In a thrilling kickoff to the 2024 Formula 1 season, Max Verstappen and Red Bull claimed pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Dutchman was followed unexpectedly close behind by his rivals, including Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell. Verstappen set down the provisional pole lap time of 1 minute 29.421second with his first Q3 run and improved his time in the second run to set the pole lap time of 1 minute 29.179second to ultimately finish 0.228 seconds ahead of Leclerc, with Russell a tenth further back in third position and 0.306second behind the pole sitter. Carlos Sainz completed the second row, securing fourth place on the grid.

In his post-qualifying interview with Jolyon Palmer, Verstappen said that he was a bit surprised by how difficult the Q3 was to put everything together. “It was a lot of fun actually. The track had a lot of grip but with the wind, it’s been tricky to get the whole lap together,“ said the Dutchman. “Q3 was difficult, but happy to be on pole. To be honest, it was a little unexpected but in qualifying, the car came to us. We needed to fine-tune some things on the car to get the perfect balance and made another step in qualifying. The race is going to be close as well, we’ll see tomorrow – I’m confident.“

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The qualifying results gave us a somewhat better understanding of where each team stands in the pecking order.

How did the other teams fare in qualifying?

The qualifying session also showcased strong performances from other drivers and teams. Carlos Sainz of Ferrari secured fourth place, adding to the team’s success by joining Leclerc in the top four positions. However, Sergio Perez, in the second Red Bull could only manage fifth place, trailing almost half a second behind the Dutchman’s pole time. Further down the grid, Fernando Alonso led Aston Martin’s charge in sixth position, followed by the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in seventh and eighth, respectively. Notably, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton had to settle for ninth place in the second Mercedes.

Nico Hulkenberg delivered an impressive performance, securing a spot in the top 10 positions and providing a morale boost for the Haas team, which had undergone leadership changes over the winter period. However, Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda narrowly missed out on a Q3 appearance, finishing in 11th position. The qualifying session also witnessed disappointments for some teams and drivers. Daniel Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen could only manage 14th and 15th positions respectively, while Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu of Kick Sauber found themselves in 16th and 17th positions.

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The Alpine team endured a challenging start to the season, with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly occupying the last two positions on the grid, led by Williams’ Logan Sargeant in the 18th position.

Who do you think will take the first win of the season tomorrow when the lights go out?