Even Lewis Hamilton, starting from his equal best grid position of the year in second place, fears Max Verstappen will be tough to beat in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Verstappen has dominated the weekend so far on Formula 1's return to the Sepang track for the first time since 2017. Hamilton joins him on the front row, but at nearly 0.3 seconds slower in qualifying, his mindset was to "just try my best to hold on to him tomorrow." This was Verstappen's first pole position of the year, a remarkable statistic for someone who came within two points of winning a fifth world title last year.
Red Bull started the year off the pace, with the car on average more than 0.5 seconds a lap slower than Mercedes in the first half of the year. However, after being courted by Mc Laren, Verstappen signed a two-year contract extension over the summer break, saying he believed in the Red Bull project. He arrived in Malaysia after a run of three consecutive podium finishes, with Red Bull hoping to prove out an upgrade that had seen them finish less than 0.2 seconds off victory in Baku last Sunday.
In the tropical heat of Malaysia, around the demanding long corners of this track with perhaps the roughest surface of the season, the upgrade—centred on a new floor—has more than proved its worth. "It's been an incredible result for us," Verstappen said. "Looking at the season, how it started for us and the progression that we have made... now I think this weekend it was very positive for us."
Meanwhile, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli under-performed slightly in qualifying due to an unusual tyre strategy and an error on an early run. The world championship leader's fourth place becomes third on the grid with Hadjar's penalty, and he can usually be relied upon to be a factor in the race.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing