2024 Bahrain Grand Prix - Qualifying Results & Summary

Friday, 01 March 2024 at 18:34

Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen took pole at the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying session.

Going into the qualifying session on Friday at Bahrain International Circuit, it was slightly expected Red Bull would have the edge, but it was expected to be a very close battle between at least five teams.

Alpine feared their pace would not be enough, and their worries proved right as both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly failed to get out of Q1 and finished dead last.

Williams seemed to have a quick enough car, but their driver, Logan Sargeant, couldn't quite deliver like his teammate Alex Albon and finished only P18.

Sauber would have also hoped for a better start to the season, but their drivers, Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas, couldn't make it out of Q1.

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The top five teams from the most recent season were Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, and Aston Martin. Looking at the qualifying times, all the top five teams have stayed within the top five even this year.

All the drivers from the previous year's top five, except for Lance Stroll, made it out of Q2. The only surprise was Nico Hulkenberg on Haas, who scored the sixth fastest time of Q3.

Daniel Ricciardo hoped to make it into Q3, but neither he nor his teammate Yuki Tsunoda could. The other two drivers who failed to get out of Q2 were Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen.

Ultimately, Nico Hulkenberg couldn't compete with the top three teams and took "only" P10. Lewis Hamilton, who finished ahead of him, would have hoped for a better result after P1 in FP2.

McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri looked strong during Q2 and set a couple of purple times but were only quick enough for P8 and P7 in the end.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso had a better session than his teammate and finished in P5. Ferrari drivers showed they could really be the biggest threat to Red Bull as they took P2 and P4.

The Scuderia drivers were separated by George Russell. And finally, Red Bull's Sergio Perez took P4, and Max Verstappen snatched the pole position for the race on Saturday.

Interestingly, Verstappen's pole position time was slower, than Leclerc's fastest time from the Q2. See the full results below.

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