Night fell in Bahrain, and qualifying arrived, where we were looking for the answer to only one question to decide: Will there be anyone who can beat McLaren?
In Q1, there was still a lot of confusion, the Alpine with Jack Doohan turned around in the lead, but the French also performed very spectacularly. Pierre Gasly also showed great form, as did Isaac Hadjar, but the two Red Bulls suffered a lot. In the end, Max Verstappen only brought the RB to third place, but the lead was – as one could guess – a McLaren ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Among the minors, we could note the names of Alexander Albon, Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll and Oliver Bearman.
Q2 also didn't start well for Haas, Esteban Ocon lost the rear of his car on a corner entry and crashed it badly. Red flag!
Of course, the fight behind the McLarens was the most interesting to watch, because there was a lot to see. Yuki Tsunoda, for example, made it to Q3, the Mercedes driver showed a very strong performance, while Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz also earned the right to participate in the final phase. However, this was not possible for Jack Doohan, Isaac Hadjar, Nico Hülkenberg, Fernando Alonso, and Esteban Ocon, who was eliminated at the beginning of the stage.
Then came Q3, and the big question: Will McLaren have an opponent? Kimi Antonelli and George Russell took the lead, but this time the orange cars could not be caught. That is, only one, because Oscar Piastri eventually won the qualification ahead of George Russell and Charles Leclerc, while Lando Norris only finished sixth - even Pierre Gasly and Kimi Antonelli overtook him... Tomorrow is looking like a really exciting race!
Photo: Motorsportweek
