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It took sixteen races, but we finally have a non-Mercedes engine on pole position in 2026. None other than Max Verstappen put the Red Bull Powertrains/Ford unit at the head of the grid during qualifying at Sepang.
He will have Lewis Hamilton alongside him on the front row. Right behind them sit Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc, though the paddock talk in Sepang suggests that grid positions might not matter for much when the lights go out on race day.
Our Bahraini hosts this weekend brought a taste of Sakhir to South East Asia, complete with illuminated palm trees and shaded couches styled after the Bahrain International Circuit. More importantly, they imported the kind of brutal asphalt and blistering temperatures we usually expect from the Bahrain Grand Prix.
After two consecutive rounds featuring virtually no tyre degradation at all, this afternoon promises a staggering three races' worth of wear in a single Grand Prix.
