Formula 1, no room for amazement: Max Verstappen wins pole for the Bahrain GP and continues with his monologue

THE lovers of surprises They must continue to wait or seek satisfaction in a universe other than that of Formula 1with which he begins his 2024 season overwhelming logic. There was nothing surprising this Friday in which the Dutch Max Verstappen He will maintain pole position which will allow him to start Saturday’s Bahrain Grand Prix from first place

On board the new Red Bull RB20, the three-time world champion of the specialty covered the 5,412 meters of the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir in 1’29’179, his second and best attempt at a fastest lap during Q3. He thus surpassed the Monegasque by 228 thousandths Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).

“It was fun. The track had a lot of grip, but with the wind it was difficult to do a full lap. Q3 was difficult, but I’m happy to get pole. To be honest, it was a bit unexpected, but in the qualifying session the car showed itself,” acknowledged the 26-year-old driver after taking first place in a qualifying session for the 33rd time in his career.

“We needed to fine-tune some things on the car to find the right balance and we took another step forward in qualifying. The race will also be close. “We’ll see what happens tomorrow, but I’m confident,” Verstappen said.who also took pole in Bahrain in 2023 and then won the race.

The satisfaction of the current monarch, who This year he will be looking for his fourth title to match the scores of Frenchman Alain Prost and German Sebastian Vettel, in contrast to Leclerc’s bitter taste on Friday. “We had a good qualifying, but everything was complicated. I think we lost a bit of pace in Q3 on the used tyres. “I’m a bit disappointed,” acknowledged the Monegasque, who wasn’t too optimistic about Saturday’s tests: “I trust that we’ll take a step forward, but really we believe Red Bull is still ahead with a big difference in the race.

With Verstappen set to dominate the category again, this season’s other big attraction lies in the departure of the Mercedes team Lewis Hamiltonwho in 2025 will run with a Ferrari. As he enters his final year with the Brackley team, The Englishman had a difficult Friday: He had to work hard to get through both Q1 and Q2 and in the final part of the session he only managed to maintain the ninth best time.

The ride was much better for his teammate George Russellwho finished third, 306 thousandths behind Verstappen and ahead of the Ferrari from Spanish Carlos Sainz and of Red Bull of the Mexican Sergio Perez. “Everyone at the factory did an incredible job to give me and Lewis a car to build on. “Max is still up front, but for us starting third is a great place,” underlined the Englishman.

Smiles also in the Aston Martin garage thanks to the work of Fernando Alonso. The British team took a risky gamble with the Spaniard, who risked everything on a single fast lap in Q3, which he did while the other nine cars were in the pits. This strategy allowed the veteran two-time champion to remain in sixth place.

At the other extreme, that of discomfort, the team was overwhelmed Alpine. A disastrous qualifying left its two drivers, the French Esteban Ocon AND Pierre Gasly, in the last two places on the grid. They will have to work hard to recover in the first of the 24 races of the season, which will take place on Sunday starting at 12 and will consist of 57 laps.