The year 2024 begins as 2023 ended. Max Verstappen had a clear dominance in the qualifying session of the Bahrain Formula 1 GP and will start from third place in tomorrow’s race in Sakhir.
Qualifying summary
The first qualifying session of the year started with Ferrari at the top in the beginning of Q1, with Carlos Sainz in first and Charles Leclerc in second, still on medium tires. They were surpassed when the first times with soft tires were registered, courtesy of Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes) and Nico Hülkenberg (Haas/Ferrari).
Next, Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes) took the lead, only to be quickly surpassed by Max Verstappen (Red Bull)… before Sainz did even better than the reigning champion to finish Q1 in front. The second sector was decisive for the Spaniard. Verstappen, on the other hand, would also be surpassed by Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Mercedes).
The fight to avoid elimination was the most important at this stage. After showing good pace in the free practice sessions, the Haas team had some difficulties to escape, with Hülkenberg in 14th and Kevin Magnussen in 15th. The Danish driver narrowly avoided elimination by only 0.110s, with Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber/Ferrari) being left out – as well as his teammate Guanyu Zhou. Logan Sargeant (Williams/Mercedes) also failed to qualify, but still finished less than a second off the top. Alpine confirmed itself as the “red lantern”, with Esteban Ocon in 19th and Pierre Gasly in 20th.
Q1 CLASSIFICATION 👀#F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/isBaKdnqzv
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 1, 2024
The start of Q2 saw Norris immediately clocking a time of 1m29s, but at the end of the first ten minutes it was Verstappen who was comfortably the fastest. Norris was second, with Leclerc in third and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Mercedes) in fourth. Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) then moved up to second place.
Before the last attempts, Stroll was closing the top ten, but everything would still change with the improvements. The Canadian could not avoid elimination, finishing in 12th behind Yuki Tsunoda (Visa Cash App RB F1 Team) – who was only seven thousandths away from the last spot in Q3, guaranteed by Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes).
The Visa Cash App RB F1 Team had both drivers out of contention, as Daniel Ricciardo could not go beyond 14th. In 13th, Albon was also eliminated, as well as Magnussen – who could not replicate his teammate Hülkenberg, the sixth-place finisher after briefly being in second.
Q2 CLASSIFICATION
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 1, 2024
Leclerc pips Verstappen to P1 ⚔️#F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/4cuft7KjYY
Finally, Q3 arrived, which would determine the first pole position of the year. Hülkenberg was the first to set a time, but was soon overtaken. George Russell (Mercedes) led for brief moments, before Verstappen took the top spot and never left. Leclerc threatened to beat the Dutchman, but fell short by only 0.059s.
The battle was truly between Verstappen and Leclerc, but the Dutchman didn’t give any chances with his final lap – completing it in 1m29.179s to surpass the Monegasque by a clear 0.228s. Russell also improved at the end, doing enough to be third, 0.306s behind. Sainz was fourth and Pérez finished fifth.
Alonso secured the sixth fastest time ahead of the McLarens of Norris and Piastri, while Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) could only manage ninth after leading FP3 yesterday. Hülkenberg rounded out the top ten, already 1.323s behind Verstappen.
Results:
