SAKHIR, Bahrain – Oscar Piastri achieved a pole position for McLaren in the Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday, in a session that was closer than many anticipated.
Lando Norris, the championship leader, finished only in sixth place. This gives his teammate a significant advantage, especially in a season that increasingly appears to be a direct competition between the two McLaren drivers.
Piastri`s fastest lap was 1:29.841, just 0.1 seconds ahead of Mercedes` George Russell, who was later moved down to third place. Both Mercedes drivers received a one-place grid penalty from the stewards on Saturday evening due to a pit lane incident.
Ferrari`s Charles Leclerc will now start on the front row alongside Piastri, having been promoted to second place ahead of Russell.
McLaren had shown strong performance throughout practice sessions and the initial qualifying rounds. However, the competition tightened up towards the end of Q3, reducing McLaren`s advantage.
This is Piastri`s second career pole position and McLaren`s first ever pole at Bahrain.
The McLaren team has been fastest in every session this weekend so far. Piastri commented afterwards, expressing confidence throughout the weekend, despite an initial practice session that felt more like rally driving. He felt comfortable with the car and delivered crucial laps in qualifying, making him very happy with the result.
Norris seemed to falter in his final Q3 run, finishing behind Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who will start fifth after the penalty, and Pierre Gasly of Alpine, who will start fourth and was a standout performer in the session.
When questioned about what went wrong during qualifying, Norris simply stated he was “not quick enough.”
The general opinion is that McLaren maintains a slight edge in race pace. Bahrain, being a track that facilitates overtaking, might offer Norris opportunities to advance on Sunday. However, he has a significant task ahead of him.
Behind Norris, Max Verstappen of Red Bull, the winner of the Japanese Grand Prix, had to settle for seventh place. However, Red Bull will be encouraged by Yuki Tsunoda`s progression to Q3 and his tenth-place qualifying position.
Lewis Hamilton had his first Q3 lap time deleted for exceeding track limits and ultimately qualified ninth.
Esteban Ocon of Haas caused a red flag by crashing in Q3 at Turn 3, on the opposite side of the track from Romain Grosjean`s fiery crash in 2020. Ocon was unharmed in the incident, but Haas faces considerable repair work before Sunday`s race.
New Bahrain GP Grid, Top 10
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- George Russell, Mercedes
- Pierre Gasly, Alpine
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
- Lando Norris, McLaren
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- Carlos Sainz, Williams
- Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
- Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull
