Motorsports
Formula 1: Leclerc on pole position in Bahrain
The first qualifying races of the new era in Formula 1 were won by Ferrari and Charles Lerklerk, who set the fastest time and will start from pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The highlight of the battle was the three contenders’ first attempt at pole position in Q3. After the first lap, Carlos Sainte in the other Ferrari F1-75 took the lead, 44mm to Leclerc and 56mm to Ferstappen.
However, on the second lap of the three protagonists in Q3, the Monegasque set the dazzling lap that gave him pole position – with a difference of 123 and 129 milliseconds respectively to Saint. It was the 10th pole position of Leclerc’s career.
Ferstappen had previously started Q2 with a very loud warning shot, 0.7s faster than the first year Leclerc had done in Q1. But soon in Q2 the two Ferrari drivers reacted, closing in on him in inches of seconds, leaving the promises that eventually confirmed a shocking battle in Q3.
Sergio Perez was unable to follow the champion’s pace and was limited to 4th at the start, two and a half tenths behind Ferstappen. The murders of Lewis Hamilton were confirmed at Mercedes and in the first special stages of the year the Brit was almost 0.7” behind pole position.
In an incredible gamble right behind him – and alongside him on the starting line – was Valteri Botas, although the Finn is driving an Alfa Romeo instead of the other Mercedes this year. George Russell, on the other hand, paid for a small error on his second lap in Q3 to remain 1.65s behind Haas’s Kevin Magnussen and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso.
Pierre Gusli also managed to break into the top ten by shutting out Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in the last second of Q2. Fellow Alpha Tauri rider Yuki Chunoda was ruled out of Q1 due to a mechanical issue, while McLaren was the day’s negative surprise as Lando Norris retired in Q2 and Daniel Ricciardo in Q1 even worse.
While the team paid off for major brake problems in the second three days of winter testing in Bahrain, Aston Martin unexpectedly proved a lot less competitive than it had looked over the winter when Nico Hulkenberg replaced Sebastian Vettel with coronavirus ) and Lance Stroll became excluded from the very first period.
Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.