Verstappen sends a warning shot as Mercedes’ big Sepang upgrade trails Red Bull

Michelle Foster 02 Oct 2026 6:33 AM

Max Verstappen smiling

SEPANG – Max Verstappen picked up where he left off at the Sepang circuit in 2017, with the Red Bull driver setting the pace in Friday’s first practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

The Dutchman was quickest in FP1, 0.383s faster than George Russell in the updated Mercedes, with Isack Hadjar third fastest.

Max Verstappen leads George Russell in Bahrain GP FP1 in Malaysia

The first FP1 session at the Sepang circuit since 2017 was a journey into the unknown for many of the drivers, with this year’s only rookie Arvid Lindblad just nine years old when Formula 1 last raced in Malaysia.

Franco Colapinto, back in the Alpine after uncertainty following his Baku collision with teammate Pierre Gasly, led the field out in a hot and humid start to the weekend, with the track temperature up to 51.9°C.

Max Verstappen, the most recent F1 winner at the Sepang circuit, set the early pace with a 1:39.400. Using the medium Pirelli tyres, he was two-tenths up on George Russell, who was on the medium rubber.

Russell and his teammate Kimi Antonelli were both running Mercedes’ upgraded W17, with the team having introduced a seven-part package, including a new floor and rear suspension and bodywork.

The McLaren teammates, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, had back-to-back moments at Turn 14 with Isack Hadjar also testing the circuit’s run-off at the pit entry.

Verstappen upped his pace to a 1:38.883, with Russell closing to within 0.049s. The Mercedes driver declared the track is “very cool”.

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Charles Leclerc, on only his seventh lap on the medium tyres, reported that the tyre degradation was “insane”. The Ferrari driver was fifth on the timesheet, the last driver within a second of Verstappen’s P1 time.

Liam Lawson was shown the black-and-white flag for failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions of keeping to the correct side of the bollard.

Gabriel Bortoleto told Audi that “this is the craziest” temperatures he has ever experienced as the track temperature increased to 56°C.

Verstappen was back in the garage with several mechanics working on the rear of his Red Bull RB22. The driver was holding onto P1 by 0.05s ahead of Russell. McLaren were working on Norris’ MCL40, which was sporting the team’s standard rear wing, not the H-wing.

Swapping to the soft Pirelli tyres, Russell went four-tenths quicker than Verstappen but the Red Bull driver hit back immediately with a 1:37.520, 0.383s faster than the Mercedes driver.

Isack Hadjar was up to third, a further four-tenths down. Kimi Antonelli’s first lap on the soft tyres was a full second off Verstappen’s pace. Gasly went purple in the first sector to improve to seventh place behind the Ferrari teammates.

With all 22 drivers on track in the final few minutes, Hadjar complained about his positioning on the track asking Red Bull if it could possibly find some “free air” for him.

Oliver Bearman gave a preview of the Turn 3 boost that could play a huge part in Sunday’s Grand Prix as he blasted past Carlos Sainz, only to run a bit wide. He did a great job holding onto the car.

Verstappen ended FP1 quickest of all with a 1:37.520, 0.383s faster than Russell with Hadjar third.

Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia: FP1 top ten

1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:37.520
2 George Russell Mercedes 1:37.903
3 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 1:38.303
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:38.367
5 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:38.580
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:38.590
7 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:38.715
8 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:39.106
9 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 1:39.197
10 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 1:39.211

The full results from FP1 at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

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