Bahrain GP Qualifying: Charles Leclerc seals first F1 pole as Ferrari dominate
Leclerc three tenths ahead, Vettel just beats Hamilton; Both McLarens in top 10; Gasly struggles for Red Bull; Watch Bahrain GP on Sky F1 on Sunday, lights out at 4.10pm
Monday 1 April 2019 09:13, UK
Charles Leclerc secured his first F1 pole position by leading Ferrari's impressive charge as they held off Mercedes in Bahrain GP qualifying.
Leclerc will start Sunday's race ahead of Sebastian Vettel on the front row after outpacing his team-mate by 0.294 seconds to become the second-youngest pole-sitter in the sport's history.
"Seb is an amazing driver," said Leclerc. "I will learn a lot from him, but today I'm very happy to be in front of him."
Mercedes have been off the pace compared to a resurgent Ferrari all weekend and Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas could only manage third and fourth on the grid respectively.
Full result from Qualifying
Hamilton hopes for Merc fightback
When's the Bahrain GP on Sky F1?
Hamilton, however, was only three-hundredths of a second slower than Vettel.
"Ferrari have been incredibly quick," said the world champion.
"They have shown incredible pace but that doesn't mean they can't be beaten."
After facing a hefty deficit in the season-opener in Melbourne, Ferrari have manufactured a one-second turnaround in Bahrain - a seismic shift and one that potentially hints they are the title favourites for F1 2019.
Max Verstappen scraped into fifth, just ahead of Kevin Magnussen in the Haas, but Pierre Gasly once again failed to deliver his Red Bull into Q3.
In the second qualifying session of the F1 2019 season:
- Ferrari secured their first front-row lockout since Monza last year and Leclerc becomes F1's second-youngest pole-sitter, behind Vettel - who broke record with Toro Rosso in 2008
- Leclerc set a Bahrain track record in his Ferrari but Vettel only had one lap in Q3 and was fortunate to finish just ahead of Hamilton
- McLaren got both cars into Q3 for the first time since the 2017 Malaysia GP
- Romain Grosjean finished eighth but was subsequently demoted three places for blocking Lando Norris in Q1
- Gasly was knocked out in Q2 as he complained about traction. The Frenchman, Red Bull's new recruit, was eliminated in Q1 in the season-opener in Australia
- Nico Hulkenberg, who was looking like a top-six contender, was knocked out in Q1 for Renault as Daniel Ricciardo out-qualified his new team-mate for the first time
McLaren's impressive rebuild continues
Sunday's race is also intriguingly poised in the midfield after another close Saturday shootout, with Haas and McLaren impressively leading the chasing pack.
Magnussen's sixth-placed finish was, by his own admission, the result of one of his best qualifying laps for Haas, who were predicted to dominate the midfield.
McLaren, however, had no such expectations attached, but Carlos Sainz delivered seventh place ahead of Romain Grosjean, which equals the team's highest grid position from 2018.
Grosjean was subsequently handed a three-place grid penalty for blocking British rookie Lando Norris during Q1.
McLaren recovery gathering pace
Norris will therefore start ninth, behind Kimi Raikkonen, who has started the season strongly on his return to Alfa Romeo.
Renault, meanwhile, are trailing their rivals in midfield.
Though Ricciardo pulled a lap out of the bag to finish 11th, ahead of Alex Albon and the man who replaced him at Red Bull, Gasly, Hulkenberg endured a hugely frustrating evening to end up 17th.
Racing Point were also curiously off the pace, while Williams continue to suffer at the start of F1 2019.
George Russell and Robert Kubica's times were almost four seconds slower than the pole time.
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