Qualifying report
Indicated on the eve once again as the favorite for the Qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prixfirst event of the 2024 world championship, Max Verstappen it did not disappoint expectations. For the third time on pole in Sakhir, the Dutchman immediately sent a message to the competition after the excellent sensations during the pre-season tests also carried out in Bahrain, obtaining the 33rd pole start of his career. A session that began without any surprises in Q1, except for the disastrous result of Alpine, who in tomorrow's race will start from the last row with Ocon and Gasly, with the former AlphaTauri just over a second behind the best performance absolute by Carlos Sainz. In Q2 we see Ferrari ahead of everyone again, this time with Charles Leclerc. Even in this case there are no excellent eliminations, despite the huge risk taken by Piastri, except for just 7 thousandths of a second over Tsunoda, who was out of the fight for pole together with his teammate. Surprising, however, was Nico Hülkenberg's passage into Q3, which once again ended in the footsteps of Max Verstappen. The reigning world champion, taking advantage of the wake of the German from Haas on the finishing straight, finished in 1:29.179, two tenths from Leclerc and three from Russell.
1st, Max Verstappen – Red Bull
“It was a lot of fun to be honest. I looked for grip on the track, but with the wind of the last few days it was complicated to put the lap together. The same was true in qualifying, in Q1 and Q2, even if you then go faster with the track progressively improving. However, getting everything out in Q3 was more difficult. Obviously I'm very happy to be on pole. Honestly it was a bit unexpected, but luckily the car performed better in qualifying than we expected and I'm happy. There was a lot to optimize in the car to find the perfect balance, and with the wind it wasn't possible, but luckily we took the direction and managed to push harder to take a further step in qualifying. We will be close in the race too. We seem to be in good shape for the race, which is the most important thing, but we'll see tomorrow. I have faith that we can have a good race.”
2nd, Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
“I'm a bit disappointed. We did some good qualifying, it's been a complicated weekend so far, we looked for several things in free practice and then we found the ideal condition in qualifying. In Q1 it was a bit complicated. Unfortunately we had to put on two new sets of softs which compromised Q3, but they are good qualifications for being at the beginning of the year. We are in a better situation than last year, and this is positive, but now we need to see the race pace for tomorrow. In Q2 I think I did a better lap than the one I did in Q3 in terms of time, we lost a bit of pace with the used set of C3s in Q3, then I had to readjust to the new tire and I lost something there, but overall it is a positive qualification. I am confident that I have made a step forward, but we have to wait and see tomorrow how big this step forward will be. We think Red Bull is still ahead by a good margin, at least in the race, but we'll see. If there are opportunities obviously I will attack and we'll see how it goes tomorrow.”
3rd, George Russell – Mercedes
“In the factory they have done a fantastic job giving a car to me and Lewis which makes us much happier, but in the end there is always Max in front and we will have to make up some ground. However, looking at the qualifying, the form is good and we hope to have a good race pace to materialise. We managed to do a great job on the simulator to improve the race pace. We'll see tomorrow, we certainly made an excellent step forward in qualifying, but let's hope we didn't compromise the race pace. I think it will be a close battle between everyone apart from Max. I think Red Bull is very strong at the moment. Max did an exceptional job and I think he will also have new tyres. If there is an opportunity to take the lead we will try, but the goal for us and for everyone else is 2nd place. But no one can know: it's the first race of the season and we're thrilled to be back. Hopefully something crazy can happen and we can't wait to start the race.”.
#Verstappen #pole #Complicated
