Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying – Start time, how to watch, channel & more

While the Bahrain International Circuit offers plenty of opportunities for overtaking, qualifying will play an important role in determining the outcome of Sunday's grand prix.

Mercedes has been the dominant team of late at Sakhir, scoring five pole positions there since the start of the V6 hybrid era in 2014.

The German manufacturer locked out the front row in the Bahrain Grand Prix last year, with Lewis Hamilton leading teammate Valtteri Bottas. The Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon lined up third and fourth on the grid respectively.

What time does qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix start?

The first qualifying of the 2021 F1 season will get begin at 18:00 local time in Bahrain. The three-part session will last approximately one hour.

• Date: Saturday, March 27, 2021 
• Start time: 18:00 local time / 16:00 CET / 15:00 GMT / 11:00 ET / 8:00 PT / 00:00 JST (Sunday) / 2:00 (Sunday) / 20:30 IST

Can’t find your country or region in the list? Check the schedule page for the broadcast times in your local timezone.

How can I watch qualifying?

Formula 1 is broadcast live in nearly every country around the world. 

Europe: 

• UK - Sky Sports F1
• Austria - Servus TV / ORF
• Belgium - RTBF
• Denmark - TV3 / TV3 Sport / Viasat
• Finland - MTV
• France - Canal+
• Germany - Sky
• Hungary - M4
• Italy - Sky
• Netherlands - Ziggo
• Poland - Eleven Sports
• Portugal - Eleven Sports
• Spain - Movistar / DAZN
• Sweden - Viasat
• Switzerland - SRF / RSI / RTS

Americas: 

• USA - ESPN
• Canada - RDS / TSN / Discovery Velocity
• Latin America - Fox Sports / ESPN

Asia: 

• China - CCTV / Tencent / Guangdong TV
• India - Star Sports
• Japan - Fuji Television
• Russia - Match TV
• Turkey - S Sport
• Rest of Asia - Fox Sports

Oceania: 

• Australia - Fox Sports / Network 10
• New Zealand - Spark Sports

Africa: 

• Africa- SuperSport

Can I stream qualifying?

Viewers from selected countries can subscribe to F1 TV to stream qualifying on a device of their choice. Some local broadcasters such as Sky TV (UK) and Movistar (Spain) also offer their own on-demand service. 

Live commentary

Motorsport.com will bring the latest updates from Bahrain throughout the weekend, including live commentary during qualifying on Saturday.

Bahrain GP - FP1 results:

Cla	#	Driver		Chassis	Time	Gap
1	33	Max Verstappen		Red Bull	1'31.394
2	77	Valtteri Bottas		Mercedes	1'31.692	0.298
3	4	Lando Norris		McLaren	1'31.897	0.503
4	44	Lewis Hamilton		Mercedes	1'31.921	0.527
5	16	Charles Leclerc		Ferrari	1'31.993	0.599
6	11	Sergio Perez		Red Bull	1'32.071	0.677
7	10	Pierre Gasly		AlphaTauri	1'32.195	0.801
8	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.		Ferrari	1'32.366	0.972
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo		McLaren	1'32.434	1.040
10	99	Antonio Giovinazzi		Alfa Romeo	1'32.786	1.392
11	7	Kimi Raikkonen		Alfa Romeo	1'33.134	1.740
12	5	Sebastian Vettel		Aston Martin	1'33.157	1.763
13	18	Lance Stroll		Aston Martin	1'33.233	1.839
14	22	Yuki Tsunoda		AlphaTauri	1'33.329	1.935
15	31	Esteban Ocon		Alpine	1'33.528	2.134
16	14	Fernando Alonso		Alpine	1'33.872	2.478
17	63	George Russell		Williams	1'34.127	2.733
18	6	Nicholas Latifi		Williams	1'34.340	2.946
19	47	Mick Schumacher		Haas	1'34.501	3.107
20	9	Nikita Mazepin		Haas	1'34.975	3.581
View full results

Bahrain GP - FP2 results:

Cla	#	Driver		Chassis	Time	Gap
1	33	Max Verstappen		Red Bull	1'30.847
2	4	Lando Norris		McLaren	1'30.942	0.095
3	44	Lewis Hamilton		Mercedes	1'31.082	0.235
4	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.		Ferrari	1'31.127	0.280
5	77	Valtteri Bottas		Mercedes	1'31.218	0.371
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo		McLaren	1'31.230	0.383
7	22	Yuki Tsunoda		AlphaTauri	1'31.294	0.447
8	18	Lance Stroll		Aston Martin	1'31.393	0.546
9	10	Pierre Gasly		AlphaTauri	1'31.483	0.636
10	11	Sergio Perez		Red Bull	1'31.503	0.656
11	31	Esteban Ocon		Alpine	1'31.601	0.754
12	16	Charles Leclerc		Ferrari	1'31.612	0.765
13	99	Antonio Giovinazzi		Alfa Romeo	1'31.740	0.893
14	5	Sebastian Vettel		Aston Martin	1'31.769	0.922
15	14	Fernando Alonso		Alpine	1'31.770	0.923
16	7	Kimi Raikkonen		Alfa Romeo	1'31.862	1.015
17	63	George Russell		Williams	1'32.331	1.484
18	47	Mick Schumacher		Haas	1'33.297	2.450
19	6	Nicholas Latifi		Williams	1'33.400	2.553
20	9	Nikita Mazepin		Haas	1'33.449	2.602
View full results

Cla	#	Driver		Chassis	Engine	Time	Gap
1	33	Max Verstappen		Red Bull	Honda	1'31.394
2	77	Valtteri Bottas		Mercedes	Mercedes	1'31.692	0.298
3	4	Lando Norris		McLaren	Mercedes	1'31.897	0.503
4	44	Lewis Hamilton		Mercedes	Mercedes	1'31.921	0.527
5	16	Charles Leclerc		Ferrari	Ferrari	1'31.993	0.599
6	11	Sergio Perez		Red Bull	Honda	1'32.071	0.677
7	10	Pierre Gasly		AlphaTauri	Honda	1'32.195	0.801
8	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.		Ferrari	Ferrari	1'32.366	0.972
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo		McLaren	Mercedes	1'32.434	1.040
10	99	Antonio Giovinazzi		Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	1'32.786	1.392
11	7	Kimi Raikkonen		Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	1'33.134	1.740
12	5	Sebastian Vettel		Aston Martin	Mercedes	1'33.157	1.763
13	18	Lance Stroll		Aston Martin	Mercedes	1'33.233	1.839
14	22	Yuki Tsunoda		AlphaTauri	Honda	1'33.329	1.935
15	31	Esteban Ocon		Alpine	Renault	1'33.528	2.134
16	14	Fernando Alonso		Alpine	Renault	1'33.872	2.478
17	63	George Russell		Williams	Mercedes	1'34.127	2.733
18	6	Nicholas Latifi		Williams	Mercedes	1'34.340	2.946
19	47	Mick Schumacher		Haas	Ferrari	1'34.501	3.107
20	9	Nikita Mazepin		Haas	Ferrari	1'34.975	3.581
View full results