SEPANG: Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the season at the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday, with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton joining him on the front row.
Verstappen's teammate Isack Hadjar was third fastest but will start eighth due to a grid penalty, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli in third alongside Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen was the last driver to win a Grand Prix in Malaysia in 2017, in what was his second career victory, before the race was taken off the calendar after the government said it could not justify the costs.
Nine years and four championships later, the Dutchman showed he was still the man to beat in Sepang with a time of 1 minute 35.130 seconds.
