Qualifications – Bahrain: Lewis Hamilton puts on a great show

At the start of these qualifications, the conditions are perfect for a great session, with 28°C in the air and 22°C on the track, but these will decrease as the session progresses since night is falling on the Sakhir circuit. As in Melbourne, the vast majority of drivers took off as soon as the green light turned on to secure a place and avoid the now famous elimination system every 90 seconds.

As Sebastian Vettel was the first to go out, he was also the first to set a time, at 1:31.636. But the two Mercedes drivers were close behind and soon surpassed the German Ferrari driver’s benchmark. For this initial run, it was once again Nico Rosberg who set the fastest time at Mercedes: 1:31.325, just seven hundredths ahead of his teammate, Lewis Hamilton.

If Max Verstappen was at risk of being the first eliminated for not coming out in the initial runs, the young Dutchman managed to escape the trap. It was ultimately Felipe Nasr who became the first victim of the elimination system, due to a significant block in the first corner.

The second on the list of eliminations is, unsurprisingly, a Manor. It is the one driven by Indonesian Ryo Haryanto. Then it was the turn of the two Renaults of Jolyon Palmer, despite a late improvement, and Kevin Magnussen. It is not surprising that the Dane did not try his hardest to achieve the best possible time since he already knows he will have to start from the pit lane, following a penalty received during the second practice session.

Sergio Perez had the worst outcome of the day as he was eliminated with only the 18th fastest time of the session, while his teammate Nico Hülkenberg managed to achieve the 10th fastest time. The next on the list is, this time unsurprisingly, the second Sauber of Marcus Ericsson.

The last to be eliminated in this Q1 is Pascal Wehrlein, in his Manor. But once again, we can question this qualifying format since the German stepped out of his car two minutes before the end of the session, without trying to improve his performance…

It is, however, interesting to note that Jenson Button settled into a nice 9th place. The Briton can therefore legitimately hope to make it into Q3, which would be a first for McLaren Honda.

The drivers eliminated in Q1 are: Nasr, Haryanto, Palmer, Magnussen, Perez, Ericsson, and Wehrlein

The start of Q2 is the subject of a new surreal session: while the timer is triggered, the light remains red at the end of the pit lane. A marshal is therefore asked to wave a green flag to release the pack, which is lined up one behind the other. This only increases the pressure for elimination as nearly a minute has been lost in the process.

This time, it’s Lewis Hamilton who takes the lead with a superb 1:30:039, while Sebastian Vettel (1:30:409) managed to slip between the two Mercedes as Nico Rosberg clocked in at 1:30:535.

But the axe has already started to fall. A new big player is eliminated, as it is Daniil Kvyat, who is the first to be knocked out in 15th position. Then comes a slight surprise as Jenson Button’s McLaren is the next to be eliminated. Despite the Brit’s hopes of making it into Q3, bolstered by good performances in free practice and Q1, he couldn’t do better than 14th.

No suspense about who was the next to be eliminated since Esteban Gutierrez had already returned to the pits with his Haas when the countdown had started for him. Next, it was the rookie Stoffel Vandoorne’s turn to exit these qualifications. The young Belgian can console himself by knowing he managed to beat his world champion teammate. He will therefore start from 12th place on the grid.

Four minutes from the end, it’s once again a scene of desolation shown by F1 as Nico Hülkenberg is simply alone on track!

The German from Sahara Force India takes advantage of it to improve and slip into 8th position, which pushes Romain Grosjean out of the Q3 zone. The Haas driver is ahead of both Toro Rossos of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. The Frenchman can still be satisfied with having all possible choices for his tire strategy for the race.

On the other hand, one might be surprised to see both Williams cars come out on super softs when they were no longer threatened. This could be a strategy for tomorrow’s race.

The eliminated from Q2 are therefore: Kvyat, Button, Gutierrez, Vandoorne, Sainz, Verstappen, and Grosjean.

For the first round of laps, it’s Nico Rosberg who sets the fastest time with an exceptional 1:29:897, while the two Ferraris are ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who went wide in the last corner! One can also legitimately question the time of the British driver, who went off the track limits…

On the other hand, Nico Hülkenberg barely had time to complete a lap before being eliminated. The two Williams drivers didn’t attempt to go back out, just like Daniel Ricciardo, who can be satisfied with being the best of the rest, behind the untouchable Mercedes and Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton steps up his game on his second attempt as he improves and sets an incredible time of 1:29:493, putting him in the lead. This is the new track record, meaning that F1 can now claim that its 1.6L V6 hybrid engine is more efficient than a 2005 3.0L V10!

RECORD BREAKER!!! @LewisHamilton SMASHES #BahrainGP pole with a new @BAH_Int_Circuit lap record!!! INCREDIBLE!!! #F1 pic.twitter.com/jEk77tYL69

— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) April 2

Even though Nico Rosberg improved his own time by three-tenths, it wasn’t enough to surpass his teammate.

Lewis Hamilton secures his 51st pole position, ahead of Nico Rosberg and the two Ferraris.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF QUALIFYING) #BahrainGP 🇧🇭 pic.twitter.com/emcOtiQ72j

— Formula 1 (@F1) 2 avril /f1/actualite/20836-officiel-magnussen-penalise-partira-de-la-ligne-des-stands-dimanche.html

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr