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Verstappen on pole for Bahrain

The first Qualifying of 2021 is over and wow. If this is what Formula One in 2021 will be like for the rest of the year, then we are in for a treat.

Written by Aiden Hover, Edited by Esmée Koppius

The headline story is of Max Verstappen taking pole position ahead of the two Mercedes drivers. The Redbull driver was quick all through practice and proved that the RedBull has the pace – Sergio Perez however was knocked out in Q2. Echoing Alex Albon last year and Pierre Gasly the year before that, showing that something is wrong with that second RedBull seat as Sergio Perez has proven his talent in other cars, and to be struggling here is simply a mystery.

Max Verstappen to start on Pole Position

Charles Leclerc qualifies in 4th after briefly joining teammate Carlos Sainz at the top of the table in Q2. Pierre Gasly finished the session in an impressive 5th, closely followed by the McLaren pairing of Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris. Sainz finished in 8th in his Ferrari but will be disappointed not to be closer to his teammate. Fernando Alonso qualified 9th to make his first Q3 appearance since Monaco 2018 in an impressive outing for Alpine. Lance Stroll rounded out the top 10 in his Aston Martin.

Gasly performed well in his Alpha Tauri

The shock of Q2 was Sergio Perez not making it through in a disappointing first weekend with RedBull, starting 11th for tomorrow. Antonio Giovinazzi outclassed his teammate to finish 12th, half a second ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in 13th. Kimi Raikonnen finished the session in 14th narrowly losing out to Tsunoda’s Alpha Tauri. George Russel proved why he is known as Mr. Saturday as he dragged his Williams into Q2 to finish 15th.

George Russel qualifies 15th in his Williams – © Copyright: Charniaux / XPB Images

Q1 saw Sebastian Vettel knocked out in a disappointing opening weekend for Aston Martin. He will line up behind Esetabn Ocon and Nicholas Latifi. Ocon will be kicking himself, having been beaten so convincingly by Alonso. The Haas pairing will line up on the last row of the grid. Throughout Q1, Nikita Mazepin spun several times and on his last spin, caused a yellow flag to be thrown at turn 1 resulting in many drivers’ laps being ruined, hence Vettel’s poor showing. Several other drivers will have their lap times investigated for improving under yellow flags. Carlos Sainz also had issues during the first session as his car ground to a stop, causing yet more headache for the field as another yellow flag was thrown. Fortunately, Carlos got his car running again and would qualify 8th.

Vettel ‘upset and angry’ at Q1 elimination

After such a close qualifying, you will have to be mad not to miss the race tomorrow. Can Verstappen fend of the threat behind to win the race? Or will Hamilton enact his revenge?

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