The 2026 F1 Bahrain GP in Malaysia qualifying ended with Max Verstappen securing pole position for Sunday. The Red Bull driver would be accompanied by Lewis Hamilton on the front row, while the second row will feature both Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc.
The Dutch driver has been in a league of his own since the start of the weekend, as the Red Bull has appeared to be the one car that’s adept at overcoming the extreme challenges of the track. There’s still all to play for on Sunday, but after the end of the F1 Bahrain GP qualifying, what have we learned? Let’s take a look.
#1 Red Bull and Max Verstappen have been in a league of their own
From the very first lap registered by Max Verstappen on Friday, he’s been untouchable. The kind of performance and consistency that he’s had on this track has been second to none, and even Isack Hadjar has found it hard to keep up with him.
The newly built Red Bull Powertrain does not have a win to its name yet, but maybe the F1 Bahrain GP in Malaysia is going to be the race where they make it happen. A lot will come down to the long-run pace, and if we look at Friday’s simulations, Verstappen didn’t have much to worry about in that department either.
Red Bull’s ability to keep the tires in the window while having a very impressive straight-line speed has helped the car make significant strides, and this is their best chance since the F1 Austrian GP to win a race.
#2 Do not count out Mercedes or McLaren for Sunday just yet
Mercedes has mysteriously taken a step back even compared to Friday, but according to Toto Wolff, the issues have remained the same since the beginning, with the upgrades proving to have slowed the car down. There is potentially some truth to this for sure, but Kimi Antonelli is not starting too far off, as he will be on the second row.
If the team has compromised some performance over a lap to keep the tires in the window for longer, it would be beneficial for them during the F1 Bahrain GP in Malaysia. They’re still in the fight at this point, and you cannot count them out.
McLaren has been a bit of a mystery, as the team has found it hard to extract everything over a lap, even though if you look at the long runs put together by both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, then they’re second to none. Even compared to Mercedes, the reigning champions are arguably a bigger dark horse for the F1 Bahrain GP in Malaysia.
#3 Ferrari is a bit of a wildcard here
Compared to the other top 3 teams, Ferrari is a bit of a wildcard in this race because the car does have a tendency to be harder on its rear tires. This was something that caught the team out even in Austria, and we still have to see how they tackle it here.
Charles Leclerc’s race pace was impressive on Friday, while Lewis Hamilton made extensive changes to his setups on Saturday. If there’s a team that’s a bit of an unknown going into the F1 Bahrain GP in Malaysia, it is Ferrari.
#4 Looks like the upgraded Honda Turbo works well
Honda surreptitiously brought an upgraded turbo for the power unit over the last couple of weeks, but the real impact wasn’t really visible on those tracks. Coming to the F1 Bahrain GP in Malaysia, it does appear that the impact can be seen here.
The car is quite good when it comes to managing tires, and even though Sepang is not the easiest track for power demands, one could argue that the Aston Martin made a decent jump forward compared to where it often is in the pecking order. The team would be a contender for points on Sunday as well if the tire management proficiency continues to be there.
#5 Alpine has a seriously impressive car, and Gasly is showing that
There’s often this tendency in F1 to look at the timesheet and club the top 4 teams separately from the rest of the grid. However, if anyone was paying attention during qualifying, it was clear that the Alpine had the pace, and it was closer to the top 4 teams than to Alpine’s midfield counterparts.
The French team has made significant steps forward already this year, and this weekend has been quietly very impressive.
