Max Verstappen wasted no time getting comfortable at Sepang, topping FP1 on Friday at the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix with a best lap of 1:38.883. The Red Bull ace's early dominance came courtesy of jumping straight onto the soft Pirelli tyres while most of the field opted for the mediums, giving him an immediate advantage on a track that's been completely resurfaced since F1's last visit in 2017. George Russell of Mercedes stayed right on his tail though, firing back with a 1:38.932 to keep things spicy between the two heavyweights.

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What made Friday's session interesting wasn't just the top-spot battle. The Sepang surface proved absolutely tricky for grip, with Oscar Piastri reporting low grip levels within minutes of the session starting. Drivers across the grid struggled early on as the abrasive asphalt needed rubber laid down, and some faced more dramatic issues than just lack of traction. Liam Lawson radioed in about having no brakes into the final corner, though the Racing Bulls driver still managed a respectable seventh place effort. Even straightforward setup changes appeared to cause Red Bull some headaches, with engineers spotted checking the internals of Verstappen's RB22 after what looked like a left-rear corner adjustment.

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Racing Bulls showed they've got pace to play with at this Malaysian venue, with young Arvid Lindblad cracking into third place with a 1:39.197 on the soft tyres. His teammate Isack Hadjar also popped up the timesheets and briefly took the lead before Verstappen reclaimed top spot. However, the FIA dropped some grid penalty news on Hadjar, Lindblad, and Franco Colapinto for exceeding their power unit allocations, which could shuffle Sunday's battle.

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McLaren were busy with their own agenda, running split testing on Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri's cars with different rear wing configurations. The papaya squad had to make some quick repairs too after gravel started tearing away at their front wing endplates. The low grip situation meant Friday was all about getting data and understanding how these 2026 machines behave on a track that's basically a completely different animal from a decade ago, even if it wears the same famous name.

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