Max Verstappen will start on pole for the first Formula 1 race in Malaysia in nine years, with Lewis Hamilton alongside him on the front row after three drivers were handed grid penalties before the race begins. It is a notable reshuffle for a race that returns to a venue last used in 2017, with the starting order now set across the first 22 places.
The headline change comes from penalties that have altered the grid before lights out. Isack Hadjar received a five-place penalty after taking his seventh internal combustion engine of the season, while Franco Colapinto was hit with five places for causing a pile-up in Baku and a further 10 places for taking engine components. Arvid Lindblad, meanwhile, has been given a back-of-the-grid penalty after multiple fresh engine components.
Verstappen and Hamilton on the front row
Verstappen’s pole position gives him the prime spot for Malaysia’s return to the calendar, while Hamilton’s place alongside him creates a front row that immediately stands out. In a race where the grid has already been affected by penalties, the top two now have a clear opening to set the tone from the start.
With the first Formula 1 race in Malaysia in nine years now taking shape, the key question is how the reshuffled order plays out once the field gets away. The starting positions from first through twenty-second have been confirmed, but the penalty changes mean several drivers will be beginning from less favourable positions than they might have expected.
Which drivers were penalised?
Hadjar, Colapinto and Lindblad are the three names to move the most before the race even begins. Hadjar’s five-place penalty, Colapinto’s combined 15 places of penalties and Lindblad’s back-of-the-grid sanction have all changed the picture behind the front row.
For Verstappen and Hamilton, the advantage is obvious. For everyone else, the challenge is now to recover from a grid that has been altered by engine use, component changes and a penalty for an incident in Baku. That makes the opening laps especially important in a race where track position may prove decisive from the outset.
