Verstappen grabs stunning Bahrain pole after thrilling battle with Hamilton
Verstappen grabs stunning Bahrain pole after thrilling battle with Hamilton
Max Verstappen grabbed the fourth pole position of his Formula 1 career as Red Bull suggested it can take the fight to Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton this season.
It is the first time since the introduction of the turbo-hybrid era in 2014 that Mercedes will not start the first race of the season on pole, with Hamilton claiming six of the seven in that period.
Verstappen was seemingly hindered, too, after riding the kerb through turn two on his first flying lap in Q1, causing slight damage to the floor.
Slow-motion replays showed a small chunk of carbon fibre flying from the back of the RB16B on the Dutchman's run down to turn three.
But Verstappen stepped up to the plate when it mattered most, out-qualifying seven-time champion Hamilton by almost four-tenths of a second following a lap of one minute 28.997s.
Verstappen topped the times in every practice session and across all three qualifying sessions for the first time in his 120-race career.
Hamilton was in front after each of his two runs in Q3, but with Verstappen behind, the 23-year-old stole the Briton's thunder and claimed back-to-back poles for the first time - and 105 days apart - given he started the final race of last season in Abu Dhabi at the head of the grid.
Hamilton starts alongside Verstappen on the front row, with team-mate Valtteri Bottas third, with the trio all on the medium-compound tyres.
Ferrari underlined the improvement in its power unit as Charles Leclerc starts fourth, although new team-mate Carlos Sainz is down in eighth.
Sandwiched in between are AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly, with Daniel Ricciardo edging ahead of Lando Norris on the former's McLaren qualifying bow, with just 0.047s between them.
On the fifth row, Fernando Alonso performed superbly to grab ninth on his Alpine debut, while Lance Stroll starts 10th for Aston Martin.
After his first lap time was deleted in Q2 for exceeding track limits at turn four, Perez was confident enough to again take another set of medium-compound tyres in a bid to make the top 10.
But with the likes of McLaren and Ferrari opting for soft Pirellis for their second runs, it was a gamble that backfired for Perez as the Mexican will start 11th ahead of Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi, sparking a flurry of swear words from the Mexican on his return to the pitlane.
AlphaTauri rookie Yuki Tsunoda has caused a sensation in Q1 by finishing second quickest behind Verstappen, but like Perez, a gamble on medium tyres for a second hot lap also failed to work and the 20-year-old Japanese starts 13th.
Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen lines up 14th, with George Russell 15th, the Briton out-qualifying a Williams team-mate for a 39th consecutive race.
On his F1 qualifying debut, Nikita Mazepin caused a stir as he spun twice, the second of which compromised Sebastian Vettel in his Aston Martin, in particular.
Mazepin lost his Haas on entry to turn one, and with the yellow flags being waved, it forced a number of those behind to slow, notably Vettel.
The four-time F1 champion was then caught out by a second set of waved yellows at turn eight due to Sainz slowing with an engine issue, an incident that also affected Esteban Ocon in his Alpine.
The stewards are to investigate after the session the lap times set during the yellow-flag incidents, but at present Ocon lines up 16th ahead of Williams' Nicholas Latifi and Vettel in 18th.
As was expected, Haas rookie pair Mick Schumacher and Mazepin line up on the back row, with almost a second between the pair.
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Former Perez F1 boss reveals who should replace him
- 31 minutes ago
Sainz hints at sensational move to rival series
- 1 hour ago
McLaren star DROPPED following serious injury
- 2 hours ago
F1 legend confident about Newey to Ferrari
- 3 hours ago
F1 rivals' UPGRADES provide Red Bull title charge doubt
- Today 17:57
Max Verstappen's preferred Red Bull team-mate REVEALED by F1 pundit
- Today 16:57
Related news
F1 pundit details GLARING Mercedes issue
Wolff admits Mercedes made 'weird' mistakes in Bahrain disasterclass
F1 pundit sends 'boring' warning to top teams
Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2024 results: Final classification with penalties applied
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860