Bahrain GP: Verstappen storms to pole ahead of Hamilton
Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to the first pole position of the new Formula 1 season, as the Red Bull driver topped 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying by over 0.3s.
Verstappen, who was fastest in all three practice sessions at the Sakhir track, and Hamilton duelled for the top spot through Q3, with the latter twice taking provisional pole before being usurped.
Hamilton's first Q3 run of 1m29.549s ended up 0.023s behind Verstappen's 1m29.526s.
On the second runs, Hamilton improved to a 1m29.383s, but crucially did not improve his personal best time in the middle sector.
Verstappen, by contrast, swept to the session's fastest times in all three sectors on his final run, as he took pole with a 1m28.997s.
Valtteri Bottas improved on his final run in Q3 to take third in the second Mercedes, with Charles Leclerc fourth for Ferrari.
Leclerc, like Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, only did on run in Q3 and used his one shot to knocked AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly back to fifth.
Daniel Ricciardo beat his new McLaren teammate Lando Norris to sixth, with Carlos Sainz eighth in the second Ferrari.
Sainz had had a nervous moment at the end of Q1 when his engine appeared to cut out on his final run after he'd clattered over the kerbs at the exit of Turn 2 and was forced to trail slowly back to the pits.
Alonso's F1 qualifying return resulted in ninth, with Stroll shuffled back to 10th after completing his sole Q3 run in the gap between the majority of the runners doing their first and second laps.
Verstappen, the two Mercedes drivers and Gasly will start the race on the medium tyres after getting through Q2 with a significant strategy advantage over the rest of the top 10, as the soft tyres the rest will use are likely to degrade heavily in the opening stint.
Sergio Perez's first qualifying at Red Bull did not go to plan, as he was knocked out by Norris's final improvement at the end of Q2.
The Mexican driver had had his first Q2 time deleted for running too wide and falling foul of the track limits policing at the exit of the Turn 4 wide right-hander, while running on the medium tyres.
He went again on the mediums at the end of Q2 and even though he went over a tenth faster than the deleted lap, other cars improving behind him meant he was shuffled out of the top 10.
Antonio Giovinazzi scored his best dry qualifying result since the 2019 Brazilian GP with P12, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who also could not get through Q2 on the medium tyres.
The AlphaTauri driver had finished Q1 in P2 but could not replicate his teammate's effort on the yellow-walled rubber and was knocked out in 13th.
Kimi Raikkonen finished 15th, ahead of George Russell, who got out out of Q1 for the 10th time since the start of last season.
In Q1, a late Turn 1 spin for Haas driver Nikita Mazepin, who also spun off at Turn 13 at the start of the final sector in the early minutes of the opening segment of qualifying, cost two high-profile drivers.
A late improvement for Stroll meant Esteban Ocon was knocked out in P16 and left to rue the spun Haas in front of him at the start of his final lap – but this was still his best time and Ocon may be vulnerable to a post-qualifying stewards' investigation that will examine all times set under the yellow flags that Mazepin's off brought out.
Nicholas Latifi ended up 17th after setting his best time in Q1 ahead of Mazepin's incident, while Sebastian Vettel's difficult start to life at Aston Martin continued as he was knocked out in P18 – another driver who came across Mazepin's car at Turn 1 on their final laps, and Vettel was came across yellows for Sainz's slow travelling car exiting the Turn 8 hairpin.
Mick Schumacher's improvement on his final Q1 lap boosted him ahead of Mazepin on the all-Haas final row of the grid.
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Time | Gap | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1'28.997 | 218.919 | |
| 2 |  Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'29.385 | 0.388 | 217.969 |
| 3 |  Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1'29.586 | 0.589 | 217.480 |
| 4 |  Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1'29.678 | 0.681 | 217.257 |
| 5 |  Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 1'29.809 | 0.812 | 216.940 |
| 6 |  Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 1'29.927 | 0.930 | 216.655 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1'29.974 | 0.977 | 216.542 |
| 8 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1'30.215 | 1.218 | 215.964 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 1'30.249 | 1.252 | 215.882 |
| 10 |  Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1'30.601 | 1.604 | 215.043 |
| 11 |  Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1'30.659 | 1.662 | 214.906 |
| 12 |  Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1'30.708 | 1.711 | 214.790 |
| 13 |  Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1'31.203 | 2.206 | 213.624 |
| 14 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | 1'31.238 | 2.241 | 213.542 |
| 15 | George Russell | Williams | 1'33.430 | 4.433 | 208.532 |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1'31.724 | 2.727 | 212.411 |
| 17 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 1'31.936 | 2.939 | 211.921 |
| 18 |  Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 1'32.056 | 3.059 | 211.645 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | 1'32.449 | 3.452 | 210.745 |
| 20 |  Nikita Mazepin | Haas | 1'33.273 | 4.276 | 208.883 |
| View full results | |||||
Related video
Previous article
Bahrain GP qualifying as it happened
Next article
Vettel "upset and angry" after Bahrain Q1 exit
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Event | Bahrain GP |
| Sub-event | QU |
| Author | Alex Kalinauckas |
How Do Drivers Stay Fit For F1 Grand Prix?
Ronnie Peterson and Jochen Rindt Tribute
#ThinkingForward with Juan Pablo Montoya
The 'new' F1 drivers who need to improve at Imola
After a pandemic-hit winter of seat-swapping, F1 kicked off its season with several new faces in town, other drivers adapting to new environments, and one making a much-anticipated comeback. Ben Anderson looks at who made the most of their opportunity and who needs to try harder…
The delay that quashed Aston Martin’s last F1 venture
Aston Martin’s only previous foray into Formula 1 in the late 1950s was a short-lived and unsuccessful affair. But it could have been so different, says Nigel Roebuck.
Verstappen exclusive: Why lack of titles won't hurt Red Bull's ace
Max Verstappen’s star quality in Formula 1 is clear. Now equipped with a Red Bull car that is, right now, the world title favourite and the experience to support his talent, could 2021 be the Dutchman’s year to topple the dominant force of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes?
Is Formula 1 as good as it has ever been now?
For many, many years Formula 1 has strived to do and to be better on all fronts. With close competition, a growing fanbase, a stable political landscape and rules in place to encourage sustainability, 2021 is on course to provide an unexpected peak
How Williams’ new structure adheres to a growing F1 trend
Williams held out against the tide for many years but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, the age of the owner-manager is long gone
When a journeyman driver's F1 career lasted just 800m
Nikita Mazepin’s Formula 1 debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix lasted mere corners before he wiped himself out in a shunt, but his financial backing affords him a full season. Back in 1993 though, Marco Apicella was an F1 driver for just 800m before a first corner fracas ended his career. Here’s the story of his very short time at motorsport’s pinnacle.
How Raikkonen's rapid rise stalled his teammate's F1 career climb
Kimi Raikkonen's emergence as a Formula 1 star in his rookie campaign remains one of the legendary storylines from 2001, but his exploits had an unwanted impact on his Sauber teammate's own prospects. Twenty years on from his first F1 podium at the Brazilian GP, here's how Nick Heidfeld's career was chilled by the Iceman.
The nightmare timing that now hinders Mercedes
Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton took victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix despite, for a change, not having the quickest car. But any hopes of developing its W12 to surpass Red Bull's RB16B in terms of outright speed could not have come at a worse time.
