Oscar Piastri claims his second F1 pole in Bahrain qualifying, beating George Russell and Charles Leclerc, while Norris misses out again by four-tenths. The F1 Bahrain GP qualifying session saw McLaren stronger than all its rivals but still not able to fully capitalize. Piastri managed to secure pole position ahead of George Russell and Charles Leclerc, while Red Bull was farther behind but for the first time with both cars in Q3. Let’s go through what happened in the fourth qualifying session of the season.
Q1
After the first lap, McLaren leads with Norris ahead in 1:31.107, followed by Piastri and Leclerc almost three-tenths behind. Antonelli is farther in fourth, ahead of Antonelli and Doohan, then Russell, Hamilton, Ocon, Sainz, and Gasly. No times for the two Red Bulls so far: Verstappen made a mistake in the last corner, Tsunoda was canceled for track limits. Before changing tires, Alonso and Hulkenberg also improved, ahead of Russell and Gasly.
Everyone returns to the track except for Leclerc, all with new tires except for the McLarens. Hamilton moves up to second, a tenth behind, thanks also to a great slipstream from Bearman, who made a mistake in his best lap. Verstappen takes third, with excellent performances from the Alpines, with Doohan in fifth and Gasly in eighth, behind Antonelli and Leclerc. Hadjar and Sainz save themselves in tenth and eleventh place, as well as Ocon, Alonso, Tsunoda, and Hulkenberg. Meanwhile, their teammates are out: Albon, Lawson, Bortoleto, and Stroll, as well as Oliver Bearman.
Q2
The session is soon interrupted by an accident from Ocon on the exit of Turn 2.
After clearing the track and removing Ocon’s Haas, qualifying can continue, and McLaren increases its strength again. Piastri is the fastest in 1:30.454, ahead of Norris by a tenth and a half.
Charles Leclerc is third, six-tenths behind, followed by Kimi Antonelli, Carlos Sainz, Jack Doohan, George Russell, Gasly Gasly, and Nico Hulkenberg. Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Isack Hadjar, Fernando Alonso, Yuki Tsunoda, and Esteban Ocon have no time.
Everyone returns to the track for a second run except for Oscar Piastri. A sensational third place for Gasly ahead of the two Mercedes, with Russell ahead of Antonelli. Leclerc takes fifth, in the mix with the two Silver Arrows, while Hamilton is farther behind, even behind Sainz. Red Bull qualifies, but with a close margin, Verstappen is almost six-tenths ahead, Tsunoda over seven-tenths, entering ahead of Doohan by just 17 thousandths. Excluded, along with the Australian, are Hadjar, Hulkenberg, and Alonso.
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Q3 and Bahrain GP Qualifying Results
In the first attempt, everyone uses old tires except for Russell. Despite the used tires, Piastri tops the timesheet in 1:30.233, ahead of a strong Russell and Norris. Leclerc takes fourth, a second behind the top two, with three-tenths of an advantage over Tsunoda. Gasly and Sainz precede Verstappen, who made a mistake in Turn 4. Hamilton and Antonelli had their times canceled for track limits.
In the second attempt, everyone uses new tires. Piastri lowers the time further to 1:29.841, ahead of a strong Russell, just a tenth and a half behind. Leclerc manages to snatch third from Antonelli by 38 thousandths, both two-tenths behind Russell. Extraordinary Gasly, just three thousandths behind Antonelli. Norris struggles, having made a mistake in the first sector. Verstappen finishes seventh, five-tenths down, with Sainz and Hamilton closing the top 10, a second behind, ahead of Tsunoda.
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