Bahrain Grand Prix: A look ahead

Mclaren have asserted their dominance once again in the Free Practice sessions ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. The Mclaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have set strong times in all 3 practices with both Norris and Piastri taking the lead in sessions. In qualifying while Norris struggled to keep up the pace with his teammate landing in P6 for race day, it was a successful qualifying for Oscar Piastri who landed in pole position with a rapid qualifying time of 1:29:841. With a race win under his belt already this season, can Piastri pull another win out of the bag for Mclaren?

Mercedes:

The driver pairing of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell are proving to be one of the strongest on the grid this season with both Antonelli and Russell delivering a solid performance for the German team in qualifying. George Russell placed pressure on pole sitter Piastri in Q3, trailing behind by a couple of tenths, securing his place on the front row for the race. Antonelli, meanwhile, is continuing to prove his ability as the youngest driver on this year's grid and qualifying as the highest rookie in P4. However, both of the Silver Arrows were placed under investigation post session for potential rule breaches which resulted in a 1 place grid penalty for both drivers.

Red Bull:

It was a woeful qualifying for Red Bull with brake issues plaguing Max Verstappen’s qualifying. It will take a strong performance from Verstappen to climb from P7 and compete with his championship rival Norris and secure vital points for both the driver and constructors championship. Yuki Tsunoda drove his Red Bull to P10, a marked improvement for Red Bull securing a top 10 finish with its second driver. It will take a gutsy drive to  climb and secure Tsunoda’s first points behind the wheel of a Red Bull.

Ferrari:

A mixed qualifying for Ferrari in the sun at Sakhir with highs and lows for both drivers. Charles Leclerc delivered a strong performance in Q3 to secure his P3 position on the grid for race day. Due to Mercedes grid place penalties, Leclerc has now been promoted to P2 and will start in the front row of this year’s race in Bahrain. However, the luck was not on the side of the Ferrari sister car. Lewis Hamilton ended Q3 in a disappointing P9 after one of his lap times was deleted over track limits, lining up alongside the RB-21 of Tsunoda.

Williams:

Alex Albon experienced his first blow of the season exiting qualifying in Q1 lining up 15th on the grid, his earliest exit this season so far. The success for Williams in qualifying came from Carlos Sainz, his strongest performance at Williams so far. His pace secured him a place in Q3 where he finished P8, narrowly behind championship contenders Norris and Verstappen. Sainz will be looking to maintain the pace of qualifying in order to secure points as he embarks on his first season at Williams.

Aston Martin:

Fernando Alonso delivered one of his best performances this season, battling alongside Hadjar and Doohan to snatch a place in Q3. However, it was not meant to be for the Spanish driver who landed in P13 behind both rookies. It was a difficult and short qualifying for Lance Stroll who struggled for pace behind the wheel of the Aston Martin in P19.

Alpine:

Rookie driver Jack Doohan delivered a stunning performance in the early stages of qualifying, reaching P5 in Q1. However, the Alpine couldn’t match the pace of the other cars ahead, missing out on Q3 narrowly leaving him in P11. Doohan’s qualifying put an end to hopes of a double-Alpine Q3 finish with Gasly qualifying in P5, outpacing the Red Bull and Mclaren behind him. After grid place penalties hit Mercedes, Gasly will now get his best start of the season for Alpine after being promoted to P4. It seems like the Alpine car is improving compared to its position this time last season.

Kick Sauber:

Q1 saw a close competition between both Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenburg for Kick Sauber. Hulkenburg was plagued with a delayed deleted lap time which benefited Albon’s promotion to P15 and left Hulkenberg trailing in P16. Bortoleto struggled to match his teammates pace, following closely behind the RB of Liam Lawson to finish P18. The car seems to struggle to match the pace of the other cars on the grid consistently, will this weekend see this change?

Racing Bulls:

Rookie Isack Hadjar continues to deliver and improve in the seat of the RB. It was a Q2 finish in P12 for Hadjar following his success in Suzuka. However, the luck was not on the side of his teammate Liam Lawson who’s streak of bad luck continues behind the wheel of the RB. The car seemingly was suffering from issues with its Drag Reduction System, struggling to gather pace in Q1, ending Lawson’s qualifying early as he found himself in P17. Hadjar will undoubtedly be battling for points on Race Day to continue his success at RB.

Haas:

It was a qualifying to forget for rookie Oliver Bearman. From the highs of last weekend’s race in Japan, it was a messy qualifying for Bearman who landed himself in P20 and will start his race at the back of the grid. His teammate Estaban Ocon led the Haas team into P2, however a crash into the second corner bringing out the red flags meant it was a P14 finish for Ocon.

With such a mixed bag of drivers and constructors across the grid and close battles in the drivers championship reflected in the qualifying positions, this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix is set to be tension filled, dramatic and exciting and could make all the difference in the drivers and constructor’s championship standings.