Max Verstappen has made a statement that he means business this year by claiming pole for Formula 1’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
The three-time World Champion’s 1:29.179 on his final run in Q3 was two-tenths better than his rival’s late effort, giving the Dutch driver his 33rd career pole.
“It feels good to be back on pole today,” said Verstappen. “Testing was really good and then this weekend was a bit more tricky for us; it was difficult to get the balance of the car right due to the tricky conditions with the wind being quite strong.
“Heading into qualifying, no one knew where we all stood, and it was very tight, but this is exciting for the sport. We made some good improvements on the car and also improved performance from FP3 to qualifying, and in Q3, we had a little bit more grip.
“Ultimately, I am pleased with the performance of the car and was happy to be back competing again today. Looking to tomorrow, I have a good feeling and am confident ahead of the race.
“We know it is about looking after the tyres in the best way possible, as anything can happen in the race. We have a good race car, and hopefully, we can show the same performance as we did today.”
Verstappen was quieter over Q1 and Q2, going third in the opening run, behind Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll, and second in the second outing, behind only Leclerc’s 1:29.165, which would have been a pole-setting time in Q3 if it had been replicated.
Alpine and Sauber lost both drivers in Q1, while the Williams of Logan Sargeant was the other driver not to progress. Pierre Gasly was the only driver to fall more than one second outside Sainz’s session-topping time.
Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton flirted with the drop zone in Q2 but found time late in the session to relegate Yuki Tsunoda and Stroll outside of the top ten.
Oscar Piastri scraped through to Q3 with an advantage of 0.007 over eleventh-placed Tsunoda. Joining the Racing Bulls driver in the bottom five were Stroll, Alex Albon, Daniel Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen.
The second Haas of Nico Hulkenberg impressed to qualify for Q3 in sixth.
Q3 consisted of two Ferraris, Red Bulls, McLarens and Mercedes and a sole entry from Aston Martin and Haas.
Verstappen led the way early in Q3 with a benchmark of 1:29.407 but improved by two-tenths on his final run, which was good enough for pole, with the pace of the Red Bull most apparent in the first sector.
Russell and Sainz lock out the second row of the Bahrain Grand Prix, ahead of Sergio Perez and Alonso, the latter of whom only set one representative lap in Q3 by running in the gap.
McLaren lockout the fourth row, with Lando Norris getting the better of his teammate for seventh, while Hamilton and Hulkenberg complete the top ten.
The Bahrain Grand Prix begins at 4.00 am on Sunday and will be shown live on Sky Sport.
Header Image: Getty Images: Red Bull Content Pool
