F1 Bahrain GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc secured the first pole position of the year by beating reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen in qualifying by 0.123 seconds, with Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr taking third to complete a strong Saturday for the Italian team.

With Sergio Perez qualifying in fourth place for Red Bull, Lewis Hamilton led the charge for Mercedes in fifth but was over half a second off the pace of the frontrunners, as the defending F1 world constructors’ champions continue to struggle to solve the porpoising issue.

Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Haas returnee Kevin Magnussen also starred in qualifying, with sixth and seventh respectively, to see the two teams shake-up the midfield order.

Sebastian Vettel is out of action after testing positive for COVID-19, with Aston Martin reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg, who qualified in 17th place, taking on the super-sub role which he undertook for the team on three occasions in 2020.

Daniel Ricciardo is back for McLaren after recovering from his own positive COVID-19 test which forced him to miss the Bahrain pre-season test, with the Australian set to start the race from 18th on the grid.

The 57-lap race gets underway at 3pm GMT (6pm local time).