The Aporia · Verstappen takes his first pole position of the year at F1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

Verstappen takes his first pole position of the year at F1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

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The Associated Press. (2026, October 3). Verstappen takes his first pole position of the year at F1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/auto-racing/verstappen-takes-his-first-pole-position-of-the-year-at-f1-s-bahrain-grand-prix-in-malaysia/article_f45f4d48-d941-5654-987f-cbb805e3de16.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Max Verstappen secured pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia, marking his first pole of the season and a significant setback for Mercedes. Verstappen outpaced Lewis Hamilton from Ferrari by 0.298 seconds with Isack Hadjar taking third. This is Red Bull’s first pole since they switched to non-Mercedes engines this year. Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell qualified fourth and eighth respectively, but Russell will move up one spot due to a penalty for Hadjar. The race takes place at Malaysia's Sepang circuit, which has not hosted an F1 event since 2017.

Written by AI on 2026-10-03, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix was held at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia this weekend, marking its return to the country after a nine-year absence. Max Verstappen, driving for Red Bull, secured pole position with a time of 1:35.130 seconds, his first of the season. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton qualified second, despite Mercedes having brought an upgrade package to Malaysia; George Russell started seventh, leaving team boss Toto Wolff puzzled by their performance.

The track at Sepang is described as resembling "sandpaper" due to its rough surface and high temperatures, causing significant tyre degradation. Red Bull introduced a major aerodynamic update following the Azerbaijan race, which proved effective on this demanding circuit. With Verstappen's teammate Isack Hadjar facing a five-place grid penalty, championship leader Kimi Antonelli is set to start third alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, positioning him well for Sunday's race.

Verstappen's performance underscores his dominance and potential for another strong season, while Mercedes faces questions about their competitiveness after the upgrades failed to deliver expected results.

Written for “F1 In Malaysia” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

0 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

64/100

Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

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articles that frame the event the way this one does

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Topics

Ferrari Malaysia Mercedes SEPANG the Bahrain Grand Prix

Subjects

Mercedes ORG · 6× Verstappen PERSON · 6× Malaysia GPE · 4× SEPANG GPE · 4× Russell PERSON · 3× Antonelli PERSON · 2× Ferrari ORG · 2× Hamilton PERSON · 2× Formula 1 ORG · 1× Max Verstappen PERSON · 1×

Narrative

“It’s a very demanding circuit on the tires, the tarmac is all broke up, it’s extremely rough, it’s so hot out there and the tires are going through hell,” Russell told broadcaster Sky Sports.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-03

🔮 Both are set to move up a place on the grid for Sunday’s race because Hadjar has a five-place grid penalty for changing his engine over the allocation for the season.

2026-10-03 · Toronto Star

Verstappen takes his first pole position of the year at F1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 0 hedged)

Max Verstappen qualified on pole position for the first time this year at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on a rare off day for Mercedes and Formula 1 standings leader Kimi Antonelli. asserted

Verstappen → qualify → Mercedes

Verstappen went fastest by 0.298 of a second from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, with Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar .130 further back in third. asserted

teammate → go → third

That’s a big step toward Verstappen achieving his target of avoiding a first winless season since his 2015 rookie year. asserted

Verstappen → ’ → year

Verstappen’s pole ends run for Mercedes-powered cars It was an “incredible result for us looking at the season,” Verstappen said. asserted

Verstappen → end → season

“I felt good, felt confident and I hope we can show that again tomorrow.” asserted

we → feel → that

Verstappen won the last time F1 raced at the Sepang circuit back in 2017. asserted

F1 → win → 2017

His pole position is the first this year for a car powered by a non-Mercedes engine after Mercedes, McLaren and Alpine — all with Mercedes power — topped every qualifying session until now. asserted

Mercedes → power → session

Antonelli qualified only fourth, with his Mercedes teammate and closest title challenger George Russell only eighth. asserted

teammate → qualify → ?

Both are set to move up a place on the grid for Sunday’s race because Hadjar has a five-place grid penalty for changing his engine over the allocation for the season. asserted

Hadjar → set → season

Hamilton’s second place came as a relief to the seven-time champion amid a slump in results at Ferrari, which has denied speculation over team principal Fred Vasseur’s future. asserted

which → come → future

“Let’s go guys, let’s go. asserted

’s → go → ?

Finally,” Hamilton said over the radio. asserted

Hamilton → say → radio

Russell blames tire trouble for Mercedes’ lack of pace Qualifying so low is another blow to Russell’s chances of cutting into Antonelli’s 66-point lead, and tire troubles played a role. asserted

troubles → blame → role

The Sepang circuit has an abrasive surface that chews up tires and causes them to overheat. asserted

them → have → tires

That made it even more challenging than usual to pick the right setup to get the best out of the car in qualifying without compromising pace for Sunday’s race. asserted

it → make → race

Russell → ’ → Sports

“For whatever reason, it seems to be affecting us far more than others.” asserted

it → seem → others

Once again, the weather in Malaysia stayed dry for Saturday’s sessions despite predictions of heavy rain earlier in the week. asserted

weather → stay → week

F1 is racing at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit for the first time since 2017. asserted

F1 → race → 2017

It’s a replacement event after the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were called off earlier this year due to the Iran war. asserted

races → ’ → war

The race keeps Bahrain Grand Prix branding and Bahraini staff are organizing it on site. asserted

staff → keep → site