Dutch driver Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won his first F1 World Championship pole this Saturday, leading the way in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, the first of 23 races of the season.
The two-time world champion set his best lap in 129.708 minutes, leaving Mexican Sergio Perez (Red Bull) in second position, 0.138 seconds back. Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) finished third with a time of 0.292 seconds.
The Ferrari driver decided to make only one attempt in the final of the three qualifying rounds, Q3, in order to save a set of soft tires for Sunday’s race.
“In the race we felt some difficulties, but the new tires will help,” explained Leclerc.
Ferrari has struggled with more tire degradation than Red Bull and this could be the deciding factor in the race.
Sergio Pérez admitted that the “balance of the car” was not the best, but the team’s priority was the best settings for the race.
“It was a very tight qualification. I didn’t quite like the balance of the car. We have another car for Sunday. [de corrida]”, he explained at the end.
Max Verstappen, who won the 20th pole of his career and on the 51st birthday of his father, former driver Jos Verstappen, was “surprised” to be the fastest in the session.
“It was a tough weekend, but luckily we managed to put it all together in qualifying. Compared to last year, everyone knows better what to do with the car. Everyone is improving their performance,” said Verstappen.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) finished fourth with a time of 0.446 seconds, soon followed by compatriot Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), who was 0.628 seconds behind the fastest.
Mercedes, which managed to solve the shaking problems that plagued its single-seater last year, found itself outpacing Aston Martin in terms of performance.
Britain’s George Russell was sixth with a time of 0.632 seconds, followed by teammate and compatriot Lewis Hamilton with a time of 0.676 seconds.
Another Aston Martin, owned by Canadian Lance Stroll, came in eighth, confirming that there are four teams in the running to compete for the top spots in the race.
France’s Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) rounded out the top ten fastest.
The qualification was also marked with a red flag [interrupção da sessão]due to broken parts on the ground of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
The Bahrain Grand Prix is the first race of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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