Formula 1 Bahrain GP
F1 qualifying results: Verstappen takes Bahrain GP pole
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix, the opening round of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship, on Saturday.
Charles Bradley
Edited: Mar 4, 2023, 10:21 PM
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Verstappen will start ahead of Red Bull Racing team-mate Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
Read Also:
- Bahrain GP: Verstappen beats Perez, Ferraris to first pole of F1 2023
- Verstappen "positively surprised" by pole as Red Bull warns of better race pace
- Alonso eyeing podium after "amazing" Bahrain F1 qualifying
Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying results: Verstappen on pole from Perez
Pos Nº Driver Car / Engine Time Delay 1 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'29.708 2 11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'29.846 0.138 3 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'30.000 0.292 4 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'30.154 0.446 5 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'30.336 0.628 6 63 George Russell Mercedes 1'30.340 0.632 7 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'30.384 0.676 8 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'30.836 1.128 9 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1'30.984 1.276 10 27 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1'31.055 1.347 11 4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'31.381 1.673 12 77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'31.443 1.735 13 24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'31.473 1.765 14 22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'32.510 2.802 15 23 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes - - 16 2 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1'31.652 1.944 17 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1'31.892 2.184 18 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1'32.101 2.393 19 21 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'32.121 2.413 20 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1'32.181 2.473
What happened in Bahrain Grand Prix Q1?
Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) set the early pace at 1m32.132s before a red flag was required for Leclerc losing a sizeable chunk of his Ferrari’s right-front brake duct as he started his first flying lap.
After the resumption, all 20 cars hit the track. Verstappen lapped in 1m31.295s before Fernando Alonso pipped him with 1m31.158s. The fastest time then tumbled, with Leclerc taking P1 with 1m31.094s before George Russell (Mercedes) took it on 1m31.057s and then Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) snatched it with 1m30.993s.
Falling at the first hurdle were Logan Sargeant (Williams, who matched Lando Norris’s time exactly but set his lap later), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine, who lost his 17th-fastest time due to exceeding track limits and will start last).
Bahrain Grand Prix Q1 results: Sainz fastest from Russell
Cla Driver Chassis Time Gap Interval km/h 1 Carlos Sainz
Ferrari 1'30.993 214.117 2 George Russell
Mercedes 1'31.057 0.064 0.064 213.967 3 Charles Leclerc
Ferrari 1'31.094 0.101 0.037 213.880 4 Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin 1'31.158 0.165 0.064 213.730 5 Lance Stroll
Aston Martin 1'31.184 0.191 0.026 213.669 6 Nico Hulkenberg
Haas 1'31.204 0.211 0.020 213.622 7 Max Verstappen
Red Bull 1'31.295 0.302 0.091 213.409 8 Yuki Tsunoda
AlphaTauri 1'31.400 0.407 0.105 213.164 9 Alex Albon
Williams 1'31.461 0.468 0.061 213.021 10 Sergio Perez
Red Bull 1'31.479 0.486 0.018 212.980 11 Valtteri Bottas
Alfa Romeo 1'31.504 0.511 0.025 212.921 12 Esteban Ocon
Alpine 1'31.508 0.515 0.004 212.912 13 Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes 1'31.543 0.550 0.035 212.831 14 Zhou Guanyu
Alfa Romeo 1'31.615 0.622 0.072 212.663 15 Lando Norris
McLaren 1'31.652 0.659 0.037 212.578 16 Logan Sargeant
Williams 1'31.652 0.659 0.000 212.578 17 Kevin Magnussen
Haas 1'31.892 0.899 0.240 212.022 18 Oscar Piastri
McLaren 1'32.101 1.108 0.209 211.541 19 Nyck de Vries
AlphaTauri 1'32.121 1.128 0.020 211.495 20 Pierre Gasly
Alpine 1'32.181 1.188 0.060 211.358 View full results
What happened in Bahrain Grand Prix Q2?
