After Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso paced two of the three practice sessions, Red Bull fought back in qualifying as reigning world champion Verstappen led a 1-2 ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez.
Alonso dropped to fifth in Q3 of qualifying, falling behind both Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, while the Monegasque driver opted against a final run to preserve a set of soft tyres for the race.
That left the Red Bulls a clean run at locking out the front row, while the team expects its race pace to be stronger than its qualifying efforts.
A delighted Alonso still believes a podium is possible after outqualifying both Mercedes drivers, as George Russell took sixth and Lewis Hamilton seventh to mark a disappointing start to the season for the German manufacturer.
Lance Stroll battled through an injured wrist to claim eighth in qualifying for Aston Martin, ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, as F1 returnee Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) rounded out the top 10 having had his sole flying lap in Q3 deleted for exceeding track limits.
When is the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix?
Date: Sunday 5th March 2023
Start time: 3:00pm GMT, 6:00pm local time
The 1st round of the 2023 F1 season, the Bahrain GP at the Bahrain International Circuit, gets underway at 6:00pm local time (3:00pm GMT) on Sunday 5th March.
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
How can I watch Formula 1?
In the United Kingdom Formula 1 is broadcast live on Sky Sports, with highlights shown on Channel 4 several hours after the race has finished. Live streaming through NOW is also available in the UK.
Sky Sports F1, which broadcasts the F1 races, can be added as part of the Sky Sports channels which costs £24 a month for new customers. Sky Sports can also be accessed through NOW with a one-off day payment of £11.98p or a month membership of £34.99p per month.
How can I watch the F1 Bahrain GP?
In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports will be live broadcasting the Bahrain GP, with the race shown live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event. Pre-race coverage will be starting at 1:30pm on Sky Sports F1 and 2:00pm on Sky Sports Main Event, ahead of the race start at 3:00pm GMT.
• Channels: Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event
• Start time: 1:30pm GMT on Sky Sports F1, 2:00pm GMT on Sky Sports Main Event, Sunday 5th March 2023
Autosport will be running a live text coverage of the Bahrain GP here.
When can I watch the F1 Bahrain GP highlights?
In the United…
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