In the first qualifying session of the 2023 season, a familiar Dutch face took the pole at Bahrain, and the two-time World Champion will be at the front of the grid.

Q1

Surprisingly Alpine’s new driver Pierre Gasly will start at the back of the grid while his teammate Esteban Ocon will start ninth. Gasly will have to make his way through the field to score points possibly, but the new season looks like a rough start for the French driver. Another surprise was Williams rookie Logan Sargeant showing pace and qualifying 16th after struggling in practice to start the weekend.

Q2

The second qualifying session ended Lando Norris’s day as McLaren’s fears of struggling to start the new season are becoming true, with Norris starting 11th and rookie Oscar Piastri in 18th. Alfa Romeo drivers were eliminated but have shown pace to finish above bottom-tier teams. So it’s very much in the realm of possibility that Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu can score points for Alfa Romeo in Sunday’s race.

Q3

After struggling in practice, Red Bull Racing locked out the front row with Max Verstappen setting a 1:29.708 lap time to start on the pole in Bahrain. His teammate Sergio Perez was a tenth behind and will begin in second on Sunday, with both Ferraris starting behind the 2022 Constructor World Champions. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc looked to be on the pole but wouldn’t attempt another lap because of a race strategy to save soft compound tires. Leclerc will be the main competitor against Red Bull Racing for Sunday’s race and must get ahead of Perez in the first lap to have a chance at Verstappen. Behind Ferrari, Fernando Alonso will start fifth after setting the fastest lap in FP2 and FP3. Alonso’s revival has been the story of the sport this past week as Aston Martin is on pace to be in striking distance of being in the top three of teams. His teammate Lance Stroll will start eighth as the Candian has dealt with wrist pain after injuring his wrists in the offseason and missing pre-season testing.

Race Day Preview

Verstappen will be the driver to beat and will have help from Perez defending his lead from the start of the race. Besides Red Bull Racing and Ferrari fighting for the race win, Aston Martin and Mercedes will fight to claim the most points, with either team hoping to start the season in the top three. The rest of the field looks like a tight battle, with Alfa Romeo having the most balanced set of drivers as other teams have their drivers starting far apart.