Verstappen Takes Pole For Bahrain Grand Prix
Calum Gill 17:06 27/03/2021
Max Verstappen has taken pole for the Bahrain Grand Prix, edging out Lewis Hamilton by almost four tenths in an intense qualifying hour.
The Dutchman set a time of 1:28:997 to knock the 7 time world champion off top spot in the dying seconds of the third qualifying session. Valtteri Bottas put his Mercedes in third place, over half a second behind Verstappen.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly both impressed, with those drivers putting in 4th and 5th respectively.However, the biggest shocks were the Q1 elimination of Sebastian Vettel following problems with yellow flags on his final flying lap, and Sergio Perez not making it out of Q2, after a gamble to try and qualify on the mediums backfired miserably.
The Dutch Lion Roars Into Pole
Max Verstappen had looked fast all weekend, with the 23-year-old topping all of the practice sessions. However, he had looked to have damaged his car when he ran over the kerb too far at turn 3. It did not hinder him though as he beat Hamilton to the pole by 0.388 of a second.
George Russell carried on his impressive record of out qualifying his teammate in every event he has taken part in for Williams, with the Mercedes Junior Driver nicknamed 'Mr Saturday' living up to that name with yet another Q2 appearance.
The two Spaniards on the grid qualified closely, with Carlos Sainz Jr in the Ferrari just beating out Fernando Alonso in his Alpine. Alonso's teammate Esteban Ocon struggled though, with the Frenchman not getting out of Q1.
Classification
| Driver | Qualifying 1 | Qualifying 2 | Qualifying 3 | Q3 Gap |
| M. Verstappen | 1:30:499 | 1:30:318 | 1:28:997 | N/A |
| L. Hamilton | 1:30:617 | 1:30:085 | 1:29:385 | +0.388 |
| V. Bottas | 1:31:200 | 1:30:186 | 1:29:586 | +0.589 |
| C. Leclerc | 1:30:691 | 1:30:010 | 1:29:678 | +0.681 |
| P. Gasly | 1:30:848 | 1:30:513 | 1:29:809 | +0.812 |
| D. Ricciardo | 1:30:795 | 1:30:222 | 1:29:927 | +0.930 |
| L. Norris | 1:30:902 | 1:30:099 | 1:29:974 | +0.977 |
| C. Sainz Jr | 1:31:653 | 1:30:009 | 1:30:215 | +1.218 |
| F. Alonso | 1:30:863 | 1:30:595 | 1:30:249 | +1.252 |
| L. Stroll | 1:31:261 | 1:30:624 | 1:30:601 | +1.604 |
| S. Perez | 1:31:165 | 1:30:659 | ||
| A. Giovinazzi | 1:30:998 | 1:30:708 | ||
| Y. Tsunoda | 1:30:607 | 1:31:203 | ||
| K. Raikkonen | 1:31:547 | 1:31:238 | ||
| G. Russell | 1:31:316 | 1:33:430 | ||
| E. Ocon | 1:31:724 | |||
| N. Latifi | 1:31:936 | |||
| S. Vettel | 1:32:056 | |||
| M. Schumacher | 1:32:449 | |||
| N. Mazepin | 1:33:273 |
