2026 Bahrain GP in Malaysia FP1: Verstappen sets Sepang benchmark

Max Verstappen has laid down the first marker at Formula 1’s return to Sepang. The Red Bull driver led opening practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia with a 1m 37.520s lap, finishing 0.383s clear of George Russell. Isack Hadjar put the second Red Bull third, 0.783s off his team-mate, as the field began preparing for a more revealing second session.

FP1 was an unusually important hour in the 2026 F1 World Championship. Sepang last hosted a Grand Prix in 2017, when Verstappen won, and many of today’s drivers had never raced the circuit in an F1 car. With little relevant track data for this generation of machinery, every lap offered a chance to learn where to find grip and how the tyres would respond in Malaysia’s heat and humidity.

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  2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Franco Colapinto was first out when the pit lane opened at 12:30 local time. The Alpine driver chose soft tyres for his opening run, while most of the field began on mediums. Arvid Lindblad also started on softs. Racing Bulls reported that he would take a fifth power unit this weekend, leaving him likely to start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid.

2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia FP1 Results

2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia FP1, 2 October 2026

Verstappen was quickest after 15 minutes, with Russell second and Kimi Antonelli third. Russell was immediately taken with the circuit, telling Mercedes over the radio: “This track is very cool.” Mercedes arrived with an upgrade and a special livery honouring title partner PETRONAS. Elsewhere, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto drew attention to just how hot conditions felt in the cockpit.

At the halfway mark, Verstappen still led, although Lindblad had climbed to third between the two Mercedes drivers. The order changed as more cars switched to soft tyres: Hadjar briefly went fastest, Russell displaced him, and Verstappen then reclaimed first with the lap that would stand as the session benchmark. Antonelli finished fifth, 1.060s back, while Pierre Gasly produced the fastest first sector on one run and took seventh overall.

McLaren used the hour to compare different rear wings on Oscar Piastri’s and Lando Norris’s cars. Both drivers were looking to reset after the team’s difficult finish to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but neither reached the top 10 here. As FP1 entered its final quarter, Russell and Antonelli returned to medium tyres; a replay showed the championship leader running wide while pushing on track. Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz also briefly found themselves running together in what looked like a miniature race.

Verstappen remained in front at the chequered flag. Charles Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari, 0.847s from the lead, with Antonelli fifth and Lewis Hamilton sixth. Gasly, Liam Lawson, Lindblad and Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10. Piastri and Norris were 11th and 12th, followed by Bortoleto, Fernando Alonso, Ocon, Ollie Bearman, Alex Albon, Lance Stroll, Colapinto, Sainz, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.