Max Verstappen second in qualifying Bahrain: 'Good car for the race'

Published on 19 March 2022 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen qualified second for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Dutchman set a 1:30.681 as his fastest time in Q3, but Charles Leclerc took the first pole of the season. Carlos Sainz confirmed the speed of the Ferraris by taking P3. Sergio Pérez, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas completed the top six.

“It was hit and miss”, says Max after qualifying. “Q2 was quite good, but then Q3 was a bit more of a struggle to get the balance together. I was sliding too much, so we had to make a small adjustment for the last run. Then I lost a bit of time at places but gained some at other bits of the circuit. Nevertheless, it was alright. We have a good race car and that is the most important. It was a good day and a good start of the new era.”

The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver continues about the balance of the new generation cars: “Not fantastic, but also not too bad. Otherwise, we could not have been in this position. There are a few things to look into and try to be better for next time.”

Verstappen is focussed on the race tomorrow: “Here you want to be good at qualifying, but you also need to make sure the car is working for the race. Because the tyres will be struggling a lot more there, which is different than on other tracks. It was nice, a close battle with Charles and Carlos at the end. Ferrari has done a really good job over the winter. Hopefully it will be an exciting race.”

With the lights turned on the first qualifying of the new season gets underway. Max opens with a 1:31.909 on soft tyres, before improving this time with over a tenth of a second to a 1:31.785. In the end the Red Bull Racing driver ends in P3. Ferrari seems to meet the expectations when Charles Leclerc (1:31.471) and Carlos Sainz (+0.096) come out on top. Haas and Alfa Romeo surprisingly make it to Q2 with both of their cars. Yuki Tsunoda, Nico Hülkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi are the first to drop out of qualifying.

Verstappen is the first driver in the second part of qualifying to go under the 1:31, a 1:30.757 takes the Dutchman to first position with a clear margin. Charles Leclerc (P2) and Sergio Pérez (P3) are six tenths behind. Max leaves it by that single run and goes through to Q3 in P1. Both Ferraris do improve and go under the 1:30. Esteban Ocon, Mick Schumacher, Lando Norris, Alexander Albon and Guanyu Zhou come short for a place in the top ten and drop out.

The Mercedes drivers are the first to come out on track for the third part of qualifying. Moments later start both Ferraris and Red Bulls their warmup laps. George Russell opens with a 1:32.291, but like Hamilton (1:32.158) does not come close to Carlos Sainz, who sets a 1:30.687 and takes provisional pole. Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen form the top three only half a tenth behind the Spaniard. Sergio Pérez is fourth, only three tenths behind.

Max improves his time in the last run to a 1:30.681 but comes just over a tenth short to Charles Leclerc who takes pole. Nevertheless, the Dutchman will start the race from the first row on the grid. It is for the first time since last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix that there is a Ferrari on pole. Carlos Sainz and Sergio Pérez start from the second row on the grid, with behind them Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas who complete the top six. Kevin Magnussen did a great job for Haas qualifying in seventh position.

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Results qualifying Bahrain: