The good news for Red Bull: Verstappen’s pole is the first of the season, and with it, the first non-Mercedes-powered pole in 16 races. The bad news, according to Formula1.com’s strategy team, is that it might count for remarkably little come Sunday afternoon.

Sepang’s asphalt is famously rough, and the heat rivals Bahrain’s — after two straight weekends of minimal tyre wear, this one is shaping up to be the opposite story entirely. “We’re going to see three races’ worth of deg in one afternoon,” warns special contributor Matt Youson, a fairly blunt way of saying the grid order won’t matter much once the tyres start falling apart.

Lining up behind Verstappen are Hamilton, Antonelli and Leclerc — a group that looks tightly packed on paper, but if the degradation forecast holds, Sunday’s real gaps could look far more dramatic than Saturday’s. Pit strategy, not one blistering sector, is shaping up to be the thing that actually decides this one.

Source: Formula1.com (https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/strategy-guide-what-are-the-tactical-options-for-the-bahrain-gp.1dVSsWlJ2cJdgDnYdfRojh)