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Charles Bradley

F1 Bahrain GP qualifying results: Leclerc heads Verstappen, Sainz

Leclerc pipped Red Bull driver Verstappen by 0.123s in the third and final segment of the one-hour qualifying session, in which five cars are knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the Q3 top-10 shootout.

They will share the front row as Leclerc scored Ferrari's first pole since the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz Jr was third-fastest in the second Ferrari, leading Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez, while Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell could only muster the fifth and ninth-fastest times.

Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying results: Leclerc on pole from Verstappen

Cla Driver Time Gap km/h
1 Monaco Charles Leclerc 1'30.558   215.146
2 Netherlands Max Verstappen 1'30.681 0.123 214.854
3 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr 1'30.687 0.129 214.840
4 Mexico Sergio Perez 1'30.921 0.363 214.287
5 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 1'31.238 0.680 213.542
6 Finland Valtteri Bottas 1'31.560 1.002 212.791
7 Denmark Kevin Magnussen 1'31.808 1.250 212.216
8 Spain Fernando Alonso 1'32.195 1.637 211.325
9 United Kingdom George Russell 1'32.216 1.658 211.277
10 France Pierre Gasly 1'32.338 1.780 210.998
11 France Esteban Ocon 1'31.782 1.224 212.276
12 Germany Mick Schumacher 1'31.998 1.440 211.778
13 United Kingdom Lando Norris 1'32.008 1.450 211.755
14 Thailand Alex Albon 1'32.664 2.106 210.256
15 China Guanyu Zhou 1'33.543 2.985 208.280
16 Japan Yuki Tsunoda 1'32.750 2.192 210.061
17 Germany Nico Hulkenberg 1'32.777 2.219 210.000
18 Australia Daniel Ricciardo 1'32.945 2.387 209.620
19 Canada Lance Stroll 1'33.032 2.474 209.424
20 Canada Nicholas Latifi 1'33.634 3.076 208.078

What happened in Q1?

Verstappen set the early bar in Q1 by lapping in 1m31.909s, 0.474s faster than his team-mate Perez, who ran wide at the final corner having beaten the Dutchman’s middle sector time. Kevin Magnussen grabbed an early second for Haas before Valtteri Bottas snatched it away for Alfa Romeo, just 0.01s off Verstappen.

Ferrari then took control, with Leclerc taking the top spot on 1m31.471s, 0.096s quicker than team-mate Sainz. Hamilton claimed fifth for Mercedes at this point, eight tenths off the pace, while Russell beat him on a second push lap on his first set of tyres.

Only the top three cars and the Mercedes duo didn’t run again on a second set of soft tyres, with Magnussen jumping up to fifth ahead of Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and Lando Norris (McLaren), pushing the Mercedes back to the lower reaches of the top 10.

Falling at the first hurdle were Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Nico Hulkenberg (subbing for Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin), Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), Lance Stroll (Aston) and Nicholas Latifi (Williams).

Bahrain Grand Prix Q1 results: Leclerc fastest from Sainz

Cla Driver Chassis Laps Time Gap Interval km/h
1 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 3 1'31.471     212.998
2 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr Ferrari 3 1'31.567 0.096 0.096 212.775
3 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 5 1'31.785 0.314 0.218 212.269
4 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 6 1'31.919 0.448 0.134 211.960
5 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 6 1'31.955 0.484 0.036 211.877
6 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 6 1'32.041 0.570 0.086 211.679
7 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 9 1'32.096 0.625 0.055 211.553
8 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 8 1'32.239 0.768 0.143 211.225
9 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 5 1'32.269 0.798 0.030 211.156
10 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 5 1'32.285 0.814 0.016 211.119
11 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 6 1'32.311 0.840 0.026 211.060
12 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 5 1'32.346 0.875 0.035 210.980
13 Germany Mick Schumacher Haas 6 1'32.380 0.909 0.034 210.902
14 China Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo 6 1'32.493 1.022 0.113 210.645
15 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 8 1'32.726 1.255 0.233 210.115
16 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 8 1'32.750 1.279 0.024 210.061
17 Germany Nico Hulkenberg Aston Martin 6 1'32.777 1.306 0.027 210.000
18 Australia Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 8 1'32.945 1.474 0.168 209.620
19 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 6 1'33.032 1.561 0.087 209.424
20 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams 8 1'33.634 2.163 0.602 208.078

What happened in Q2?

Verstappen dived straight into the 1m30s bracket, with a 1m30.757s that was six tenths clear of Leclerc and Perez. Magnussen was fourth fastest after the opening runs, despite suffering a hydraulic issue with his power steering, ahead of Hamilton and Russell.

Sainz then improved to second, 0.030s off Verstappen, on his new-tyre run with Leclerc 0.175s off the fastest time in third. Perez was fourth, ahead of Hamilton, Russell, Magnussen, Fernando Alonso (Alpine), Gasly and Bottas.

Knocked out at this point were Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Mick Schumacher (Haas), Norris, Alex Albon (Williams) and Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo), the latter losing his best time due to exceeding track limits.

Bahrain Grand Prix Grand Prix Q2 results: Verstappen fastest from Sainz

Cla Driver Chassis Laps Time Gap Interval km/h
1 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 3 1'30.757     214.674
2 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr Ferrari 6 1'30.787 0.030 0.030 214.603
3 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 6 1'30.932 0.175 0.145 214.261
4 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 6 1'31.008 0.251 0.076 214.082
5 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 6 1'31.048 0.291 0.040 213.988
6 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 6 1'31.252 0.495 0.204 213.509
7 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 3 1'31.461 0.704 0.209 213.021
8 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 6 1'31.621 0.864 0.160 212.649
9 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 6 1'31.635 0.878 0.014 212.617
10 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 6 1'31.717 0.960 0.082 212.427
11 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 6 1'31.782 1.025 0.065 212.276
12 Germany Mick Schumacher Haas 5 1'31.998 1.241 0.216 211.778
13 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 6 1'32.008 1.251 0.010 211.755
14 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 5 1'32.664 1.907 0.656 210.256
15 China Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo 6 1'33.543 2.786 0.879 208.280

What happened in Q3?

On the first runs, Sainz set the bar at 1m30.687s, 0.044s faster than Leclerc. Verstappen was 0.012s off a front row spot in third, complaining about tyre temperature and out-lap speed, while Perez was fourth ahead of Hamilton and Russell – the Mercedes duo both setting their times on used softs.

On the final runs, Leclerc took pole with 1m30.558s while Verstappen ended up second, 0.123s slower. Sainz slipped to third, ahead of Perez, Hamilton, Bottas, Magnussen (who stopped at Turn 1 after completing his lap), Alonso, Russell and Gasly.

Bahrain Grand Prix Q3 results: Leclerc takes pole

Cla Driver Chassis Laps Time Gap Interval km/h
1 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 6 1'30.558     215.146
2 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 6 1'30.681 0.123 0.123 214.854
3 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr Ferrari 6 1'30.687 0.129 0.006 214.840
4 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 6 1'30.921 0.363 0.234 214.287
5 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 6 1'31.238 0.680 0.317 213.542
6 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 3 1'31.560 1.002 0.322 212.791
7 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 3 1'31.808 1.250 0.248 212.216
8 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 3 1'32.195 1.637 0.387 211.325
9 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 6 1'32.216 1.658 0.021 211.277
10 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 6 1'32.338 1.780 0.122 210.998
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