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Charles Leclerc
Photo: GIUSEPPE CACACE/POOL/EPA
Under the floodlights of Bahrain, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has overshadowed world champion Max Verstappen and runner-up Lewis Hamilton.
The Monegasque surprisingly grabbed first place on the grid for the Grand Prix opener in the desert on Saturday in the Formula 1 qualifier.
Verstappen finished second ahead of Leclerc's Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz.
Hamilton finished fifth in the Mercedes.
Mick Schumacher missed the final knockout round in twelfth place.
But it was his best qualifying result after 14th place in Turkey in his debut season.
In turn eleven, the Haas driver came off the track slightly and was annoyed.
Schumacher later stood in the box and shook his head.
A team member hugged him and comforted him.
For Schumacher it started in the last training session "with a pretty turbulent session".
"I had a feeling that the car didn't fit," he said.
Here and there "a few mistakes happened on the last lap." He's hoping for points for the race.
"I think that's possible at the moment," he said.
"Mick can really step on the gas now," announced team manager Günther Steiner.
Nico Hülkenberg did not survive the first knockout round on his lightning comeback.
The replacement for Sebastian Vettel, who was suffering from Corona, was flown in at short notice in the Aston Martin 17.
Mercedes isn't bluffing, they're so slow
The current performance of Mercedes is not a bluff.
"I don't think we can keep up with the performance of the leaders based purely on the pace," said team boss Toto Wolff.
"We will do everything we can to understand the car better and find performance," announced Wolff.
There is still a lot to do at Mercedes before the first position determination on Sunday.
Hamilton in fifth place on the grid, his new team-mate George Russell in ninth – that's not what the constructors' world champion is aiming for.
And Red Bull?
Verstappen grabbed the first daily best time of the new year and was also at the top in the final training session.
In qualifying, however, he was 0.123 seconds behind Leclerc.
mfu/dpa