Max Verstappen topped opening practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia aboard a highly competitive 2026 Red Bull Formula 1 car in an uninterrupted session at Sepang. The four-time world champion posted a 1m37.520s to go 0.383s quicker than second-placed George Russell of Mercedes, with Verstappen’s team-mate Isack Hadjar completing the top three on a 1m38.303s. It came on F1’s first visit to Sepang in nine years – Verstappen won the last race there in 2017 - which is hosting the Bahrain Grand Prix on behalf of the Sakhir circuit due to the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict.
So with next to no recent data of the Malaysian track, it was little surprise to see teams rush out in the early moments of FP1 with the medium tyre largely being the preferred choice. It saw Russell go quickest of the medium runners in the opening 30 minutes, setting a 1m38.932s that was 0.522s quicker than team-mate Kimi Antonelli – but there were some outliers. That included both Red Bull cars, which chose the soft tyre from the off, allowing Verstappen to set the early pace with a 1m38.883s, 0.049s quicker than Russell in second.
Hadjar had a trickier time of it sitting seven tenths off the Dutchman, having at times been caught out by the low-grip nature of Sepang such as an understeer moment at the final hairpin. But grip was not the only thing to contend with, as drivers had to adapt to the hot and humid conditions of the Southeast Asian country given temperatures hit 32C."This is the craziest I’ve ever been in my life with temperatures," claimed Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto, who was 2.631s off the pace during the opening half of the one-hour session."Even more than Bahrain in FP1." Driving conditions remained challenging, but Verstappen’s RB22 proved superior, securing the fastest lap with 25 minutes remaining. The top three of Verstappen, Russell and Hadjar therefore remained as it was, with fourth going to Leclerc (+0.847s) and championship leader Antonelli taking fifth on a 1m38.580s.
Source: Autosport F1 News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing