by F1 correspondent Michael Butterworth

SEPANG, Malaysia, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the 2026 Formula 1 season on Saturday with a dominant qualifying performance for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, as F1 returned to the Sepang International Circuit for the first time since 2017.

The Red Bull driver topped all three qualifying sessions and produced a best lap of one minute, 35.130 seconds in Q3, finishing 0.298 seconds clear of Lewis Hamilton.

Kimi Antonelli took third for Mercedes, ahead of Charles Leclerc and the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Red Bull's strong showing was underlined by Isack Hadjar setting the third-fastest time, though the Frenchman will start eighth after receiving a five-place grid penalty for fitting his seventh power unit of the season.

Verstappen had appeared the man to beat from the start of qualifying, topping Q1 in 1:36.477 before going fastest again in Q2, 0.263 seconds ahead of Antonelli. He led Hamilton by 0.308 seconds after the opening runs in Q3 before improving on his final attempt.

The Dutchman will now chase his first victory of the season at a circuit where he won the most recent F1 race nine years ago. That 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix victory was only the second of his career.

Antonelli managed third despite having only one fresh set of soft tyres available in Q3, while teammate and closest championship rival George Russell could manage only seventh.

Russell had dominated qualifying and the race at the previous round in Baku, but Mercedes struggled for pace at Sepang despite bringing a major upgrade package to Malaysia.

Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto also impressed by reaching Q3, qualifying ninth and 10th respectively.

The return to Sepang, widely regarded as one of the standout circuits designed during F1's expansion into new venues around the turn of the century, came about because of upheaval to this year's calendar.

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix had originally been scheduled for April but were canceled in March. Bahrain subsequently pushed for its Grand Prix to be staged elsewhere, with negotiations resulting in Sepang hosting the event.

Despite being held in Malaysia, the race has retained Bahrain's naming rights and is officially the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The Bahrain Grand Prix trophy will be presented after Sunday's race and rosewater will be sprayed on the podium instead of champagne.

F1's return to Sepang has presented teams with a problem: extreme heat and an unusually abrasive track surface.

Track temperatures reached 57 degrees Celsius during qualifying, with Piastri comparing the experience to "driving on sandpaper."

The combination of tropical heat and the abrasive asphalt has produced severe tyre degradation, raising the prospect of a two- or even three-stop race on Sunday.

Several drivers were shown the black-and-white flag during qualifying for driving too slowly on their cool down laps as they attempted to protect and cool their tyres.

Both Aston Martins progressed from the opening session for the first time this season after a trying year, but Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were eliminated in Q2 along with Liam Lawson, Carlos Sainz, Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad.

Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez were the six drivers to be eliminated in Q1. ■

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