Lewis Hamilton set the initial pace for Mercedes at 1m30.901s, until Verstappen unleashed a 1m30.503s and team-mate Perez got within a quarter of a second of him for an early Red Bull 1-2.
With both Red Bulls staying in the garage for the final runs, Leclerc took the P1 spot with 1m30.282s, two tenths quicker than Verstappen. Russell was third, ahead of Hamilton, Sainz and Alonso.
Knocked out at this point were Lando Norris (McLaren), the Alfa Romeos of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, Tsunoda and Alex Albon (Williams).
Bahrain Grand Prix Q2 results: Leclerc fastest from Verstappen
Cla Driver Chassis Time Gap Interval km/h 1 Charles Leclerc
Ferrari 1'30.282 215.803 2 Max Verstappen
Red Bull 1'30.503 0.221 0.221 215.276 3 George Russell
Mercedes 1'30.507 0.225 0.004 215.267 4 Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes 1'30.513 0.231 0.006 215.253 5 Carlos Sainz
Ferrari 1'30.515 0.233 0.002 215.248 6 Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin 1'30.645 0.363 0.130 214.939 7 Sergio Perez
Red Bull 1'30.746 0.464 0.101 214.700 8 Nico Hulkenberg
Haas 1'30.809 0.527 0.063 214.551 9 Esteban Ocon
Alpine 1'30.914 0.632 0.105 214.303 10 Lance Stroll
Aston Martin 1'31.127 0.845 0.213 213.802 11 Lando Norris
McLaren 1'31.381 1.099 0.254 213.208 12 Valtteri Bottas
Alfa Romeo 1'31.443 1.161 0.062 213.063 13 Zhou Guanyu
Alfa Romeo 1'31.473 1.191 0.030 212.993 14 Yuki Tsunoda
AlphaTauri 1'32.510 2.228 1.037 210.606 15 Alex Albon
Williams View full results
What happened in Bahrain Grand Prix Q3?
On the first runs, Verstappen took provisional pole with 1m29.897s, a tenth faster than Leclerc who managed a 1m30s-flat. Perez was third, ahead of Sainz (who had a big moment at Turn 8) and Stroll.
Alonso and the Mercedes duo ran later, with Alonso and Russell jumping ahead of Sainz to take fourth and fifth respectively at this point, with Hamilton only managing seventh.
Leclerc exited his car before the final runs, deciding to save tyres, allowing the Red Bulls a free shot to go faster. Verstappen produced 1m29.708s to extend his advantage at the front, with Perez beating Leclerc’s time to take second, 0.138s down on his team-mate.
Sainz managed fourth at his final attempt, to line up behind Leclerc but ahead of Alonso, Russell, Hamilton, Stroll, Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas).
Read Also:
- Leclerc reveals reason for late F1 Bahrain GP Q3 absence
- Hamilton didn’t expect to make Bahrain Q3 after Mercedes F1 struggles
- Red Bull drivers unconcerned by Ferrari's surprise Bahrain GP tyre tactics
Bahrain Grand Prix Q3 results: Verstappen takes pole
Cla Driver Chassis Time Gap Interval km/h 1 Max Verstappen
Red Bull 1'29.708 217.184 2 Sergio Perez
Red Bull 1'29.846 0.138 0.138 216.851 3 Charles Leclerc
Ferrari 1'30.000 0.292 0.154 216.480 4 Carlos Sainz
Ferrari 1'30.154 0.446 0.154 216.110 5 Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin 1'30.336 0.628 0.182 215.674 6 George Russell
Mercedes 1'30.340 0.632 0.004 215.665 7 Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes 1'30.384 0.676 0.044 215.560 8 Lance Stroll
Aston Martin 1'30.836 1.128 0.452 214.487 9 Esteban Ocon
Alpine 1'30.984 1.276 0.148 214.138 10 Nico Hulkenberg
Haas View full results
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