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The first F1 qualifying session of the season in Bahrain did not disappoint after an intriguing three sessions saw Red Bull’s Max Verstappen emerge victorious.
Carlos Sainz topped the time sheets in Q1 during the Bahrain qualifying. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)Q1
Formula 1’s newbies struggled in their first qualifying session of the 2023 season.
Williams’ Logan Sargeant was unlucky to get knocked in the first round after recording the exact same time as McLraen’s Lando Norris. The American completed his lap after the Brit which saw him finish in 16, one place away from safety.
Norris’ teammate, Oscar Piastri finished in 16th, showing that it may be a long and difficult season for the team in Papaya.
Kevin Magnussen failed to find the performance in his Haas car, qualifying P17 whilst Nico Hülkenberg breezed through the first session.
F1 debutant Nyck de Vries finished in 19th, whilst his teammate Yuki Tsunoda made it through to Q2.
Alpine’s new boy Pierre Gasly was eliminated after having his lap time deleted. The Frenchman will start from the back of the grid.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz topped the time sheets in Q1.
Logan Sergeant narrowly missed out on Q2 after recording the exact same time as Lando Norris. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)Q2
After narrowly escaping track limits and laying down an impressive lap time in Q1, Alex Albon failed to put down a competitive lap in Q2 after suffering from front wing damage, booking 15th place for the race.
Yuki Tsunoda also seemed to have an issue, after failing to replicate his pace in Q1, grabbing 14th place.
The Alfa Romeos of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu qualified in 12th and 13th
Lance Stroll knocked Lando Norris out of the second round of qualifying, with the final lap of Q2. The Canadian pushed through the pain after his minor wrist surgery and will see Norris will start P11.
Aston Martin finished with two cars in the top ten (Photo by ANP via Getty Images)Q3
Nico Hülkenberg showed his Formula 1 experience, laying out a fantastic performance to make it all the way to Q3 and qualify P10.
Esteban Ocon seemed to have a lot more control of his car compared to his French teammate, qualifying ninth fastest.
The Aston Martin hype train lived up to the expectations, with both cars finding themselves in Q3. Fernando Alonso couldn’t quite squeeze himself onto the front row, settling for fourth place behind Sergio Perez. Lance Stroll finished the session in P8.
Mercedes finished P6 and P7 with George Russell picking up where he left off from last season and narrowly beating Lewis Hamilton.
Charles Leclerc’s Q3 ended early after the Monaqasque jumped out of his SF-23 with two minutes to go. Sky Sports F1 reported that it was a tactical strategy to save tires for tomorrow’s race. Carlos Sainz couldn’t capitalise on his teammate’s early finish, qualifying in P4 behind Leclerc,
Red Bull showed off their pace as Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez locked out the front row, grabbing P1 and P2.
After having never won in Bahrain, the Dutchman will be keen to overcome last year’s horrific season opener when both Red Bulls dropped out of the race right at the death.