F1 qualifying results: Verstappen takes Bahrain GP pole

Verstappen will start ahead of Red Bull Racing team-mate Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc after the one-hour qualifying session, which was split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.

Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying results: Verstappen on pole from Perez

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 opened 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 17^th-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 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 took 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, with Perez beating Leclerc’s time to take second, 0.138s down on his team-mate.

Sainz took fourth at his final attempt to line up behind Leclerc but ahead of Alonso, Russell, Hamilton, Stroll, Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas).

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