Verstappen Takes Pole as Red Bull Upgrade Stuns in Malaysia — SkimNews
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- Max Verstappen secured his first pole position of the year in Malaysia, qualifying nearly 0.3 seconds clear of Lewis Hamilton — Hamilton's equal best grid slot of the season — after dominating every session since F1's return to Sepang for the first time since 2017.
- Red Bull's new floor upgrade transformed a car that had been more than 0.5 seconds per lap slower than Mercedes in the first half of the year, with Verstappen calling the result 'incredible' and team-mate Isack Hadjar saying the car felt 'way better' than when he left it before the summer break.
- Isack Hadjar qualified third but drops to eighth with a grid penalty for exceeding his permitted engine-parts allocation; he had missed the three races before Baku recovering from a wrist broken boxing as part of his training programme.
- Kimi Antonelli inherits third on the grid with Hadjar's penalty and carries a 66-point championship lead over Mercedes team-mate George Russell, who qualified four places behind after his Baku-winning momentum stalled.
- Mercedes' first major aerodynamic upgrade since the Canadian Grand Prix in June underdelivered in qualifying, with Antonelli reporting strong high-speed pace but a clear weakness in low-speed corners as the team tries to find the new package's operating window.
- Verstappen signed a two-year contract extension with Red Bull over the summer break after being courted by McLaren, saying he believed in the project; he arrives in Malaysia on three consecutive podium finishes.
- Tyre degradation in the tropical heat is expected to define the race, with Antonelli calling the undercut 'incredibly powerful' and warning two or three stops could be needed depending on whether the threatened rain arrives.
Why it matters: Red Bull's turnaround from a car more than 0.5 seconds adrift mid-season to a clear pole in Malaysia — built around a new floor and Verstappen's summer recommitment over a McLaren courtship — has reordered the competitive picture, leaving Mercedes on the back foot just as their own first major aero update since June failed to deliver the expected step.
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