On Sunday, all eyes will be on Red Bull and Mercedes.
SAKHIR, Bahrain—Max Verstappen dominated the Friday Practice sessions and, then, on Saturday evening, the Dutchman continued his success by taking his first pole at the Sakhir International Circuit. He ran a spectacular 1:28:997 fastest lap over Lewis Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas finished third.
Max Verstappen: Of course, we have already had a great test week. The whole week so far the car has been working really well, and I really enjoyed the drive with the changing of every session. It all worked out pretty well in qualifying, so, yes, of course, I am happy with pole position.
For Hamilton, it was a matter of not being good enough. “I absolutely gave everything that I had,” he said. “Unfortunately, it was not good enough.”
Verstappen opened the qualifying early on with a 1: 30:499, but Carlos Sainz surprised everyone in the middle session by improving the Dutchman’s time with a 1: 30:009 in the Ferrari. But Verstappen found his rhythm just minutes from the end of the final session, right after Hamilton had put down his best time just minutes before.
Sebastian Vettel and Esteban Ocon got caught out with yellow flags just minutes before the opening session’s conclusion when Haas F1‘s Nikita Mazapin spun for the second time, blocking other drivers from accelerating through turn two. Both Vettel and Ocon failed to make it through to the middle session. Sergio Perez, Kimi Raikkonen, George Russell, and Yuki Tsunoda were eliminated from advancing through to the final round.
Charles Leclerc found footing in his Ferrari to take fourth overall, while Pierre Gasly finished fifth in the second Alpha Tauri. McLaren drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris took sixth and seventh, respectively. Sainz ended up in the eighth, and Fernando Alonso, back for the first time in F1 in two years, finished ninth in his Alpine. Lance Stroll rounded up the top ten in his Aston Martin.
For the first time in years, Sunday’s race will be a battle between two manufacturers as the 23-race 2021 card opens in Bahrain.
