Max Verstappen clinches first pole of season at Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/verstappen-max/UV3mgeXB/"]Verstappen[/a]'s teammate [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hadjar-isack/8SAk38Ui/"]Isack ‌Hadjar[/a] was third fastest but will start eighth due to a grid penalty, with championship ‌leader [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/antonelli-andrea-kimi/ptGu0mT1/"]Kimi ​Antonelli[/a] starting ‌third alongside Ferrari's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/leclerc-charles/KlCOSRub/"]Charles Leclerc[/a].[/p][embed guid="405ae22f-a4b7-4182-9241-d4ec93fc4cd6" url="http://x.com/F1/status/2106312149412753687" social-type="twitter" /][p]Verstappen was the last driver to win a Grand Prix in Malaysia in 2017, in what was his second career victory, before the race was taken off the calendar after the government said it ‌could not justify the costs.[/p][p]Nine years and four championships ⁠later, the Dutchman became the first driver ‌this season to put a car without a Mercedes engine on pole.[/p][p][b]"It's fantastic, we've been trying ​for many Grands Prix to get more, sometimes a bit closer to the others," said Verstappen as he eyes his first win of the season.[/b][/p][p][b]"But ​to finally get it from where we started the season, pretty incredible."[/b][/p][h2]'Sweet spot'[/h2][p]Hamilton, who also has one victory in Sepang, struggled with tyre degradation in practice ⁠sessions, but the veteran Briton said ​they had now found the right setup.[/p][p][b]"It's so hot here, I keep saying it. But that's made it a massive challenge for the tyres, for the car, for the mechanics in the garage," Hamilton said.[/b][/p][p][b]"We made so many changes through all these practice sessions ‌because the cars are sliding, these tyres are overheating. It was really, really hard to find a good balance.[/b][/p][p][b]"We made one last change going into qualifying, and I think we hit the sweet spot."[/b][/p][p]Hadjar sounded frustrated on the team radio despite finishing third fastest and later said he expected to go second quickest to limit the grid penalty as much as possible.[/p][p][b]"It's a bit unfortunate we take the penalty on a track that fast," Hadjar said. "But you know, from P8, I'm confident we can go through the field and come back for a good result."[/b][/p][h2]Disappointment for Mercedes[/h2][p]Mercedes endured a disappointing ‌qualifying session despite bringing an upgrade package to Malaysia. Antonelli had his first Q2 ​lap deleted for exceeding track limits, prompting a surprised radio exchange.[/p][p][b]"Wait, what? Are ‌we sure about the track limits," he asked before recovering to go second-fastest in the session on fresh soft tyres.[/b][/p][p]However, he could barely squeeze anything more out of the car in Q3, while teammate George Russell - second in the championship - could only manage eighth.[/p][p]McLaren's reigning champion Lando Norris and teammate Oscar ⁠Piastri will start on the third row, ⁠and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Audi's ‌Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top 10.[/p]