Night has fallen in Bahrain, and so has qualifying, where we were looking for the answer to one decisive question: Will anyone beat McLaren?
In Q1, there was still a lot of chaos, with Alpine leading with Jack Doohan, but the Frenchmen also put in a very impressive performance. Pierre Gasly also showed great form, as did Isaac Hadjar, but the two Red Bulls struggled greatly. In the end, Max Verstappen only managed to bring the RB to third place, but up front, as expected, a McLaren closed the standings, overtaking Lewis Hamilton. Among those eliminated were Alexander Albon, Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll, and Oliver Bearman.
Q2 didn't start well for Haas either. Esteban Ocon lost the rear end of his car in a corner and wrecked it badly. The red flag followed!
Of course, the fight behind the McLarens was again worth watching, as there was so much to see. Yuki Tsunoda, for example, made it into Q3, the Mercedes put in a very strong performance, while Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz also secured the right to participate in the final phase. However, Jack Doohan, Isaac Hadjar, Nico Hülkenberg, Fernando Alonso, and Esteban Ocon, who had already been eliminated at the start of the stage, were unsuccessful.
Then came Q3, and the big question: Will there be a rival for McLaren? Kimi Antonelli and George Russell led the way, but this time they couldn't catch the orange cars. Or rather, just one, because qualifying was ultimately won by Oscar Piastri, ahead of George Russell and Charles Leclerc, while Lando Norris finished in a modest sixth place—even Pierre Gasly and Kimi Antonelli overtook him... A truly exciting race is expected tomorrow!
Photo: Motorsportweek
