Qualifying in Bahrain: Piastri pole, Norris bins it, as Russell excels

Oscar Piastri took pole position with a 1:29.841 ahead of George Russell in P2 and Charles Leclerc in P3. Lando Norris dissapointed in P6.

As it happened

Q1

As Fernando Alonso shot up to the top, teammate Lance Stroll got his lap deleted. Max Verstappen’s lap was ruined after he went wide at the final corner, locking up on corner entry. The Dutchman reported that “there’s something really wrong with the car.”

Teammate Yuki Tsunoda pipped Alonso, but momentarily as his lap was deleted, putting Red Bull on the backfoot.

Jack Doohan led the session, albeit if briefly, as Charles Leclerc beat the Australian’s time by nearly half a second. Oscar Piastri then crossed the line first by 0.062s, only to be pipped by teammate Lando Norris by just 0.285s.

As the session approached the final 5 minutes, both Red Bull drivers were still to set a lap. In the dying moments of Q1 Leclerc went to the pits, Stroll wnet up to P15 and Isack Hadjar to P7, pushing Bearman into the elimination zone. Bortoleto then demoted Stroll to P16, as Max Verstappen shot up to P3 behind Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.

Yuki Tsunoda managed to get out of the bottom 5, as he went up to P12 nearly 5 tenths off of his teammate. Carlos Sainz dealt the first blow to his teammate as the Spaniar went through to Q2 in P11 with the Thai driver, Alexander Albon falling in Q1.

Eliminated : P16 Albon, P17 Lawson, P18 Bortoleto, P19 Stroll and P20 Bearman

Q2

In the early part of Q2 Esteban Ocon had a shunt on the outside of Turn 3, destroying his rear left suspension. Damage to the gearbox and PU was still to be assessed.

As the session got underway again all drivers took to the track, with Lando Norris beating everyone by 7 tenths. However Piastri beat his teammate by a tenth.

Leclerc proved to be the best of the rest, 6 tenths off the Australian driver’s time, and Max Verstappen left his push lap for the final minute as he aborted his flier still resenting issues with his RB21. Like the Dutchman, Tsunoda still had to put a fast lap on the board.

As Russell went 2 tenths off of Piastri’s leading time, Antonelli followed suit just 0.052s off his teammate. Pierre Gasly then went to P3 almost two tenths behind Piastri.

Eliminated: P11 Doohan, P12 Hadjar, P13 Hulkenberg, P14 Alonso, P15 Ocon

Q3

Mercedes were noted for exiting the garage and lining up on the pitlane before Race Direction had instructed teams they were allowed to do so, prompting an investigation by the Stewards which would take place after the session.

Max Verstappen trailed teammate Tsunoda by nearly 5 tenths, as he complained yet again of his brakes: 'My brakes are so bad. I can't brake at all. It's so bad.'

After the first run, Oscar Piastri lined up in provisional poile, ahead of Russell who managed to beat Norris with a cracking lap. Behind the British McLaren driver, Leclerc and Hamilton were in P4 and P5, with Verstappen's best effort leaving him in P10, which would turn to P8 as Antonelli and Hamilton had their laps deleted.

Tsunoda went to P4, as Antonelli took provisional pole, with Russell edging out his teammate by two tenths. Leclerc then beat Antonelli's best effort, with Hamilton in P8 behind Verstappen in P7