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Pole for Verstappen as Antonelli Outqualifies Russell
Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton by 0.3 seconds in qualifying as Red Bull’s upgrades delivered a clear straight-line advantage.
- On Saturday, Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the 2026 season for the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, beating Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton by three tenths of a second.
- Sunday's rearranged Bahrain Grand Prix takes place in Malaysia due to conflict in the Middle East, where Red Bull's straight-line speed advantage allowed Verstappen to establish himself as the benchmark as early as Friday.
- Red Bull's Isack Hadjar qualified third but faces a five-place grid penalty for exceeding power unit allocation, while Mercedes driver George Russell qualified eighth, trailing teammate Kimi Antonelli by eight tenths.
- "We have been trying to get pole and to finally get it is pretty incredible," Verstappen said. Hamilton noted that "lots of drivers at the front can't compete with Alonso talent."
- Alpine driver Franco Colapinto will start from the back of the grid after receiving an additional penalty for changing his power unit, as Verstappen seeks his first victory of the 2026 campaign on Sunday.
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11 Articles
11 Articles
The IndependentReposted by 
The Independent (US)
The Independent (US)Max Verstappen claims Bahrain pole as George Russell suffers qualifying disaster
·London, United Kingdom
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Lewis Hamilton completed the first row of grill while Antonelli, the World Cup leader, will come out third. Sainz will make it twelfth and the 13th Asturian Read
·Madrid, Spain
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The speed and stability of the Red Bull allowed Max Verstappen to sign up for the pole position for the Bahrain GP race.
·Monterrey, Mexico
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Red Bull driver and four-time world champion Max Verstappen was fastest in qualifying for the 16th round of the Formula One (F-1) World Championship - the Bahrain Grand Prix - on Saturday.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources11
Leaning Left2Leaning Right2Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution34% Left, 33% Center, 33% Right
Bias Distribution
- 34% of the sources lean Left, 33% of the sources are Center, 33% of the sources lean Right
34% Left
L 34%
C 33%
R 33%
Factuality
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