Qualifying Bahrain GP – Verstappen takes pole

Max Verstappen has secured pole position for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix of the 2023 Formula 1 season, while Fernando Alonso’s practice-topping pace in his Aston Martin only translated to fifth place on the grid.

Despite showing promise in Q1, Alonso was unable to keep up with the pole fight by the time Q3 came around. Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez will start alongside him on the front row. The second row will be occupied by Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, with Leclerc’s qualifying session interrupted by a red flag caused by an errant wheelbrow.

Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon rounded out the top 10, with Nico Hulkenberg’s Q3 time deleted for track limits and starting in 10th place for his first race with Haas.

Lando Norris of McLaren narrowly avoided being eliminated in Q1 by setting his lap time just before Williams rookie Logan Sargeant, who recorded the same time and was ultimately knocked out in 16th place.

Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu of Alfa Romeo had a small gap between them as they qualified in 12th and 13th place respectively, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri, who was the team’s highest-placed driver in 14th place.

Alex Albon of Williams was able to make it through to Q2 and was running in “the gap” before the other drivers started their final runs. Unfortunately, he was unable to set a lap time after sustaining front wing damage, and he will share the eighth row of the grid with his teammate Logan Sargeant.

Kevin Magnussen acknowledged that he is “not in the groove” with the new Haas car and struggled during qualifying, ultimately being eliminated in Q1 and starting in 17th place. He will be ahead of McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri and AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries, who also failed to make it past Q1.

Pierre Gasly, who is starting his first race with Alpine, is set to begin from the back of the grid in 20th place after his fastest lap was deleted due to track limits abuse. Even if his lap had counted, it would not have been enough for him to make it to Q2.

The results of the Bahrain International Circuit qualifying session:

• MORE FORMULA 1!
• Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2023: Timings and Schedule
• Williams F1 Seeks Technical Director Amid Restructuring Priorities
• Insights from the first qualifying simulation of 2023 for all F1 cars
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Qualifying Bahrain GP Verstappen Qualifying Bahrain GP Verstappen