Night fell over Bahrain, so qualifying arrived, where we sought the answer to one decisive question: Will there be anyone who can beat McLaren?
In Q1 there was still a lot of excitement, Alpine was in the lead with Jack Doohan, but in addition the French had a very visible performance. Pierre Gasly also showed excellent form, as did Isaac Hadjar, but the two Red Bulls suffered a lot. In the end, Max Verstappen brought the RB to third place, but in the lead – as one might have suspected – a McLaren finished, overtaking Lewis Hamilton. Among those eliminated were Alexander Albon, Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll and Oliver Bearman.
Q2 also didn't start well for Haas, Esteban Ocon lost the back of his car in a corner and wrecked it pretty badly. The red flag followed!
Of course, it was again worth watching the fight behind the McLarens, because there was a lot to see there. Yuki Tsunoda, for example, managed to reach Q3, and Mercedes showed a very strong performance, while Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz earned the right to compete in the final phase. This, however, did not succeed in Jack Doohan, Isaac Hadjar, Nico Hülkenberg, Fernando Alonso, as well as Esteban Ocon, who, of course, went out from the very beginning of the stage.
Then came Q3, and the big question: Will McLaren have an opponent? Kimi Antonelli, George Russell were in the lead, but the orange cars could not be caught this time. That is, only one, because the qualifying was ultimately won by Oscar Piastri, ahead of George Russell and Charles Leclerc, while Lando Norris only finished sixth - even Pierre Gasly and Kimi Antonelli overtook him... A truly thrilling race awaits us tomorrow!
Photo: Motorsportweek
