F1 Bahrain GP: Max Verstappen leads Red Bull to a front-row lockout in the 2023 season opener
The reigning world champion will start the race from Pole Position while Ferrari stays on the second row.
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Max Verstappen receiving the Pirelli pole position award
The Bahrain Grand Prix is the first round of the 2023 F1 season. The much-loved Bahrain International Circuit was also host to pre-season testing. The Qualifying session of the year was greatly looked forward to by fans. As the paddock expected the true pecking order to be showcased. In the end, it is the two-time world champion, Max Verstappen who starts the race from Pole tomorrow.
The Dutchman brought home the RB-19 after the fastest lap of 1:29.708. This allowed the 25-year-old to outqualify his teammate Sergio Perez by a close margin. On the other hand, Ferrari take up the second row on the grid for the race, with Charles Leclerc defeating Carlos Sainz. While Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso will have to be content with a Top 5 starting position.
Mercedes seem to be just a step behind the top 2 teams this season after its two drivers failed to bridge the gap to Red Bull and Ferrari The biggest shock from Qualifying in Bahrain was McLaren’s lack of pace. The Woking-based team has significantly dropped down the order this season with neither car getting into Q3. The Bahrain Grand Prix is certainly a race to look forward to on Sunday.
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What happened in F1 Bahrain GP Q1?
The first F1 qualifying session got on an abrupt start. As debris from Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari forced a red flag less than five minutes into the session. This forced drivers to abandon their first lap of the session and head back to the pits. After the restart, with only 8mins remaining the two Ferraris were in the top 3 while Red Bulls were stuck in P5 and P6. On the other hand, McLaren struggled during qualifying, with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri staying in the bottom 5.
It was Carlos Sainz that finished the session at the top of the timing sheets with a 1:30.993. George Russell followed the Spanish driver closely with a gap of just 0.064 seconds. Charles Leclerc completed the top 3. Interestingly, the entire grid of 20 drivers was covered within a gap of only 1.128 seconds. Certainly a sign of a much tighter pack this season. Unfortunately, F1 debutants Logan Sargeant, Oscar Piastri, and Nyck de Vries failed to get out of Q1.
Sargeant narrowly missed out on progressing to the next stage after lapping in the same time as Lando Norris. Norris was the sole McLaren to get into Q2 as he clocked in the lap time before the Williams. Pierre Gasly had a disappointing first outing with Alpine after failing to qualify for Q2. Kevin Magnussen took up the next spot for Haas. While Piastri and de Vries rounded up the grid respectively.
What happened in F1 Bahrain GP Q2?
After the first round of laps in the second qualifying session, it was Max Verstappen who stood at P1. The Red Bulls finally turned up their pace after a mediocre Q1. Mercedes too surprised the paddock as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton stood only a few tenths behind the Austrian team. Aston Martin was forced to rush things in the pitlane after a recovered Lance Stroll missed the weight bridge, 5 minutes before the end of the session.
Charles Leclerc finished Q2 in P1 after an impressive time of 1:30.282. Arch rival Max Verstappen was only 0.221 seconds behind the Monegasque driver. George Russell was P3 at the end of the session. The Top 5 drivers were covered under three-tenths of a second, hinting at the close fight at the front this year. Lance Stroll narrowly got into the top 10 shootout after a decent last lap.
Lando Norris was the first driver to have missed out on Q3 qualification. The Woking-based team is set for a difficult race tomorrow. The two Alfa Romeos of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Gaunyu will start P12 and P13 respectively as the Swiss team tries to aim for points in the race. The second Alpha Tauri of Yuki Tsunoda finished P14. While Alex Albon took up the fifteenth place after not setting a second lap time.
What happened in F1 Bahrain GP Q3?
The Top 10 shootout was expected to be a close fight between four teams, Red Bull, Ferrari Mercedes and Aston Martin. Max Verstappen stayed on provisional pole during the majority of the session. Albeit half the runners decided to delay their runs till the end of Q3. Surprisingly, Charles Leclerc decided to not have a second run before the end of the session. As the Monegasque driver got out of the car with two minutes remaining.
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen secured Pole position after a stellar final lap. The Dutchman clocked in a lap time of 1:29.708. The other Red Bull of Sergio Perez missed out on first position by just one-tenth of a second. Charles Leclerc will start the race from third place while his teammate, Carlos Sainz rounds up the second row.
Fernando Alonso’s much-hyped Aston Martin failed to deliver in Q3 as the Spanish driver could only manage P5. Nonetheless, a good effort for the Silverstone-based team. It was a disappointing session for Mercedes as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton qualified P6 and P7 respectively. Lance Stroll will start the race from P8, a great effort for the recovered Canadian. Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg round up the top 10 respectively.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2310 Articles Published)