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Max Verstappen claimed his first pole of the season for the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang as heavy rain delayed the race, while McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri struggled to sixth and seventh before penalties moved them up.
Max Verstappen will start the Bahrain Grand Prix from pole position after claiming his first pole of the season in a rain-hit qualifying at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur.
The race itself has been delayed by heavy rain, with the medical car aquaplaning on a track that looks like a lake. The four-time world champion clocked a best lap of 1 minute 35.130 seconds in the final minute of a close qualifying session run in high temperatures. He outpaced seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari by 0.298 seconds.
Verstappen Claims Pole In Rain
It was Verstappen's first pole since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last season, and he said it was fantastic to finally secure pole after trying for many Grands Prix. The race, due to start at 6pm AEST, was delayed due to the weather. The FIA has not given media an exact time the rain will start, but it looked like it would be at least another 15 minutes.
The medical car did a quick drive around the track, though the verb drive was used sparingly because it was more of a swim. The circuit looks like a lake, you can barely see the markings on the grid and at one point the medical car aquaplanes. The Sepang track is meant to have good drainage, so hopefully it eventually becomes usable.
Grid Changes After Engine Penalties
Isack Hadjar was third fastest for Red Bull but drops five places on the starting grid due to a penalty for fitting new engine components beyond the permitted quota. Hadjar's penalty promotes McLaren's Lando Norris to fifth and Oscar Piastri to sixth. Standings leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes qualified fourth, with Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari fifth before the penalty adjustments. George Russell of Mercedes, Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto of Audi completed the top ten in qualifying.
Mercedes brought a big upgrade to the event expecting a performance boost of as much as 0.3 seconds per lap. Instead the team suffered by far its worst qualifying result of the season, with a half-second margin to Verstappen. Team boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports it was very difficult to understand and said qualifying returned to no performance after a promising morning. Hamilton said the car felt great and praised the execution of his late flying lap.
Mercedes And McLaren Struggle
McLaren ended up anonymous at the end of qualifying as the fourth-quickest team for just the fifth time this season. Norris and Piastri were closely matched but more than 0.6 seconds off the pace in sixth and seventh before Hadjar's penalty moved them up. McLaren's result is well below its season average and its worst since its Hungary upgrade put it on a run of three poles in four races.
Piastri is bracing himself for another challenging day in his McLaren at Sepang. He admitted McLaren is struggling more than expected this weekend. He said his lap was good but the performance of the car is a long way off. The Australian added it was a pretty good session in general but the team is not fast enough and it is going to be tough.
Wet Race Conditions At Sepang
Piastri also noted McLaren's long-run pace looked pretty good on Friday, though the cars around them did not look bad either. It was tricky out there for sure, he sighed. Norris conceded the team is struggling and out of the picture at the front. The grid is returning to Sepang after a nine-year hiatus, with more than half the drivers unfamiliar with a track hosting the rescheduled Bahrain Grand Prix.
The weather is also less than ideal. It is pouring rain and the skies are grey and miserable, with the race expected to be the first wet race of the season. We have never seen these new cars and regulations in a wet race before, and half of the grid has never raced on this track before, so it is shaping up to be a pretty interesting race.
Front Row Title Battle Resumes
Verstappen and Hamilton will line up on the front row together, evoking memories of their past title battles. Back in April, US attacks on Iran and Iran's subsequent strikes on countries in the Middle East including Bahrain and Saudi Arabia meant the original Bahrain GP had to be cancelled. It had been hoped the race could be rescheduled when the conflict settled, but instead Malaysia came to the rescue.
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brisbanetimes:F1 Bahrain GP LIVE: Verstappen on pole, Piastri 6th on the grid as racing returns to Sepang 
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theage:F1 Bahrain GP LIVE: Verstappen on pole, Piastri 6th on the grid as racing returns to SepangThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Bahrain Grand Prix Max Verstappen Oscar Piastri Mclaren Sepang International Circuit Formula 1 Qualifying Wet Race
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