Normal service was ultimately resumed for Verstappen
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Max Verstappen will start the Bahrain Grand Prix on pole, after topping the first qualifying session of the new F1 season.
He will be alongside his team-mate Sergio Perez on the grid, as both Red Bulls finished the session virtually unchallenged.
Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso had looked to be possible challengers for pole but both made only one run in the final stage, apparently saving tyres for the race.
Verestappen and Perez did go out for a second fast lap, the Dutchman securing pole with a time 0.8sec quicker than last year’s pole.
Alonso’s one Q3 run was good enough for fifth
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Leclerc finished 0.3sec behind Verstappen and will start alongside Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz, just ahead of fifth-placed Alonso, 0.6sec behind the polesitter.
Aston Martin confirmed the suspicions of testing and practice sessions, breaking in to the top three teams and sandwiching both Mercedes on the grid, with the team and rivals expecting its race pace to be strong.
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“The strength of the car has been long runs with very low [tyre] degradation,” Alonso told Sky. “Tomorrow, starting P5, we aim to fight for a podium.”
The double world champion declared himself “extremely happy” at the outcome, saying that he thought it would take all season for Aston Martin to reach this point and that pole was too optimistic.
Mercedes was happier with its performance after it struggled in practice, George Russell — sixth on the grid ahead of Lewis Hamilton — said the changes for qualifying had “exceeded expectations” and that the car was nice to drive.
Esteban Ocon was ninth and Nico Hülkenberg rounded out the top ten on his return to Formula 1.
“I was positively surprised being on pole after the troubles we had in practice,” said Verstappen.
Missing fairing – seen on front right wheel of Leclerc – caused early red flag
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He may be confident of building a lead in tomorrow’s race if Leclerc is to be believed: the Ferrari driver is apprehensive over race pace, saying practice runs suggested Red Bull had an advantage.
He revealed that he had traded the chance of a better grid slot for fresher tyres by getting out of his car early and missing the chance for a final run. “There wasn’t any issue,” said Leclerc. “I think we were in the fight for pole, which was a good surprise. We managed to find that pace for the quali lap.”
His session ended more positively than it started: bodywork falling off the front wing of Leclerc’s Ferrari caused an early red flag to retrieve the carbon fibre fragments.
Norris was knocked out in Q2 after coming in 11th-fastest
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McLaren played no part in the final shootout, after Oscar Piastri was knocked out in Q1 of his first F1 qualifying session and Lando Norris was pushed out of the top ten in the final seconds of Q2.
In truth, he was fortunate to make it to the second stage of the session after Logan Sargeant matched his Q1 time. The Williams rookie was the fastest to be eliminated, classified behind Norris having set his time after the McLaren driver.
Team-mate Alex Albon exited in Q2 after damage sent his handling awry. He was joined by both Alfa Romeos and Yuki Tsunoda.
Sargeant was unlucky to knocked out in Q1 after setting exact same time as Norris
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None of the three F1 rookies made it out of Q1 in a tight session where no driver was more than 1.2sec off the fastest time set by Sainz.
Nyck de Vries joined Piastri and Sargeant in the elimination zone, along with Pierre Gasly and Kevin Magnussen.
Dodging elimination in both Q1 and Q2 was Lance Stroll whose wrist injury had affected him in practice. His lap time was cancelled for exceeding track limits in the first stage, then he missed the weighbridge in the second and had to be wheeled back down the pitlane, costing valuable time.
He was the final driver on track in Q2, but was fast enough to move into the top 10 and knock Norris out. Eighth place on the grid will give him an opportunity to explore just how much pace the Aston Martin has.
Verstappen laid down an early marker in Q2
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| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1min 29.078sec |
| 2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1min 29.846sec |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1min 30.000sec |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1min 30.154ec |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1min 30.336sec |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1min 30.340sec |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1min 30.384sec |
| 8 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1min 30.836sec |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1min 30.984sec |
| 10 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas | no Q3 time set |
| Q2 times | |||
| 11 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1min 31.381sec |
| 12 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1min 31.443sec |
| 13 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 1min 31.473sec |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1min 32.510sec |
| 15 | Alex Albon | Williams | no Q2 time set |
| Q1 times | |||
| 16 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 1min 31.652sec |
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1min 31.892sec |
| 18 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1min 32.101sec |
| 19 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri | 1min 32.121sec |
| 20 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1min 32.181sec |
