Bahrain Grand Prix – Qualifying: Verstappen dominates Hamilton, top 5 for Gasly

The first match against the clock turned in favor of the current strongman!

Max Verstappen triumphed over Lewis Hamilton his main rival this Saturday afternoon in qualifying, ahead of the competition.

The pole position driver completed the lap of the Sakhir circuit in 1’28”997, one second and seven tenths slower than the performance achieved by Hamilton last year (1’27”264). A slowdown caused by the new regulations and the loss of rear downforce on the cars.

Q3: Verstappen is four tenths ahead!

Verstappen therefore secures the first pole of the season thanks to a performance achieved on his second flying lap. Hamilton has made a comeback compared to his free practice sessions, but the reigning world champion eventually concedes nearly 4 tenths.

Behind the top duel, the strong man is Pierre Gasly, fifth ! A very good session for the Frenchman on board his AlphaTauri. Gasly is beaten in his last run by Valtteri Bottas (3rd) and Charles Leclerc (4th) , the Ferrari driver, who climbed up in the last moments.

Behind the top 5, Daniel Ricciardo (6th) completes the third row. Lando Norris (7th) and Carlos Sainz (8th) are placed on the fourth row, ahead of Fernando Alonso 9th, for his return to F1 and the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll 10th.

Ferrari’s return to form as both of its drivers made it to Q3, a first since the British Grand Prix…in July 2020!

Q2: Perez out, pride sin for AlphaTauri and Tsunoda

Everything here was decided on the pneumatic bet of the medium tyre. Several drivers tried to make it into Q3 with the yellow-walled tyres. Unsuccessful for Sergio Pérez (11th)!

The Red Bull recruit fails in the same tenth as Stroll, the last qualifier for Q3.

Attempting to switch to medium tires, AlphaTauri trapped its rookie. After achieving a good 2nd place in Q1, Yuki Tsunoda finally finishes 13th in his first qualifying session. The Japanese driver places ahead of Kimi Räikkönen (14th) and George Russell (15th), who once again outperforms his teammate at Williams.

On the good side, Hamilton, Verstappen, Bottas, and Gasly (!) will start with medium tires this Sunday at the start of the Grand Prix.

Q1: the slap for Ocon and Vettel

First disappointment for Alpine with Esteban Ocon, eliminated at the start!

In the midfield battle, the Alpine driver (16th) failed to make it into the second part of the session, beaten by one-tenth by Sainz’s Ferrari.

Failure for Aston Martin as well with its new leader, Already struggling in free practice, Sebastian Vettel (18th) also stumbled at the end of Q1, caught out by a yellow flag waved right at the end of the session following a spin by Nikita Mazepin. However, this issue does not fully explain the lack of speed of the four-time world champion who had not secured his position before.

Less surprise, however, for Haas: both drivers finish at the bottom of the grid.

For its first qualification in its history in F1, Mick Schumacher finishes 19th and second to last, 4 tenths behind Vettel.

Another rookie, Nikita Mazepin (20th), sacrificed some time by spinning twice: in turn 13 at the beginning of the session and in turn 1 at the end of the session. The Russian also failed, finishing last and trailing, six tenths behind his teammate Schumacher.

The Haas team is therefore beaten by everyone, and notably by Williams. Great progress for the Grove team, beyond Russell’s performance, Nicholas Latifi (17th) beat Vettel. A really tough Saturday for the new Aston Martin driver.

Find the ranking of the Bahrain Grand Prix qualifiers.

The summary of the qualifications in video: