Verstappen and Hamilton share Sepang front row as three penalties reshape the grid

News Summary

Verstappen and Hamilton occupy the front row, ahead of Antonelli and Leclerc.
Hadjar starts eighth after a five-place penalty; Colapinto and Lindblad occupy the final row.
Heavy rain has delayed the start of Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton head the official starting grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, with penalties for three drivers changing the order behind them at Sepang. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli starts third alongside Charles Leclerc on the second row.

Verstappen secured pole with a 1:35.130, beating Hamilton by 0.298s in Saturday’s Bahrain GP qualifying session. Isack Hadjar qualified third but drops to eighth after a five-place penalty for an additional power unit element.

That promotes Antonelli, Leclerc, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and George Russell by one position each. Norris and Piastri form an all-McLaren third row, while Russell starts seventh alongside Hadjar.

Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto complete the top 10. Liam Lawson starts 11th, followed by Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll.

Franco Colapinto starts 21st with a combined 15-place penalty. The Alpine driver carries five places for causing a collision at the previous round in Baku and another 10 for an additional power unit element.

Arvid Lindblad occupies the final position after 30 places of power unit penalties. The official Sepang grid order following the penalties places Colapinto ahead of the Racing Bulls driver.

Official Bahrain GP starting grid at Sepang

Pos.	Driver	Team/Engine	Qualifying time	Penalty
1	M VERSTAPPEN	Red Bull Ford	1:35.130	—
2	L HAMILTON	Ferrari	1:35.428	—
3	K ANTONELLI	Mercedes	1:35.631	—
4	C LECLERC	Ferrari	1:35.666	—
5	L NORRIS	McLaren Mercedes	1:35.757	—
6	O PIASTRI	McLaren Mercedes	1:35.762	—
7	G RUSSELL	Mercedes	1:35.871	—
8	I HADJAR	Red Bull Ford	1:35.558	+5
9	P GASLY	Alpine Mercedes	1:37.210	—
10	G BORTOLETO	Audi	1:37.673	—
11	L LAWSON	Racing Bulls RBPT Ford	1:37.023	—
12	F ALONSO	Aston Martin Honda	1:37.220	—
13	C SAINZ	Williams Mercedes	1:37.527	—
14	L STROLL	Aston Martin Honda	1:37.566	—
15	N HÜLKENBERG	Audi	1:37.970	—
16	O BEARMAN	Haas Ferrari	1:37.980	—
17	E OCON	Haas Ferrari	1:38.233	—
18	A ALBON	Williams Mercedes	1:38.600	—
19	V BOTTAS	Cadillac Ferrari	1:38.611	—
20	S PÉREZ	Cadillac Ferrari	1:38.933	—
21	F COLAPINTO	Alpine Mercedes	—	+15
22	A LINDBLAD	Racing Bulls RBPT Ford	—	+30

Qualifying times are those displayed on the official starting grid. Colapinto and Lindblad have no time listed on that document. Penalty figures indicate the sanctions imposed, rather than the number of positions actually lost.

Heavy rain delays the Sepang start

The Formula 1 race was scheduled to begin at 15:00 local time on Sunday, 4 October, but torrential rain shortly before lights out prompted Race Control to announce a delayed start.

“Delayed start due to excessive rain,” read the announcement.

The initial message did not provide a revised start time. The official grid establishes the starting order, while the race procedure remains subject to further instructions from Race Control.

GRANDE PRÊMIO will cover all the action at Sepang, including updates on the delayed start.

FAQ

Who starts on pole for the Bahrain GP in Malaysia?

Max Verstappen starts on pole at Sepang after setting a 1:35.130 in qualifying. Lewis Hamilton joins him on the front row.

Which drivers have grid penalties at Sepang?

Isack Hadjar has a five-place penalty, Franco Colapinto has a combined 15-place penalty and Arvid Lindblad has 30 places of power unit penalties. They start eighth, 21st and 22nd respectively.