Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas will start the Sakhir Grand Prix from pole position for the 16th round of the 2020 Formula 1 World Championship season in Bahrain, after just beating new teammate George Russell by 0.026s.
In the top-10 shootout, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the bar at 53.591s, just 0.22s ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Bottas struck back with 53.337s, with Russell making it a Mercedes 1-2, 0.142s slower.
On the final runs at the end of the 10-minute session, Bottas failed to improve, while Russell improved but missed pole by just 0.026s. Verstappen was 0.056s off, ahead of Leclerc, who ran out of new tyres and didn’t try again but remained fourth.
Sergio Perez (Racing Point) was fifth, ahead of an impressive Daniil Kvyat (AlphaTauri), the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz (McLaren), Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and Lance Stroll (Racing Point).
In Qualifying 2, Verstappen was quickest with a lap of 53.647s, 0.14s ahead of Perez and Bottas – who used the medium tyre as opposed to the pair ahead on softs.
Knocked out at this point were Renault’s Esteban Ocon, the Red Bull of Alex Albon, Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) and Lando Norris, who suffered a terribly scruffy qualifying for McLaren.
In Qualifying 1, Bottas set the fastest time at 53.904s, a tenth clear of Verstappen. Russell was third fastest, ahead of Norris and Gasly.
Falling at the first hurdle were the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, Williams duo Nicholas Latifi and Jack Aitken (the debutant getting within a tenth of his teammate), Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo and the second Haas of F1 rookie Pietro Fittipaldi, who was set to start last anyway due to grid penalties.
F1 Sakhir Grand Prix qualifying grid results
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Time | Gap | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Valtteri Bottas |  | Mercedes | Mercedes | 53.377 | 238.956 | |
| 2 |  George Russell |  | Mercedes | Mercedes | 53.403 | 0.026 | 238.840 |
| 3 |  Max Verstappen |  | Red Bull | Honda | 53.433 | 0.056 | 238.706 |
| 4 |  Charles Leclerc |  | Ferrari | Ferrari | 53.613 | 0.236 | 237.904 |
| 5 |  Sergio Perez |  | Racing Point | Mercedes | 53.790 | 0.413 | 237.122 |
| 6 |  Daniil Kvyat |  | AlphaTauri | Honda | 53.906 | 0.529 | 236.611 |
| 7 |  Daniel Ricciardo |  | Renault | Renault | 53.957 | 0.580 | 236.388 |
| 8 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |  | McLaren | Renault | 54.010 | 0.633 | 236.156 |
| 9 |  Pierre Gasly |  | AlphaTauri | Honda | 54.154 | 0.777 | 235.528 |
| 10 |  Lance Stroll |  | Racing Point | Mercedes | 54.200 | 0.823 | 235.328 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | | Renault | Renault | 53.995 | 0.618 | 236.221 |
| 12 |  Alex Albon | | Red Bull | Honda | 54.026 | 0.649 | 236.086 |
| 13 |  Sebastian Vettel |  | Ferrari | Ferrari | 54.175 | 0.798 | 235.437 |
| 14 |  Antonio Giovinazzi |  | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 54.377 | 1.000 | 234.562 |
| 15 | Lando Norris |  | McLaren | Renault | 54.693 | 1.316 | 233.207 |
| 16 |  Kevin Magnussen |  | Haas | Ferrari | 54.705 | 1.328 | 233.156 |
| 17 | Nicholas Latifi |  | Williams | Mercedes | 54.796 | 1.419 | 232.768 |
| 18 | Jack Aitken | | Williams | Mercedes | 54.892 | 1.515 | 232.361 |
| 19 | Kimi Raikkonen |  | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 54.963 | 1.586 | 232.061 |
| 20 |  Pietro Fittipaldi |  | Haas | Ferrari | 55.426 | 2.049 | 230.123 |
| View full results |
F1 Sakhir Grand Prix qualifying Q3 results
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas |  | Mercedes | Mercedes | 9 | 53.377 | 238.956 | ||
| 2 | George Russell |  | Mercedes | Mercedes | 9 | 53.403 | 0.026 | 0.026 | 238.840 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen |  | Red Bull | Honda | 6 | 53.433 | 0.056 | 0.030 | 238.706 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc |  | Ferrari | Ferrari | 3 | 53.613 | 0.236 | 0.180 | 237.904 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez |  | Racing Point | Mercedes | 6 | 53.790 | 0.413 | 0.177 | 237.122 |
