Qualifying for Bahrain Grand Prix held at Sepang as Hadjar, Lindblad and Colapinto face grid penalties

Kimi Antonelli and George Russell were among the main names as qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix took place at the Sepang circuit near Kuala Lumpur on 2026-10-03, with Q1 scheduled later in the session.

The race had been postponed from its original April date because of war in the Middle East, and with the conflict still ongoing Formula One returns to Malaysia for the first time since 2017. Temperatures at Sepang are high and the meeting has been declared a heat-hazard race. The championship picture adds pressure: Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli leads by 76 points and team-mate George Russell arrives after a victory in Baku last weekend.

Isack Hadjar, Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto will carry grid-place penalties for tomorrow’s race after bringing in more ICE (Internal Combustion Engines) than is allowed over the course of the season.

Colapinto already faced a separate five-place penalty following his crash into Pierre Gasly and a very miffed Lando Norris at the Azerbaijan GP.

Norris called for a one-race ban for Colapinto and said some drivers "shouldn’t be there" in F1 but has since apologised.

The grid-place penalties will be applied to tomorrow’s race; Q1 in Malaysia gets under way at 9am BST, 4pm local time, 6pm AEST.