Lovers
of surprises
will have to continue waiting or seek satisfaction in a universe other than
Formula 1
, which is beginning its 2024 season with
overwhelming logic
.
No surprise this Friday caused the Dutchman
Max Verstappen
to take the pole position that will allow him to start the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday from first place.
Aboard the new
Red Bull RB20
, the three-time world champion of the specialty covered the 5,412 meters of the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir in 1m29s179, in his second and best attempt at a fast lap during Q3.
In this way, he surpassed the Monegasque
Charles Leclerc
(
Ferrari
) by 228 thousandths.
"It was fun.
The track had a lot of grip, but with the wind it was difficult to do a full lap.
Q3 was difficult, but I'm happy to have got pole.
To be honest, it was a little unexpected, but in the qualifying session the car showed up,” acknowledged the 26-year-old driver after taking first place in a qualifying session for the 33rd time in his career.
“We needed to fine-tune some things on the car to get the balance right and we took another step in qualifying.
The race is also going to be close.
We'll see what happens tomorrow, but I'm confident," said Verstappen
, who in 2023 also took pole in Bahrain and then won the race.
Career pole #33 for @Max33Verstappen 👏#F1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/eR0uUybV7f
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 1, 2024
The satisfaction of the current monarch, who
this year will seek his fourth title to equal the mark of the Frenchman Alain Prost and the German Sebastian Vettel
, contrasted with the sour taste in Leclerc's mouth that Friday's day left.
“We did a good qualifying, but everything was complicated.
I think we lost a little bit of pace in Q3 with the used tyres.
"I'm a little disappointed," acknowledged the Monegasque, who was not too optimistic for Saturday's test: "I trust that we will take a step forward, but we really
believe that Red Bull is still ahead
by quite a difference in the race."
With Verstappen set to dominate the category again, the other great attraction of this season lies in the farewell of the Mercedes team to
Lewis Hamilton
, who in 2025 will race with a
Ferrari
.
At the start of his last year in the Brackley-based team,
the Englishman had a difficult Friday
: he had to make an effort to overcome both Q1 and Q2 and in the last section of the session he could only keep the ninth best time.
Much better was the run for his teammate George Russell
, who finished third, 306 thousandths behind Verstappen and ahead of the
Ferrari
of the Spanish
Carlos Sainz
and the
Red Bull
of the Mexican
Sergio Pérez
.
“Everyone at the factory did an incredible job to give Lewis and I a car to build from.
“Max is still there at the front, but for us starting third is a great place,” highlighted the Englishman.
George Russell set the third fastest time in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Photo:Rula Rouhana / Reuters.
There were also smiles in the Aston Martin box thanks to the work of Fernando Alonso.
The British team made a risky bet with the Spaniard, who risked everything on a single fast lap in Q3, which he did while the other nine vehicles were in the pits.
This strategy allowed the veteran two-time champion to stay in sixth place.
At the other extreme, that of unease, the
Alpine
team was submerged .
A disastrous qualifying session left its two drivers, the Frenchmen
Esteban Ocon
and
Pierre Gasly
, in the last two places on the grid.
They will have to work hard to come back in the first of the 24 competitions of the season, which will be run on Sunday starting at 12 and will cover 57 laps.
The results of the qualification for the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix.