Oscar Piastri secured pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix as McLaren teammate and championship leader Lando Norris finished a surprise sixth in a qualifying session which became chaotic and messy.
Piastri finished 0.168 seconds ahead of George Russell, but the Mercedes driver was demoted to third for a pit lane infringement, leaving Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to line up alongside Piastri under the floodlights on Sunday.
Kimi Antonelli, the 18-year-old who twice made history in Japan last weekend, also received a one-place penalty for the same offence as his Mercedes teammate and will start from fifth.
The stewards were also involved in another situation, which led the FIA, motorsport’s governing body, to later admit they “got it wrong.” Nico Hülkenberg, who advanced to Q2 and initially finished P13, had a lap time deleted for exceeding track limits — when all four tires cross the white line surrounding the racing surface — in Q1. But by the time the infraction was reported to the stewards, the Sauber driver was already racing in Q2, and Alex Albon had been knocked out, having narrowly missed Q2 by finishing 0.042 seconds behind Hülkenberg.
Hülkenberg later lost three places and will start 16th.
In a statement, the FIA said Turn 11, where Hülkenberg’s error happened, was “not deemed to be an area of focus for track limits,” but the governing body added that as soon as they became aware of the incident, “we acted on it.”
There were a few surprise names in the top 10, Pierre Gasly finding competitive pace in the Alpine, a team which has yet to score this season, and Carlos Sainz clicking with his Williams when it mattered. The Spaniard, who qualified 10th for the Australian GP but hadn’t made it through to Q3 in Japan or China, was eighth, out-qualifying Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda.
But Sunday is a major opportunity for Piastri to make inroads on the drivers’ championship. Lando Norris holds a one-point lead over Max Verstappen, who qualified seventh, with Piastri 13 points behind his teammate.
Asked about his mistake on the final lap, Norris told reporters: “I mean, it was just every lap, honestly. I’ve been off every lap this weekend, just not comfortable. No big complaints. The car’s amazing. The car’s as good as it has been the whole season, which is strong.
“I’ve been off it all weekend. Don’t know why, just clueless on track at the minute. So, I don’t know. I just need a big reset or something.”
How they qualified
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- George Russell, Mercedes
- Pierre Gasly, Alpine
- Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
- 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
- Esteban Ocon, Haas
- Alex Albon, Williams
- Nico Hülkenberg, Sauber
- Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
- Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
- Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
- Ollie Bearman, Haas
What happened with Mercedes?
Russell and Antonelli paid the price for a team error as they both entered the pit lane’s fast lane before a re-start time was confirmed. Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ trackside engineering director, was the one who released the cars. According to the stewards’ document, Shovlin misread the message on the timing screen, which said “estimated re-start time,” and had argued there was no sporting advantage to be gained as there was 11 minutes remaining for other teams to perform their run plans.
The stewards agreed with Tim Malyon, the FIA’s single seater sporting director, that it could have created a sporting advantage and that the punishment should be a sporting penalty, rather than a team fine, to deter teams from releasing their cars too soon, when the restart time is an estimation.
“The Stewards agreed with the view that this breach required a sporting penalty however accept that the breach was unintentional and a genuine mistake by the team for which Mr Shovlin apologised,” the stewards said. “We decide to impose a one position grid penalty. A similar breach in different circumstances, could entail a more severe sporting penalty, in future.”
Mercedes has been one of the more consistent teams this season and was in prime position to fight for a podium finish, with Russell on the front row and Antonelli on the second. In Mercedes’ favor is that Sunday’s race is expected to be more exciting than recent races from a strategic point of view, and there are more chances for overtaking opportunities. As Russell said Saturday, “I don’t expect it to be a straightforward race.”
Q2: Doohan, Hadjar, Hülkenberg, Alonso and Ocon fail to advance
A red flag waved early on after Esteban Ocon ended up in the barriers early in his lap paused Q2 with 11:01 remaining in the session. The Haas driver reported over the radio that he was okay, but the car will need repairs. He was losing the car at the exit of Turn 2 and spun the rear into the barriers at Turn 3.
As the first flying laps unfolded, Antonelli set a rather quick time at 1:31.178, which teammate Russell initially couldn’t match. But Norris and Piastri soon bested that Mercedes lap, the Australian driver setting a 1:30.454.
What may have been a shock, though, was how Doohan’s performance continued to be stronger than more experienced teammate Pierre Gasly with those first flying laps. However, Doohan ultimately was narrowly knocked out, just 0.017 seconds off of Tsunoda.
At the end of the session, the two Red Bull drivers made up the bottom of the top 10 heading into Q3. Tsunoda was only two-tenths off of the four-time world champion, marking the first time both Red Bull cars have advanced to Q3 since Qatar 2024.
Q1: Albon, Lawson, Bortoleto, Stroll and Bearman out
The entire grid was covered by 1.266 seconds at the end of Q1, showing how fine the margins are. Track limits proved to be an issue, too. Lance Stroll set the first time at 1:33.575 before it was deleted for track limits.
Red Bull looked to be in trouble early on. Tsunoda’s first flying lap was deleted for track limits, while Verstappen locked up and went wide, reporting over the radio, “There’s something really wrong with the car.” But as the session wore on, the track evolved and the times quickened.
Hülkenberg broke into the top 10 with six minutes. At this point, the Red Bull drivers were the only ones who hadn’t set a time but that all changed as the final flying laps saw the grid shake up. Isack Hadjar rocketed up to the top 10, Jack Doohan set the fifth-fastest time, and Hülkenberg knocked Alex Albon, who had advanced to Q3 in the last three races, out to advance to Q2.
Red Bull escaped Q1, though for Tsunoda it was only just. Verstappen set the third-fastest time, behind Norris and Hamilton, while Tsunoda was in P14.
(Top photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images)
