Verstappen Takes First Pole Position Of New Season In Bahrain

Max Verstappen in Red Bull took the first pole position of the 2024 F1 season at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The new season is officially underway, and after three Free Practice sessions, the teams finally revealed their true pace during the qualifying, and while there were some winners, there were also some obvious losers.

Both Sauber's drives, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, as well as both Alpine's drivers, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, failed to get out of the Q1, joined by Logan Sargeant in Williams, who was the fifth man out. On the other hand, Carlos Sainz in Ferrari topped the standings.

Surprisingly, it seemed that both Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, struggled in Q1, which was surprising especially after they dominated in FP2 on Thursday, which was driven in similar conditions.

RB seemed to be quite impressive during the first Free Practice, but they were eliminated already during Q2 on Friday, along with Alex Albon in Williams, Lance Stroll in Aston Martin, and Kevin Magnussen in Haas.

But for unbiased fans, the results of the Q2 showed a lot of promise for an exciting Q3 at the Bahrain International Circuit, as there were multiple teams and drivers that seemed to be capable of taking the pole position.

In Q3, Fernando Alonso in Aston Martin was the only driver who chose to complete only on lap, but that didn't yield much results, as he couldn't make it to the first two rows, placing 6th.

Once the top runners started their final laps, Max Verstappen quickly showed that he was the fastest man on the track, taking the first pole position of the season, and he will be joined by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the front row.

Mercedes' George Russell managed to take P3 in the qualifying, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton struggled and finished only 9th. Carlos Sainz finished fourth while Sergio Perez placed 5th.

But on Saturday, it will be Verstappen, who will begin his fourth World Championship charge from the pole position.