Piastri storms to pole position in Bahrain

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri grabbed pole position during Qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, getting the better of Mercedes rival George Russell and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in a thrilling conclusion – with team mate Lando Norris only sixth.

Practice pace-setters McLaren had been in control through the Q1 and Q2 phases but had to work hard to remain at the top of the timesheets in Q3 – Piastri’s final 1:29.841s lap putting him a couple of tenths up on Russell.

Leclerc was another tenth-and-a-half back in third, with Kimi Antonelli completing a strong Qualifying performance for Mercedes, even if both Silver Arrows drivers are to be investigated post-session for potential rule breaches.

Pierre Gasly claimed a fine fifth in his Alpine, taking advantage of a below par second effort for championship leader Norris, who will line up just ahead of main rival Max Verstappen amid the Red Bull driver’s own brake issues.

Carlos Sainz delivered his strongest Qualifying session of the season so far to take eighth, with Lewis Hamilton ninth in the sister Ferrari after one of his laps was deleted over track limits, and Yuki Tsunoda completing the top 10 after putting his Red Bull in Q3.

Jack Doohan shone during the early stages of Qualifying, featuring as high as fifth in Q1, but just missed out on making it a double Q3 showing for Alpine with a run to 11th, from Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.

Esteban Ocon was leading the Haas charge after making it through to Q2, only to crash heavily exiting the second corner and bring out the red flags, leaving him 14th on the grid for Sunday’s race.

After such a competitive start to 2025, Alex Albon suffered his first big setback with a Q1 exit – the Williams driver unable to match the pace of new team mate Sainz – though Nico Hulkenberg’s delayed deleted lap time saw him promoted to 15th. In contrast, the Kick Sauber racer placed 16th.

Liam Lawson was another disappointed driver in 17th, having experienced an apparent Drag Reduction System problem aboard his Racing Bulls car, with Sauber youngster Gabriel Bortoleto and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll following in 18th and 19th.

Haas racer Ollie Bearman celebrated his first Q3 appearance at last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, but this time finished 20th and last on the Qualifying timing screen after a compromised final Q1 lap, which featured a couple of costly mistakes.

Q1

After three practice sessions around the Bahrain International Circuit, all topped by McLaren, attention turned to Saturday evening’s Qualifying hour – but would the likes of Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari have any answers for the papaya cars?

It was a relatively calm start to the grid decider, with only Alonso, Stroll and Hulkenberg hitting the track in the first couple of minutes, bringing a low 1:32s banker lap from the Spaniard, before more cars gradually trickled out and clocked times.

Ocon became the 20th and final driver to emerge from the pits thanks to some last-minute adjustments to the cockpit of his Haas machine, while Stroll and the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Tsunoda all lost early laps for exceeding track limits.

“There’s something really wrong with the car,” added Verstappen in a frustrated radio message to the Red Bull pit wall, with the reigning four-time World Champion seen running extremely wide at the final corner and then crawling back to his garage.

Up front, usual suspects Norris and Piastri slotted into P1 and P2 respectively with their opening Qualifying runs, reinforcing McLaren’s strong practice pace – the Briton producing a 1:31.107s to lead his team mate by just under three-tenths of a second.

Leclerc held third position at this point, from Antonelli, Alonso and a charging Doohan, but at the other end of the order Stroll, Hadjar, Bortoleto, Verstappen and Tsunoda found themselves in the drop zone and needing improvements.

As the final laps rolled in, amid a blur of purple and green sectors on the timing screen, Verstappen and Tsunoda both did enough to get themselves out of danger – Verstappen shooting to third and Tsunoda going a far less comfortable 14th.

Bortoleto and Stroll were ultimately unable to clear that first hurdle, dropping out in 18th and 19th, with Albon a surprise elimination in 16th, Lawson encountering apparent DRS issues en route to 17th and Bearman placing last after a scrappy final lap.

Hulkenberg scraped through in 15th and went on to take part in Q2, but an unusual turn of events as Qualifying progressed saw the German demoted to 16th, behind Albon, when a track limits violation was belatedly applied.

Norris remained on top in a statement of intent from himself and McLaren, followed by Hamilton, Verstappen and Piastri, with Doohan holding on to a top-five spot over Antonelli, Leclerc, Gasly, Russell and Hadjar.

Knocked out: Albon, Lawson, Bortoleto, Stroll, Bearman

Q2

Only moments after the second phase had begun, red flags were thrown for a sizeable crash involving Ocon – replays showing the Frenchman losing control of his Haas over the kerbs through Turn 2, sliding across the track and thumping the barriers.

Several minutes later, with Ocon’s car cleared and barrier checks complete, the green light was switched back on at the end of the pit lane to release a queue of eager drivers – some 11 minutes remaining to secure spots in the pole position shootout.

McLaren again caught the eye on their initial Q2 runs, which saw Piastri produce an impressive 1:30.454s and team mate Norris deliver a time just one tenth slower, putting the pair around half a second clear of nearest rivals Leclerc and Antonelli.

However, a handful of drivers, including Hamilton and the Red Bull racers, opted to complete just one flying lap much later in the segment, setting up another thrilling finale as improvements came in thick and fast beyond the chequered flag.

Gasly found a chunk of time on his final lap to go third behind the McLarens, while Russell and Antonelli went fourth and fifth over Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton, Verstappen and Tsunoda – although the Mercedes drivers were both noted for lining up at the end of the pit lane before a session resumption time had been announced.

Doohan just missed out on Q3 after a battling performance in the second Alpine, a week on from his heavy practice crash at Suzuka, with Hadjar, Alonso, the sidelined Ocon and Hulkenberg – who also did not get a lap in – completing the Q2 order.

Knocked out: Doohan, Hadjar, Alonso, Ocon, Hulkenberg

Q3

Following another short break between Qualifying segments, it was time for Q3 and the eagerly awaited battle for pole position, with Piastri and McLaren continuing where they left off in Q2 via a provisional P1 time of 1:30.233s from the Australian.

However, a brilliant lap from Russell put the Mercedes man just a tenth behind Piastri, and ahead of Norris’ McLaren, with Leclerc, Hamilton and Antonelli completing the top six – until the latter two drivers lost times for exceeding track limits.

Further back, there was more trouble for Verstappen, who lamented that “I can’t brake at all”, leaving him slowest after the opening runs – behind new team mate Tsunoda, Gasly and Sainz – and with plenty of work to do next time around.

Then came a flurry of improvements and position changes as McLaren’s rivals stepped it up a gear – Antonelli and Russell both briefly taking over at the top, before Leclerc split them, and piling the pressure on the McLaren drivers.

While Piastri pulled out a stunning 1m 29.841s to move back ahead of that trio and secure pole position, Norris experienced a tricky final lap en route to sixth, just behind Gasly’s Alpine – meaning he was left to ponder what might have been.

Sitting one point behind Norris in the Drivers’ Championship, Verstappen worked through his brake woes to take seventh, as Sainz, Hamilton and Tsunoda – making his first Q3 appearance for Red Bull – rounded out the top 10.

The 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix is set to begin at 18:00 local time on Sunday (16:00 GMT). Will Piastri pick up his second win of the season or will Leclerc or Russell notch their first win of the year?