Bahrain – Qualifying: Pole for Piastri, Ocon hits the wall

They were expected at the front, they showed up… halfway. After the pole position taken by Oscar piastri, a McLaren will start the Bahrain Grand Prix in the lead, but the second, that of Lando Norris, is only 6th. Since Free Practice, however, there was clearly no match between the papaya single-seaters and the rest of the grid: Norris and Piastri dominated the three practice sessions and qualifying until the last lap of Q3 where the Briton was not fast enough to join his teammate on the front row. The championship leader (62 pts) will start just ahead of his closest pursuer, Max Verstappen (7e).

Poleman last week at Suzuka, the driver Red Bull had a very complicated session. The Dutchman had a lot of trouble holding his car which “a real problem” according to him, frustrated after having locked his wheels for a long time in the last corner in Q1. Having barely made it to Q3 (9th), the four-time world champion completely missed his first attempt, victim of a brake problem that has haunted him since the start of the weekend. “My brakes are terrible. I can't brake at all.” Verstappen, who was finally 7th, lamented on the radio.

Gasly – Ocon, crossed destinies

Within the Red Bull fold, the day was no more positive for Racing Bulls. Liam Lawson went out in Q1, while Isack Hadjar (12th) looked like a bad day after missing out on Q3 by 0 seconds. The Frenchman, however, remains well ahead of his teammate. His compatriot Esteban Ocon He also stopped in Q2, where he did not have time to do a single flying lap.

The Norman lost control of his Haas exiting Turn 3 and hit the barrier. A rare mistake for a driver who is usually very clean and concludes a decidedly tricky day for Haas. A brilliant tenth in Japan, Oliver Bearman struggled much more on the Sakhir circuit and set the 20th and final time.

When some are doing badly, others are reborn: a wind of renewal blows among Alpine after the brilliant performance of Pierre Gasly, 5th. The former driver Alpha Tauri set an exceptional lap to finish just 0 seconds behind Kimi Antonelli, 003th. The Frenchman will be alongside Lando Norris on the third row and can dream of finally opening his team's points tally in Bahrain.

F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix

The starting grid

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