Heading into qualifying for the F1 Bahrain GP Qualifying, McLaren appeared to hold the upper hand. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had set the pace across all three Free Practice sessions. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had remarked that the British outfit was “on another planet” — and heading into qualifying, that assessment seemed to be proving accurate.
As it unfolded: Q1
As Qualifying got underway at the F1 Bahrain GP, it was Nico Hülkenberg in the KICK Sauber who was first to set a benchmark in , posting a 1:32.6. His time was soon eclipsed by Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin.
A flurry of action followed as more drivers emerged and began their first flying laps. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda traded purple sectors early on but failed to complete their laps. Verstappen locked up into the right-hander at Turn 15 and ran off track, while Tsunoda also crossed the white line at the final corner, losing his lap time.
With under two minutes remaining, both Red Bulls were yet to register a valid time. Meanwhile, Hülkenberg’s teammate Gabriel Bortoleto, RB’s Isack Hadjar, and Williams’ Alex Albon were sitting in the bottom five.
Bortoleto and Hadjar responded under pressure, delivering strong laps to escape the elimination zone. The Red Bull duo, leaving it late, began their final attempts with just under 30 seconds on the clock. Both managed to claw their way out of danger, but Verstappen’s lap came under the spotlight after he appeared to cross the white line at Turn 15. Despite this, no investigation was noted, allowing the reigning champion to progress safely into Q2.
Tsunoda just scraped through in 14th, narrowly avoiding elimination. Elsewhere, a standout lap from Hülkenberg bumped Albon down to 16th and out of Q1. The Thai driver now faces an uphill battle in the race to preserve his perfect finishing record in 2025.
Eliminated in Q1: Alex Albon, Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll, Ollie Bearman
Q2: Ocon crash disrupts session
Both McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, had strategically saved a fresh set of tyres for the crucial later stages of F1 Bahrain GP Qualifying — as had Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. That decision would pay dividends as the session unfolded.
However, qualifying was briefly halted when Esteban Ocon brought out the red flags with a crash at Turn 2. The Haas driver ran slightly wide and lost control, careening into the barrier. The Frenchman was unable to continue and took no further part in the session.
Once the session resumed, a queue quickly formed at the end of the pit lane as drivers scrambled to get back on track. Notably, both Mercedes drivers — rookie Kimi Antonelli and George Russell — were noted by the stewards for leaving the garage before the official restart time had been confirmed.
Despite that, the Mercedes pair were first to post flying laps. Antonelli set the early benchmark with a 1:31.178, more than three-tenths clear of Russell.
Then came the McLarens. Piastri delivered a blistering lap of 1:30.454, narrowly edging out Norris by just 0.106 seconds. The duo were in a league of their own, both clocking times over six tenths faster than Leclerc, who slotted into third.
Neither Lewis Hamilton nor Max Verstappen had set a time at that point, both choosing to abort their initial laps and return to the pits, waiting for improved conditions in the final minutes.
With just three minutes left on the clock, the track came alive again. Yuki Tsunoda was the first to set a time, jumping into the top ten — but the tension was far from over. Hamilton and Verstappen delivered late flyers, pushing Tsunoda down the order.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly stunned the field with a brilliant lap to go third, while Carlos Sainz delivered a standout performance to put his Williams into Q3 for the first time in 2025.
Just missing out was Jack Doohan, who fell short by a mere 0.017 seconds and ended the session in 11th. He was joined in the drop zone by Hadjar, Alonso, Ocon, and Hülkenberg.
Eliminated in Q2: Jack Doohan, Isack Hadjar, Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon
Q3: Piastri claims pole
Just half a second covered the field heading into Q3, setting the stage for a thrilling shootout for pole position under the lights in Bahrain.
The Red Bull duo led the pack out as the final 12-minute session began, while the McLaren pair opted to hold back for slightly clearer track conditions. As the action intensified, Yuki Tsunoda and Max Verstappen were among the first to post flying laps. Verstappen battled oversteer in the first sector, losing valuable time to his younger teammate — a gap that ultimately stretched to four tenths across the lap.
The surprises continued as George Russell delivered a scorching lap to split the McLarens, clocking a time over a second quicker than teammate Kimi Antonelli. However, both Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton saw their laps deleted for track limit violations, shaking up the early order.
With just under three minutes to go, the final runs began — and the drama only escalated.
Russell and Antonelli stunned the paddock by briefly locking out the top two positions. Verstappen, meanwhile, couldn’t extract the performance he needed and slotted in a disappointing P7. Hamilton also struggled, managing only P9, with Carlos Sainz impressively outpacing him to place his Williams eighth.
Up front, Charles Leclerc salvaged a strong result for Ferrari by splitting the Mercedes drivers to secure second. But it was Oscar Piastri who stole the show once again. The Australian nailed his final lap to perfection, securing his second pole position of the season with a time 0.168s quicker than Russell.
Lando Norris, in contrast, made a costly mistake on his final run and had to settle for sixth.
In a session packed with surprises and standout performances, it was Piastri who reaffirmed McLaren’s dominant one-lap pace — and took pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Qualifying results
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
- Jack Doohan (Alpine)
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Nico Hulkenberg (KICK Sauber)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (KICK Sauber)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Oliver Bearman (Haas)
