Verstappen takes first 2026 pole for Red Bull at Sepang

Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the 2026 season for Red Bull at Sepang on Saturday, beating Lewis Hamilton in qualifying and putting himself at the front of the grid for the following day’s race. Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar qualified third, but a five-place engine penalty was reported to drop him to eighth. Verstappen said the result reflected progress by the team over recent races. He attributed some of the improvement to a better understanding of the car and to upgrades that, in his view, had reduced its weaknesses. He said the changes had improved lap time and overall balance, particularly important on a circuit where tyre performance is sensitive to balance. The pole followed a competitive weekend for Verstappen, who had also topped the first practice session. He said Red Bull had started well in Sepang and continued working to improve the car. His qualifying result was described in reports as the first pole of the season for a car not powered by Mercedes, and as the first pole for Red Bull as a power-unit manufacturer in collaboration with Ford.