| 6 | Daniil Kvyat |  | AlphaTauri | Honda | 5 | 53.906 | 0.529 | 0.116 | 236.611 |
| 7 | Daniel Ricciardo |  | Renault | Renault | 6 | 53.957 | 0.580 | 0.051 | 236.388 |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |  | McLaren | Renault | 6 | 54.010 | 0.633 | 0.053 | 236.156 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | | AlphaTauri | Honda | 9 | 54.154 | 0.777 | 0.144 | 235.528 |
| 10 | Lance Stroll |  | Racing Point | Mercedes | 6 | 54.200 | 0.823 | 0.046 | 235.328 |
| View full results |
F1 Sakhir Grand Prix qualifying Q2 results
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen |  | Red Bull | Honda | 11 | 53.647 | 237.754 | ||
| 2 | Sergio Perez |  | Racing Point | Mercedes | 11 | 53.787 | 0.140 | 0.140 | 237.135 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas |  | Mercedes | Mercedes | 15 | 53.803 | 0.156 | 0.016 | 237.064 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | | McLaren | Renault | 14 | 53.818 | 0.171 | 0.015 | 236.998 |
| 5 | George Russell |  | Mercedes | Mercedes | 16 | 53.819 | 0.172 | 0.001 | 236.994 |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | | Ferrari | Ferrari | 18 | 53.825 | 0.178 | 0.006 | 236.967 |
| 7 | Lance Stroll |  | Racing Point | Mercedes | 13 | 53.840 | 0.193 | 0.015 | 236.901 |
| 8 | Daniil Kvyat |  | AlphaTauri | Honda | 21 | 53.856 | 0.209 | 0.016 | 236.831 |
| 9 | Daniel Ricciardo |  | Renault | Renault | 9 | 53.871 | 0.224 | 0.015 | 236.765 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | | AlphaTauri | Honda | 19 | 53.941 | 0.294 | 0.070 | 236.458 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | | Renault | Renault | 13 | 53.995 | 0.348 | 0.054 | 236.221 |
| 12 | Alex Albon | | Red Bull | Honda | 12 | 54.026 | 0.379 | 0.031 | 236.086 |
| 13 | Sebastian Vettel | | Ferrari | Ferrari | 17 | 54.175 | 0.528 | 0.149 | 235.437 |
| 14 | Antonio Giovinazzi |  | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 14 | 54.377 | 0.730 | 0.202 | 234.562 |
| 15 | Lando Norris |  | McLaren | Renault | 15 | 54.693 | 1.046 | 0.316 | 233.207 |
| View full results |
F1 Sakhir Grand Prix qualifying Q1 results
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas | | Mercedes | Mercedes | 8 | 53.904 | 236.620 | ||
| 2 | Max Verstappen |  | Red Bull | Honda | 3 | 54.037 | 0.133 | 0.133 | 236.038 |
| 3 | George Russell |  | Mercedes | Mercedes | 9 | 54.160 | 0.256 | 0.123 | 235.502 |
| 4 | Lando Norris |  | McLaren | Renault | 9 | 54.194 | 0.290 | 0.034 | 235.354 |
| 5 | Pierre Gasly | | AlphaTauri | Honda | 10 | 54.207 | 0.303 | 0.013 | 235.298 |
| 6 | Sergio Perez |  | Racing Point | Mercedes | 6 | 54.236 | 0.332 | 0.029 | 235.172 |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc |  | Ferrari | Ferrari | 9 | 54.249 | 0.345 | 0.013 | 235.115 |
| 8 | Sebastian Vettel | | Ferrari | Ferrari | 9 | 54.301 | 0.397 | 0.052 | 234.890 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon |  | Renault | Renault | 7 | 54.309 | 0.405 | 0.008 | 234.856 |
| 10 | Daniil Kvyat | | AlphaTauri | Honda | 12 | 54.346 | 0.442 | 0.037 | 234.696 |
| 11 | Daniel Ricciardo | | Renault | Renault | 3 | 54.388 | 0.484 | 0.042 | 234.514 |
| 12 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | | McLaren | Renault | 6 | 54.450 | 0.546 | 0.062 | 234.247 |
| 13 | Antonio Giovinazzi | | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 8 | 54.523 | 0.619 | 0.073 | 233.934 |
| 14 | Lance Stroll | | Racing Point | Mercedes | 7 | 54.595 | 0.691 | 0.072 | 233.625 |
| 15 | Alex Albon |  | Red Bull | Honda | 6 | 54.620 | 0.716 | 0.025 | 233.518 |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen |  | Haas | Ferrari | 9 | 54.705 | 0.801 | 0.085 | 233.156 |
| 17 | Nicholas Latifi |  | Williams | Mercedes | 11 | 54.796 | 0.892 | 0.091 | 232.768 |
| 18 | Jack Aitken |  | Williams | Mercedes | 9 | 54.892 | 0.988 | 0.096 | 232.361 |
| 19 | Kimi Raikkonen |  | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 11 | 54.963 | 1.059 | 0.071 | 232.061 |
| 20 | Pietro Fittipaldi | | Haas | Ferrari | 11 | 55.426 | 1.522 | 0.463 | 230.123 |
| View full results |
F1 Sakhir Grand Prix qualifying as it happened
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