Manama, Mar. 1 (BNA): Max Verstappen stormed to an historic pole position this evening for the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2024—the Kingdom’s 20th anniversary F1 race at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.
The three-time defending world champion captured the leading grid position for Red Bull after topping an exciting qualifying held in chilly conditions under the bright floodlights of “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”.
Verstappen will be in front of the 20-car F1 field as the grand prix is held for the very first time on a Saturday night, making for an additional spectacle in celebrating “20 Years of a Modern Classic” in Bahrain.
Verstappen took pole for F1’s season-opening event with a fastest lap time of one minute 29.179 seconds in a hotly contested Q3. It was the 33rd pole of his career, and he has now started the season the way he finished his record-breaking 2023.
The Dutchman beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1:29.407) by just over two-tenths of a second, while Mercedes’ George Russell (1:29.485) qualified third just over three-tenths behind.
Carlos Sainz (1:29.507) will start from fourth in Ferrari’s second contender, while Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1:29.537) will be fifth on the grid.
Others starting in the leading 10 and also competing in Q3 this evening are Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso (1:29.542) in sixth, McLaren’s Lando Norris (1:29.614) in seventh, teammate Oscar Piastri (1:29.683) in eighth, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1:29.710) in ninth, and Nico Hulkenberg (1:30.502) for Haas in 10th.
Eliminated from Q2 tonight and set to start 11th to 15th, respectively, were RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Williams’ Alexander Albon, RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen. Leclerc was fastest in Q2 with a lap of 1:29.165.
Earlier, in Q1, Sainz topped the session with a mark of 1:29.909. Knocked out were Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu of Kick Sauber, Logan Sargeant of Williams, and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. They will start from 16th to 20th on the grid.
The F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is scheduled for a 6pm start on Saturday.
Maloney wins first race of F2 season
Zane Maloney won the first Formula 2 race of 2024 today, held in support of this year’s Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Rodin Motorsport driver from Barbados took the chequered flag after a thrilling 23-lap battle. Following a quick getaway, Maloney gradually fought his way to the front and then built a comfortable gap towards the chequered flag.
Maloney took the lead on lap eight and was more than two seconds clear heading into the home stretch. He added to his advantage, going four seconds in front with five laps to go, and finished with a winning time of 42 minutes 13.726 seconds.
Maloney was 5.490 seconds ahead of runner-up and reverse grid pole-sitter Jak Crawford of DAMS Lucas Oil, while Josep Maria Marti of Campos Racing took the final podium place 7.057s behind.
Isack Hadjar of Campos Racing was fourth, Paul Aron of Hitech Pulse-Eight was fifth, Gabriel Bortoleto of Invicta Racing sixth, Zak O’Sullivan of ART Grand Prix seventh, and Dennis Hauger of MP Motorsport in eighth as the final points winner.
The stage is now set for the F2 Feature Race, scheduled for 1.30pm Saturday, with Bortoleto on pole. His Invicta Racing teammate Kush Maini was originally in the leading grid spot for the 32-lap event, but he was disqualified from Thursday’s qualifying, promoting Bortoleto.
Harry King triumphs in weekend’s first PCCME race
Harry King from Great Britain won the first race of round five tonight in the 2023/2024 Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East (PCCME), being held in support of the F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.
King clinched the chequered flag after 11 exciting laps in a winning time of 22:35.628. He finished 2.767 seconds ahead of runner-up Robert De Haan from the Netherlands, while pole-sitter Theo Oeverhaus of Germany had to settle for the last podium place, 10.660s from the victor. All three leading overall finishers are competing in the PCCME’s Pro class.
Taking the victory amongst the ProAm runners was Khaled Alahmadi of Saudi Arabia, while Team Bahrain’s very own Shaikh Jaber bin Ali Al Khalifa finished first amongst the Am participants.
The weekend’s second race in the PCCME is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, starting from 3pm.
