Verstappen takes pole for the opening race in Bahrain, De Vries penultimate

Verstappen surprises himself with a pole: 'We had problems in training'

Max Verstappen was a bit surprised by his pole position at the Bahrain GP on Saturday. The Red Bull Racing Dutchman overtook his team-mate Sergio Pérez by more than a tenth with a time of 1m 29.708s as the free practice was still tough.

“I'm particularly surprised because the week started so badly .We couldn't find a balance in a car that was so good during the testing days," the Dutchman later said. got t the center. I still didn't feel perfect in Q1 but I'm happy with the laps the car did in Q3.” Limburger still wants to know how his car can be so different from what it was on test days.“I was really shocked by the balance in training. It was difficult to do a fast lap. But my last qualifying time was my best this weekend.” Bahrain Pole GP Max Verstappen (Red Bull) Sergio Perez (Red Bull) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) George Russell (Mercedes) Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) ). faster than expected.

While next to him Leclerc explained that Ferrari had found “something”; Verstappen reacted wittily in the car."Sandbag?" asked the Monegasse, referring to the term sandbags from Formula 1. That's what the teams do that block things.

Aston Martins were also strong all weekend, led by Fernando Alonso. "It's not surprising. Most teams copy the fastest car. When you see that a team is doing well, you try to imitate them,” Verstappen reacted to the physical similarities between Aston Martin and Red Bull.

Especially for Sunday, Verstappen sees Alonso as a threat, so I think they do have brought. "

Verstappen takes pole for the opening race in Bahrain, De Vries penultimate

Max Verstappen will start the first Grand Prix of 2023 from the pole position. The Dutchman was fastest in qualifying on Saturday in Bahrain ahead of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez. Charles Leclerc was third in his Ferrari. Nyck de Vries starts his first race for AlphaTauri as penultimate. Verstappen finishes 1st29.708 on his last attempt, 0.138s quicker than Pérez. Leclerc only completed one lap in the final part of qualifying. The Monegasse lost three-tenths against Verstappen. Fourth place on the grid belongs to Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari. The Spaniard overtook his compatriot Fernando Alonso. The expectations of the Aston Martin driver were high after the practice sessions, but in the end the 41-year-old veteran had to give way to Verstappen by almost half a second. Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished sixth and seventh, six tenths off pole. The expectations in the Mercedes camp have already relaxed. Bahrain Grid GP

Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

Sergio Perez (Red Bull) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) George Russell (Mercedes) Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes ) ) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) Esteban Ocon (Alpine) Nico Hulkenberg (Haas F1) De Vries last after three attempts De Vries made three attempts to continue in the first part of qualifying but with a time of 1.32 .121, it didn't go any further than last time. The Friesian could not improve on his last attempt.

Several competitors used the faster track and overtook the AlphaTauri driver, who moved up to second from last place. Pierre Gasly starts from the beginning in his alpine debut. The Frenchman drives faster but loses time by exceeding the track limit. The Bahrain Grand Prix starts at 16:00 on Sunday. (Dutch time).