Max Verstappen left Mercedes in shock during qualifying for the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, taking pole position while the Silver Arrows struggled for performance.
The expected rain did not arrive in Sepang as cars prepared for qualifying for this peculiar race. A rough track surface threatened to limit soft tyre performance, with just one flying lap likely the boundary between success and failure.
Practice had created a mixed picture, with Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari all enjoying stints at the top of the timesheets. All eyes were on Mercedes and their first major upgrade since Canada, and whether their early season dominance would return, or rivals could make further inroads into their performance.
The other factor to take into account when racing in Malaysia is the searing heat. Drivers adorn cooling vests, and the cars require extensive cooling. Could this also play a part in deciding the grid for Sunday’s race?
Q1
At the green light, the two Haas cars headed immediately onto the circuit, the traditional queue in the pitlane not forming in the searing Sepang heat. Instead, the cars remained tucked away in their garages, tyre blankets to trap all in important performance. The reason for Haas’ eagerness soon became clear: the team expected to struggle to progress to Q2, and opted to use three sets of soft tyres to give it the best possible chance.
The rest of the field stayed in the pits for a few more minutes before the pitlane queue mysteriously appeared. The two Ferrari’s opted to use medium tyres in Q1, believing their pace strong enough to progress to Q2. Once the first runs were complete, Verstappen topped the times from Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Isack Hadjar, Kimi Antonelli and Pierre Gasly.
Down in the drop zone, both Haas’ gamble had yet to pay off, was joined by Alex Albon, both Aston Martins and Cadillacs. The bottom six were cut off from the rest of lower order by almost four tenths of a second, with Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg at risk if track performance ramped up further.
The t the chequered flag, both Aston Martins were able to haul themselves into Q2 contention, with mistake for Hulkenberg on his final lap confirming his Q2 exit. Haas suffered a double Q1 elimination, joining Alex Albon and both Cadillacs.
Eliminated: Hulkenberg, Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez
Q2
Tyre management once again proved the name of the game at the start of Q2, with drivers all opting to go out at the same time again, after initially silence descended on the pitlane. Within minutes all 16 cars were on circuit, each vying for clear track in front of them. Verstappen seemed to do this a little too well, as the Dutchman was shown a black and white flag for driving unnecessarily slowly, the Dutchman likely trying to cool his tyres.
Kimi Antonelli lost his opening lap for track limit violations, compromising his running programme as he would likely need a new set of tyres, eating into a precious set of tyres for Q3. Verstappen topped the times at the midway point, from Leclerc, Piastri, Hamilton, Norris, Hadjar, George Russell, Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Stroll was the surprise Q3 contender, though he had a second to find in order to progress. He was joined by Sainz, Linblad, Colapinto and Alonso. Antonelli took to the track out of sequence, jumping to second. This put Lawson into the drop zone.
At the chequered flag, Lawson received a handy tow from Lindblad which looked to have paid off as he moved into tenth, but his hopes were dashed when Bortoleto jumped into tenth. Aston Martin enjoyed their most competitive qualifying of the year, only just missing out on Q3, joined in the elimination zone by Sainz, Colapinto and Lindblad, the latter two already relegated to the back of the grid due to their extensive engine penalties.
Eliminated: Lawson, Alonso, Sainz, Stroll, Colapinto, Lindblad
Q3
The final part of qualifying began with all cars taking to the circuit, with just one lap providing maximum performance. Antonelli entered the session on the back foot, with only one set of soft tyres compared to his rivals who had two. A perfect lap would be vital to minimise the damage.
All cars utilised their new soft tyres, the first run producing a Red Bull one-two, with Verstappen leading Hadjar. The two McLarens split the two Ferraris, with Russell a distant seventh, from Bortoleto, Gasly and Antonelli. Antonelli ventured out onto track once again out of sequence to the others, using his only new soft tyre run to jump into third, 0.381s away from provisional polesitter Verstappen.
The rest of the field took the track for their final runs, with improvements proving difficult to find. Many drivers set personal bests but only Hamilton set a purple sector. Verstappen found a tenth in his final sector, putting the top spot out of reach, giving Red Bull Powertrains its maiden pole position. Hamilton moved into second, winding the clock back to 2021. Hadjar moved into third, but will start lower back owing to a grid penalty, from Antonelli, Leclerc, the two McLarens, Russell, Gasly, and Bortoleto.
Eliminated: Verstappen, Hamilton, Hadjar, Antonelli, Leclerc, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Gasly, Bortoleto
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