There he stood again and was able to be congratulated. “It was great, we had good grip, but with the wind it was difficult,” said Max Verstappen after taking the first pole position of the year. “I think we did very well in this qualification.”
The Formula 1 world champion, who also started from the front row at the season finale in Abu Dhabi three months ago, will be able to do so again at the first Grand Prix of the new year in Bahrain. The Red Bull driver set the best time on the Sakhir track in 1:29.179 minutes. With a gap of 0.23 seconds, Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari came second and George Russell (Mercedes) third. Carlos Sainz came fourth in the second Ferrari, ahead of Sergio Pérez in a Red Bull.
While Lewis Hamilton, who is entering his final season with Mercedes before moving to Ferrari next year, was disappointed in ninth place, Rhinelander Nico Hülkenberg (Haas) was pleased with a strong tenth place.
Ferrari closer
In the ten-minute finale, Lando Norris raced ahead in the McLaren, but he had nothing to say in the fight for pole position and finished seventh. Verstappen set the best time, but Leclerc was only 0.06 seconds behind the Red Bull man in the first shot. A blink of an eye. George Russell and Carlos Sainz were also close.
After five minutes it was time to take a quick breath. All drivers drove into the pits and put on fresh rubber for the showdown. All pilots? No. Fernando Alonso wanted to have a clear path for his only attempt and in the meantime he took sixth place.
Leclerc, who would have liked to be ahead of Verstappen, failed to improve significantly. “Unfortunately the last lap wasn’t my best,” said the Monegasque, disappointed. “But I think we’re closer to Red Bull than it looks on the time table.” That gives us hope for the next weekends.
“Can I drive by?”
Right at the start of qualifying, Max Verstappen was in a hurry. “They’re all stopping, can I drive past? “I don’t want to stop,” the Dutchman radioed from the cockpit during the first part of the time hunt. Traffic jam in the pit lane!
The pilots wanted to keep their distance from each other so that they could be alone on the slopes. Her desire was to accelerate undisturbed. But no, Mr. World Champion, overtaking on pit road is taboo. Verstappen had to queue.
The helmsmen focused on the soft Pirellis. The field was close together. There was less than a second between the best and worst times. First Norris, then Verstappen and Sainz made their mark. The Spaniard’s time endured.
Sönke Sievers, Sakhir Published/Updated: Recommendations: 7 A comment from Sönke Sievers Published/Updated: Recommendations: 8 A comment from Anno Hecker Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2
The French were circling at the back: Pierre Gasly came last, Esteban Ocon second to last. Parbleu! The overweight Alpine racer, as the industry had suspected after the test drives, had failed the engineers: work was over after the first run. A disaster for the factory team. Logan Sargeant in the Williams and the two Sauber drivers Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas also retired.
Hülkenberg beats Magnussen
In phase two, Verstappen got serious. On brand new, soft Pirellis, the Dutchman set a time of 1:29.374 minutes and was therefore 0.3 seconds faster than his lap, which was enough for him to take pole position last year.
But Charles Leclerc, who is considered the best sprinter over a new lap, reduced this time by another 0.2 seconds to 1:29.165 minutes. Formula 1 will have become significantly faster again in 2024. And the Ferrari is also a powerful car in qualifying this year.
This also applies to the US Ferrari from Haas. At least with Nico Hülkenberg at the wheel. For his stablemate Kevin Magnussen, however, it was an early end. Just like for Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda in their Racing Bulls (formerly Alpha Tauri), Alex Albon (Williams) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), who had to watch as the remaining ten raced for the best places.
The Grand Prix on Saturday covers 57 laps (308 kilometers). Should Verstappen win, it would be the eighth triumph in a row for the three-time champion across all seasons. The starting position is excellent. The hunt for title number four begins.
