Night fell in Bahrain, and so came qualifying, where we were looking for an answer to just one crucial question: Will anyone beat McLaren?
There was still a lot of chaos in Q1, Alpine with Jack Doohan appeared in the lead, but apart from that the French presented themselves very impressively. Pierre Gasly also showed great form, as did Isaac Hadjar, but the two Red Bulls suffered a lot. In the end, Max Verstappen only got RB to third place, but at the front - as could be expected - McLaren closed ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Among the smallest we could note the names of Alexander Albon, Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll and Oliver Bearman.
Q2 didn't start well for Haas either, Esteban Ocon losing the rear of his car on corner entry and seriously damaging it. A red flag followed!
Of course, it was again the most interesting to watch the competition behind the McLarens, because there was a lot to watch. For example, Yuki Tsunoda made it to Q3, Mercedes performed very strongly, while Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz also fought for the right to perform in the final stage. However, Jack Doohan, Isaac Hadjar, Nico Hülkenberg, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Oconn, who dropped out at the beginning of the stage, failed to do so.
Then came Q3 and the big question: Will McLaren have a rival? Kimi Antonelli, George Russell appeared at the front, but the orange cars could not be caught this time. Well, only one thing, because in the end Oscar Piastri won the qualification ahead of George Russel and Charles Leclerc, while Lando Norris finished only in sixth place - he was even overtaken by Pierre Gasly and Kimi Antonelli... We have a really exciting race tomorrow!
Photo: Motorsportweek
