McLaren driver Oscar Piastri grabbed pole position during Qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, getting the better of Mercedes rival George Russell and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in a thrilling conclusion – with team mate Lando Norris only sixth.
Practice pace-setters McLaren had been in control through the Q1 and Q2 phases but had to work hard to remain at the top of the timesheets in Q3 – Piastri’s final 1m 29.841s lap putting him a couple of tenths up on Russell.
Leclerc was another tenth-and-a-half back in third, with Kimi Antonelli completing a strong Qualifying performance for Mercedes, even if both Silver Arrows drivers are to be investigated post-session for potential rule breaches.
Pierre Gasly claimed a fine fifth in his Alpine, taking advantage of a below par second effort for championship leader Norris, who will line up just ahead of main rival Max Verstappen amid the Red Bull driver’s own brake issues.
Carlos Sainz delivered his strongest Qualifying session of the season so far to take eighth, with Lewis Hamilton ninth in the sister Ferrari after one of his laps was deleted over track limits, and Yuki Tsunoda completing the top 10 after putting his Red Bull in Q3.
Jack Doohan shone during the early stages of Qualifying, featuring as high as fifth in Q1, but just missed out on making it a double Q3 showing for Alpine with a run to 11th, from Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.
Esteban Ocon was leading the Haas charge after making it through to Q2, only to crash heavily exiting the second corner and bring out the red flags, leaving him 14th on the grid for Sunday’s race.
After such a competitive start to 2025, Alex Albon suffered his first big setback with a Q1 exit – the Williams driver unable to match the pace of new team mate Sainz – though Nico Hulkenberg’s delayed deleted lap time saw him promoted to 15th. In contrast, the Kick Sauber racer placed 16th.
Liam Lawson was another disappointed driver in 17th, having experienced an apparent Drag Reduction System problem aboard his Racing Bulls car, with Sauber youngster Gabriel Bortoleto and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll following in 18th and 19th.
Haas racer Ollie Bearman celebrated his first Q3 appearance at last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, but this time finished 20th and last on the Qualifying timing screen after a compromised final Q1 lap, which featured a couple of costly mistakes.
FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX 2025 – Qualifying results
|
POS |
NO |
DRIVER |
CAR |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
81 |
Oscar Piastri |
McLaren Mercedes |
1:31.392 |
1:30.454 |
1:29.841 |
15 |
|
2 |
63 |
George Russell |
Mercedes |
1:31.494 |
1:30.664 |
1:30.009 |
20 |
|
3 |
16 |
Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari |
1:31.454 |
1:30.724 |
1:30.175 |
16 |
|
4 |
12 |
Kimi Antonelli |
Mercedes |
1:31.415 |
1:30.716 |
1:30.213 |
20 |
|
5 |
10 |
Pierre Gasly |
Alpine Renault |
1:31.462 |
1:30.643 |
1:30.216 |
19 |
|
6 |
4 |
Lando Norris |
McLaren Mercedes |
1:31.107 |
1:30.560 |
1:30.267 |
18 |
|
7 |
1 |
Max Verstappen |
Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT |
1:31.303 |
1:31.019 |
1:30.423 |
17 |
|
8 |
55 |
Carlos Sainz |
Williams Mercedes |
1:31.591 |
1:30.844 |
1:30.680 |
19 |
|
9 |
44 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Ferrari |
1:31.219 |
1:31.009 |
1:30.772 |
18 |
|
10 |
22 |
Yuki Tsunoda |
Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT |
1:31.751 |
1:31.228 |
1:31.303 |
17 |
|
11 |
7 |
Jack Doohan |
Alpine Renault |
1:31.414 |
1:31.245 |
|
13 |
|
12 |
6 |
Isack Hadjar |
Racing Bulls Honda RBPT |
1:31.591 |
1:31.271 |
|
12 |
|
13 |
14 |
Fernando Alonso |
Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes |
1:31.634 |
1:31.886 |
|
15 |
|
14 |
31 |
Esteban Ocon |
Haas Ferrari |
1:31.594 |
DNF |
|
8 |
|
15 |
23 |
Alexander Albon |
Williams Mercedes |
1:32.040 |
|
|
6 |
|
16 |
27 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
Kick Sauber Ferrari |
1:32.067 |
|
|
17 |
|
17 |
30 |
Liam Lawson |
Racing Bulls Honda RBPT |
1:32.165 |
|
|
6 |
|
18 |
5 |
Gabriel Bortoleto |
Kick Sauber Ferrari |
1:32.186 |
|
|
6 |
|
19 |
18 |
Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes |
1:32.283 |
|
|
9 |
|
20 |
87 |
Oliver Bearman |
Haas Ferrari |
1:32.373 |
|
|
6 |
Formula 1 Media | Photo: Formula 1
