Bahrain GP 2023: Qualifying results - Max Verstappen takes pole position for F1 season's opening race

Add as a preferred source on Google

Defending champions Max Verstappen took the pole position during the Bahrain GP 2023 Qualifying in Sakhir on Saturday as he lapped at 1:29.708 seconds for his 21st career pole for Red Bull.

His teammate Sergio Perez claimed the second spot with a time of 1:29.846 secs while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third fastest on the grid at 1:30.000 secs.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who topped Free Practice 2 and 3 on Friday and earlier on Saturday respectively, could only finish fifth fastest with a best lap of 1.30.336 behind second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.

The two Mercedes took the sixth and seventh spot with George Russell (1:30.340 secs) going 0.044 seconds quicker than his teammate and seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton.

Alonso's teammate Lance Stroll, who was uncertain for the race after injuring his wrist in a bicycle accident, timed his lap at 1:30.836 seconds and was more than a second slower than pole-position holder Verstappen.

Alpine's Esteban Ocon will start P9 while his teammate Pierre Gasly will start at the back of the grid at P20 after timing a best lap of 1:32.181 secs.

Haas's Nico Hulkenberg took the remaining spot in Q3 after not posting any time during the session due to a car issue. The German, who got his first full-time F1 seat since 2019, made a tremendous effort to make it to Q3 while his teammate Kevin Magnussen (P17 at 1:31.892 secs) went out in Qualifying 1.

McLaren's Lando Norris missed out on Q3 spot with a P11 finish as he timed his lap at 1:31.381 seconds. His rookie teammate Oscar Piastri got a taste of the challenges of F1 with a Q1 exit as he timed 1:32.101 seconds in his first qualifying session.

Valtteri Bottas will start his Alfa Romeo at 12th spot on the grid after clocking 1:31.443 seconds while his partner Zhou Guanyu was right behind him at P13 (1:31.473 seconds).

The Chinese was also the fastest Asian on the grid as Japan's Yuki Tsunoda 0.037 seconds slower than Guanyu at P14. Tsunoda's Alpha Tauri teammate and rookie driver Nyck de Vries could only finish P19 with a timing of 1:32.121 secs.

Williams' Alex Albon finished ninth in the Q1 but had issues with his car in Q2 and stopped his lap midway to head back to the garage as the Thai had to settle for P15. His rookie teammate Logan Sargent was right behind him with a timing of 1:31.652 seconds.

Alpine's

Bahrain GP 2023 Qualifying results