has an updated car at Sepang, as it looks to rebuild its dominant advantage from earlier in the season. 

Ferrari has attempted to quieten the noise around the team in the last week surrounding the future of Fred Vasseur, with both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc publicly backing their team boss ahead of the event at Sepang. 

This weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix has been declared a heat hazard, while air quality could be an issue due to haze in the region right now. 

On top of that, F1's 2026 cars could face their first proper wet weather test at Sepang, with a threat of storms for both Saturday and Sunday. 

Max Verstappen was the winner on F1's last visit to Sepang in 2017. The Red Bull driver made an encouraging start to the weekend by setting the pace in opening practice on Friday, before Leclerc rounded out the day quickest for Ferrari. 

2026 Bahrain Grand Prix Saturday schedule

FP3 - 5:30am BST - 6:30am BST

Qualifying - 9am BST - 10am BST