Here is the thing about racing: sometimes a machine just clicks with a circuit, and Max Verstappen made it look entirely effortless at a rain-hit Sepang. In a wild event featuring plenty of overtaking, Verstappen and his Red Bull team celebrated a magnificent victory.
Everything started clicking right away. Verstappen kicked off the event on the front foot with some impressive pace in Friday practice, showing the paddock exactly what was coming. He carried that absolute speed straight into the weekend sessions, storming to his 49th pole position and his first of the season.
That qualifying performance carried a massive statistical milestone alongside it. It marked the first time a non-Mercedes powered car started in P1 in 2026.
Unfortunately, that is all the source text gives us from Lawrence Barretto's selections for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. But what a way to start a race weekend.
