Max on pole in Bahrain!

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Max Verstappen continued his dominant start to the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship last night after clinching pole position for the season-opening F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).

The Red Bull Racing ace topped all three Practice sessions over the weekend and now also set the pace in a thrilling Qualifying under the lights.

He secured the leading grid position with a best lap time of one minute 28.997 seconds as the chequered flag came down on Q3. Verstappen clinched his fourth career pole with the result.

He beat defending F1 drivers’ World Champion Lewis Hamilton by just 0.388 seconds, while Valtteri Bottas followed in third, qualifying 0.589s behind, to put the two Mercedes cars in the top three.

Verstappen said after Qualifying, “It’s a great feeling to be on pole and I haven’t experienced a season start like this.

After the victory in Abu Dhabi, the whole Team has been pushing really hard and even more motivated. “There is still no guarantee for the rest of the year but everyone here and back at the factory have done a great job to give me a car like this and they should be very proud.

Honda has also been working very hard this winter, just like every year. They are flat out all of the time and like us they just want to win. “It is really enjoyable working with them and they are very passionate which I like, so a big credit to Honda for the result today as they have had a great winter.

After testing it is always difficult to know where you are and we really didn’t know how it would be in qualifying but when you have a lap like that in Q3 and such a good feeling in the car you can be happy.

“We have to finish it off tomorrow but if I can have a good start I’m confident we can do a good job.” Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was classified fourth at the end of Q3 0.681s off Verstappen’s pace, while Pierre Gasly had a strong session for AlphaTauri, finishing 0.812s back. The McLaren tandem of Daniel Ricciardo (+0.930s) and Lando Norris (+0.977s) followed, while Carlos Sainz (+1.218s) in the other Ferrari was eighth.

Returning two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso qualified ninth for Alpine, and Lance Stroll (+1.604s) completed the top 10 for tomorrow’s start grid for Aston Martin.

It wasn’t all cheers for Red Bull, as Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez could only manage 11th on the grid. Set to start from 12th to 20th, respectively, are Antonio Giovinazzi of Alfa Romeo, Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri, Kimi Raikkonen in the other Alfa Romeo, George Russell for Williams, Esteban Ocon of Alpine, Nicholas Latifi in the second Williams, Sebastian Vettel in the other Aston Martin, and the Haas tandem of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.

In a stunning Q2, Ferrari were in the top two places, led by Sainz. Making surprising exits from the session were Perez and Tsunoda, who finished Q1 in second place, along with Giovinazzi, Raikkonen and Russell.

Ocon, Latifi, Vettel, Schumacher and Mazepin were earlier out in Q3. Earlier in the day yesterday, Verstappen completed his F1 Practice hat-trick with a fastest lap time of 1:30.577 in FP3. Verstappen endured the afternoon heat and outduelled Hamilton by 0.739s. Gasly also showed some strong pace going third for AlphaTauri, 1.006s off the leading mark.

Today’s schedule

Time            Championship       Session

1.50 pm       Formula 2             Third Race (32 laps or 60 minutes)

3.20 pm       Porsche Sprint       Second Race/Walter Lechner Challenge ME Memorial Race (11 laps or 25 minutes)

4.10 pm       Formula 1             Drivers’ Presentation

5.43 pm       Formula 1             ‘We Race As One’ Gesture

5.44 pm       Formula 1             National Anthem

5.46 pm       Promoter Activity  Gulf Air Fly Pass

6 pm           Formula 1             Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix (57 laps or 120 minutes)

Bahrain GP Qualifying Timesheet

Driver                       Team        Time

1) Max Verstappen      Red Bull      1:28.997

2) Lewis Hamilton       Mercedes     +0.388

3) Valtteri Bottas        Mercedes     +0.589 

4) Charles Leclerc       Ferrari         +0.681 

5) Pierre Gasly            AlphaTauri    +0.812

6) Daniel Ricciardo      McLaren       +0.930

7) Lando Norris           McLaren       +0.977 

8) Carlos Sainz           Ferrari          +1.218

9) Fernando Alonso     Alpine           +1.252

10) Lance Stroll          Aston Martin   +1.604

Knocked out in Q2

11) Sergio Perez            Red Bull           1:30.659

12) Antonio Giovinazzi   Alfa Romeo       1:30.708

13) Yuki Tsunoda          AlphaTauri         1:31.203

14) Kimi Raikkonen      Alfa Romeo        1:31.238

15) George Russell      Williams             1:33.430

Knocked out in Q1

16) Esteban Ocon        Alpine                 1:31.724

17) Nicholas Latifi       Williams               1:31.936

18) Sebastian Vettel    Aston Martin        1:32.056

19) Mick Schumacher  Haas                   1:32.449

20) Nikita Mazepin      Haas                   1:33.273