LEWIS HAMILTON is back as he looks to become the first man in history to win eight F1 world championships.
But he won’t be starting on pole today as the F1 season kicks off in Sakir, with Max Verstappen topping qualifying.
- Race start time: 4pm
- TV/ live stream: Sky Sports F1
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Follow ALL of the latest from Bahrain below…
HAMILTON STOPS FOR TYRES
Lap 14 and the Brit has the first roll of the dice as he stops for fresh rubber.
MERC IN 2-3
MICK SCHUMACHER SPINS OFF
The son of seven-time world has repeated Mazepin’s mistake. He copies his Haas teammate by lighting up the rear tyres and spinning off.
RACE RESTARTS
It is Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc… this is a fantastic battle.
Norris is now chasing Bottas in fourth.
PROBLEM FOR VERSTAPPEN
He says he has a weird sensation from the peddles. His team are investigating.
BIG CRASH FOR NIKITA MAZEPIN
His debut is over after three corners as he spins off and goes into the barriers.
Safety Car is out.
GO GO GO…
The lights go green in Bahrain.
Verstappen gets away quickly and Hamilton gets in behind the Dutchman. Bottas hold P3 from Leclerc.
PROBLEM FOR PEREZ
His Red Bull has switched off while on the way to the grid. That is another shocker for the Mexican on his debut for his new team.
Another formation lap as Perez now gets his car going. He is starting from the pitlane.
FORMATION LAP
Max Verstappen is not hanging about here. He is setting pace already on his way to the grid.
I’d image he’s all rather excited, starting P1 in race 1.
F1’s PRE RACE MESSAGE
A REMINDER THAT SEBASTIAN VETTEL STARTS LAST
The Aston Martin man was penalised earlier for ignoring yellow flags during qualifying.
He is demoted from 18th to 20th on the grid on his debut for his new team. Not the start he was hoping for.
PRE RACE MESSAGE
Again, F1’s pre-race message is confusing. Some drivers standing, some kneeling. Some in t-shirts, some are not.
Lewis Hamilton did take a knee and is wearing a t-shirt saying “Actions Speak Louder Than Words”.
20 MINUTES TO GO
The season opener is close to getting the green light.
Can Max Verstappen continue his form and covert his pole into a win?
Or will Lewis Hamilton bounce back? You cannot rule the seven-time world champion out of this.
Valtteri Bottas starts in P3. Also keep an eye on Charles Leclerc in P4. And for both the McLarens.
GOOD MORNING F1 FANS
Max Verstappen is on pole for the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver was 0.388 of a second faster than defending champion Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton accepts he is not going to have it all his own way this season with the pace of rivals Red Bull.
Hamilton said: “Congratulations to Max. He did such an amazing job, so fast on that last lap.
“I absolutely gave it everything I had, but unfortunately it wasn’t good enough.”
TAKE SOME ‘STAPPEN
Lewis Hamilton knows he is not going to get it all his own way this season after seeing how tough his title defence is going to be.
Max Verstappen took pole in the Bahrain GP with a sensational lap that gave Red Bull their first back-to-back pole positions since 2013.
Lewis Hamilton faces a bigger challenge this seasonCredit: Getty Hamilton said: “Every deficit is difficult to take and it is the first race of the season and Red Bull have the quicker car in Bahrain than us.
“I am proud of how we recovered from the test, that was suboptimal and now the fight is on.
“If we analysed the regulations and say ‘that’s it,’ then we could not be fighters.
“We just need to get that car in its sweet spot so it can combat with our competitors.”
MAX POWER
A reminder of Max Verstappen’s reaction to taking pole position for the opening Grand Prix of the season.
Verstappen held off the challenge of Lewis Hamilton to take first place on the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Sparks were flying in an electrifying qualification from Max VerstappenCredit: Pro Sports Images The Red Bull star said: “We had a good week of testing.
“There are no guarantees but it’s been great so far, really enjoyable to drive.
“With the wind conditions changing, it’s not easy to change the set up of the car but I’m really happy with pole position.
“My first lap in Q3 wasn’t amazing but finally, the balance was there. You have to be careful not to overheat the rear tyres.
“The car has been steady on the short and long runs, we have a good car. We need a good, clean start.”
POLE POSITION
Watch Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton give their reaction to qualifying for the season opener in Bahrain.
Max Verstappen says the whole weekend has been going really well while Lewis Hamilton reacts to starting Bahrain GP in secondON YOUR MARKS
If you listen to most people inside the paddock, there are only small changes to the rulebook for the new season.
This was supposed to be the radical season that F1’s owners, Liberty Media, had hoped would transform the sport.
The new season starts this weekendCredit: Avalon.red But the Covid-19 pandemic and decrease in revenues across the board saw them delay those plans for 2022.
The biggest change to the aerodynamics is to do with the car’s floor.
Essentially these have been reduced in size so there is less surface area to generate downforce.
The introduction of a cost-cap, set at $145million or £106million is an F1 first.
That covers the cost of running the F1 team for a season, but it excludes drivers salaries, the three highest-paid members of staff and marketing costs.
GREEN FLAG
Another reminder of course that the season opener gets underway tomorrow afternoon.
The Bahrain Grand Prix starts at 4pm on Sunday with Max Verstappen on pole for Red Bull.
Max Verstappen is on poleCredit: Getty Will Verstappen be able to hold off world champion Lewis Hamilton and claim victory in the first race of the season?
CHANGING GEARS
IT is just 103 days since the final race of the 2020 season in Abu Dhabi, but over the winter there have been plenty of changes.
A total of 12 drivers have moved to F1, or left, or changed teams, that’s over half of the grid.
Fernando Alonso is back in F1Credit: PA Some of the biggest stories include Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-times world champion Michael, selected for the Haas team.
There is also a return for Fernando Alonso with the two-times world champion back following a two-year break.
How will they get on in tomorrow’s season opener?
NO STOPPING VERSTAPPEN
All the talk coming in this week was about the pace of the Red Bull.
And Max Verstappen certainly backed this up with a dominant performance in qualifying.
Max Verstappen took pole positionCredit: AP The Dutchman was quickest in all three practice sessions and the qualifying sessions as he stormed to pole.
NO SCHU IN
It was a tough introduction for Mick Schumacher as he ended up 19th – ahead of only Haas team-mate Nikita Mazepin.
The German was nearly two seconds off the pace of Q1 leader Verstappen.
It was a tough introduction for Mick SchumacherCredit: Rex HAMILTON REACTS
The world champ will start tomorrow on the front row and just behind Max Verstappen.
He said: “Congratulations to Max. He did such an amazing job, so fast on that last lap.
“I absolutely gave it everything I had, but unfortunately it wasn’t good enough.
“There’s always more, but it was the best I could do, I got everything I could from the car.”
DUTCH COURAGE
Verstappen tells Sky Sports’ David Coulthard: “We had a good week of testing.
“There are no guarantees but it’s been great so far, really enjoyable to drive.
“With the wind conditions changing, it’s not easy to change the set up of the car but I’m really happy with pole position.
“My first lap in Q3 wasn’t amazing but finally, the balance was there. You have to be careful not to overheat the rear tyres.
“The car has been steady on the short and long runs, we have a good car. We need a good, clean start.”
TOP 10
Here is how they finished after Q3 in Bahrain.
A handy .388 of a second advantage for Max Verstappen shows just how fast that Red Bull has been.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
