Verstappen takes pole at Malaysian Grand Prix, Hamilton alongside
Max Verstappen secured his first pole position of the Formula One season at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang on Saturday, with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton joining him on the front row. It is the first time the two long-time rivals have shared the front row since the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2023.
Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar posted the third-fastest time but will start from eighth after a five-place grid penalty. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli will line up third alongside Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
McLaren locked out the third row, with Oscar Piastri set to start sixth after benefiting from Hadjar's penalty, while teammate Lando Norris qualified fifth. George Russell, who won last week's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, could only manage seventh in a concerning qualifying session for Mercedes, who arrived in Malaysia with a major upgrade package.
Mercedes struggles to explain qualifying pace drop
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff expressed frustration at the team's performance, telling Sky Sports: “It's very difficult to understand. We have been a little bit caught out on Friday with some car behaviour that we didn't see all year. But then you can say it's very hot, with the tarmac very different to all the tracks. [We] looked really good in the morning; we seemed to have, at least with Kimi [Antonelli], made a step in understanding. And then in qualifying, it was a little bit back to what we saw before, just no performance.”
Verstappen returns to winning ways in Sepang
Verstappen, who was the last driver to win a Grand Prix in Malaysia in 2017 before the race was dropped from the calendar, set a time of 1 minute 35.130 seconds to prove he remains the man to beat at the Sepang circuit. “It's fantastic, we've been trying for many Grands Prix to get more, sometimes a bit closer to the others. But to finally get it from where we started the season [it's] pretty incredible,” said the Dutchman, who is chasing his first win of the season.
Hamilton finds sweet spot in final qualifying run
Hamilton, who also has a victory in Sepang, struggled with tyre degradation in practice but snatched second from Hadjar in the closing moments of the final qualifying session. “It's so hot here, I keep saying it. But that's made it a massive challenge for the tyres, for the car, for the mechanics in the garage,” Hamilton said. “We made so many changes through all these practice sessions because the cars are sliding, these tyres are overheating. It was really, really hard to find a good balance. We made one last change going into qualifying and I think we hit the sweet spot.”
Hadjar accepts penalty with confidence
Hadjar exceeded his seasonal engine allowance, triggering the five-place grid penalty. “It's a bit unfortunate we take the penalty on a track that fast,” he said. “But you know, from P8, I'm confident we can go through the field and come back for a good result.”
Who starts where at the Malaysian Grand Prix?
- P1: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- P2: Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- P3: Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- P4: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- P5: Lando Norris (McLaren)
- P6: Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- P7: George Russell (Mercedes)
- P8: Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
Why is the Malaysian Grand Prix back on the calendar?
The race returns to Sepang after a nine-year absence. The event was removed from the calendar in 2017 when the Malaysian government said it could not justify the hosting costs. Its return reflects a broader push by Formula One to expand into Asian markets and revive historic circuits.
What time is the Malaysian Grand Prix?
The race is scheduled for Sunday at the Sepang International Circuit. Local start time is 3:00 pm, which corresponds to 5:00 pm AEST in Australia.