(PRIMASPORT) SEPANG – After 15 failed attempts, Formula 1 is back with one of its great Saturday stars: Max Verstappen, the last winner of a race at Sepang, way back in 2017, and who in 2026 took pole position on Malaysian soil, but for the Bahrain Grand Prix. For the Dutchman and Red Bull, it's the very first time in a 2026 season that began with a thousand difficulties and is finally starting to get going. Ferrari also performed well, at least for Lewis Hamilton, who finished second on a circuit where he holds the qualifying record. Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc will start on the second row, but only because of the penalty that Isack Hadjar will have to serve, having set the third fastest time on track, confirming the excellent form of the Anglo-Austrian cars.
Qualifying for this unusual Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia is turning out to be far from expectations in several respects: firstly, due to the lack of rain, which had been forecast since the beginning of the week but never arrived, but above all because all times, even the fastest, are almost three seconds slower than the simulations. The reason is simple: the Sepang asphalt is in significantly worse condition than any of the teams' computer calculations. The difficulty in managing the tires, combined with the expected scorching heat, is playing a dirty trick on many. Especially Mercedes, which, in the absence of a German Grand Prix, is treating this trip as a sort of "home race" for sponsorship reasons. Hence the decision to take to the track with a more light blue livery than usual, as well as the introduction of new sidepods and a completely revised floor: updates that so far seem to have failed, unlike those of Ferrari and Red Bull, which are a few weeks older but evidently more effective. At least for now.
On a track that was suddenly more treacherous than expected (the general difficulty in navigating Turn 15, which connects Sepang's two main straights, is evident), the driving skills of the champions were highlighted. Thus, Max Verstappen posted a time of 1:35.130, unmatched by anyone else. Joining him on the front row, however, was another Formula 1 thoroughbred, his eternal rival Lewis Hamilton, whose 0.298-second gap testified to Ferrari's efficiency, but also to the driver's skill. Both Antonelli and Leclerc closed out a gap of more than five tenths, while the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri exceeded six. The big loser of the day, however, was George Russell: he only managed eighth place, which would become seventh on the grid due to Hadjar's relegation to eighth place. But the Englishman, who seemed to be making a forceful comeback on Antonelli in the championship after his triumph in Baku, effectively turned out to be the last of the big names at the end of a day spent in a state of complete indifference from start to finish. And paradoxically, the twelfth-placed driver is the one who smiles more than him: Fernando Alonso, who returns to at least the middle of the grid thanks to an Aston Martin that's finally feeling decent after the long-awaited upgrades have begun to kick in. And who knows, in a race that promises to be grueling for both driver and machine, the Asturian might also prove to be one of the protagonists of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Even if it's held in Malaysia. (PRIMASPORT)
