The track ramped up, the soft-shod runners swept ahead and that left Perez tumbling down the order and out of the top 10 on his qualifying debut for Red Bull. Alpine's new Racing Director Davide Brivio on why he left MotoGP success for a new challenge in F1, ‘It’s physically not possible’ – Mercedes rule out shift to Red Bull 'high rake' philosophy this season, WATCH: As Jacques Villeneuve turns 50, we remember his top 10 moments of brilliance in F1, Leclerc takes delivery of 2019 Italian GP-winning Ferrari ahead of Imola race. There’s a mix of cars around us, so I’m looking forward to that, and with Lando alongside hopefully we can get some big points for the team and start the year right.”, “Tricky qualifying, just because it’s very close between everyone. 3 days ago. The pedal just went long, it’s something we need to look into. formula 1 gulf air bahrain grand prix 2021 26 Mar 2021 - 28 Mar 2021 Rolex, Formula 1 official timepiece P2 puts us in a position to cause Red Bull trouble tomorrow. BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: Mick Schumacher of Germany and Haas during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. There was a yellow flag at turn one and one later in the lap too. Q1 Throughout qualifying I was feeling more and more comfortable. Our focus is now all on tomorrow: it will be tricky, especially with the wind, but we can bring home a good result. F1 Bahrain GP 2021Qualifying race live stream will be available at F1 TV worldwide, Hotstar in India, In Asia it will be Fox+. We got everything done that we wanted to do – it was difficult circumstances with the heat, but the guys did a good job. The Red Bull driver will start from P1 for the first time in Bahrain. Mr Saturday was at it again, Russell not just out-qualifying his team mate once again but also making it to Q2. It’s unfortunate as there was pace for a lot more today. Sakhir, Bahrain. The sample of one provided by the Bahrain Grand Prix certainly suggests so. Last modified on Fri 9 Apr 2021 11.45 EDT Formula One is expected to soon confirm it will adopt three sprint qualifying races this season as a test for the format. Red Bull seem to have more stability, particularly in the wind. We knew that the tyres would behave differently in the cooler conditions of the evening and we were also conscious of the big change in wind direction. Today helps us confirm the positive feeling we had after testing: we have improved compared to last year and we feel we can have a lot more fun this season. Browse through 2021 Formula 1 Bahrain GP results, statistics, rankings and championship standings. Both drivers looked good in Q1, but found themselves on the cusp of the top 10 in Q2 after opting to boldly run the medium compound tyres. ", Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, "We are very excited to have a real fight on our hands. I’m obviously not happy with my last attempt in Q3. In the UK the live streaming will be available at All 4 & Sky Sports. It was the 64th pole for the Red Bull Racing team. Race: 0:00 - 2:00 JST; 2021 Formula 1 Bahrain … We even got really close to the top 10 and to miss out on Q3 for less than a tenth really shows the progress we have made compared to last year. Hopefully that won’t happen tomorrow. The new Formula 2 format, with two races today, were also interesting. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images). "I think it is fair to say the result today is disappointing and not what we wanted. ROUND 1: Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit Length: 5.412 km (3.363 mi) Distance: 57 laps, 308.238 km (191.530 mi) Lap … We have proven that our optimism after testing was well-founded and that we can be a lot more competitive this season. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 1, Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir, Bahrain, Qualifying Day. Sergio was unfortunate to just miss out on making it through to Q3. I went wide at Turn 13 and lost a couple of tenths and the field is so tight that it knocked me out of Q3. We were absolutely right to use the medium tyres in Q2 but unfortunately it just didn’t pay off and I didn’t deliver the lap I should have. In Q3, our tyre strategy meant Lance was only able to run once, but 10th on the grid leaves him well placed for tomorrow and he will be in the hunt for points. But starting from third at this track isn't bad so I'm looking forward to it. After topping FP3, it really did seem Verstappen’s qualifying to lose and so it proved, the Dutchman laying down a mighty final lap to grab his fourth career pole by a huge four tenths of a second. save. hide. Just at the end I couldn't get any more from it but still, it was exciting. ", Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director, "It's disappointing at the first race to be looking at a 0.4s gap to pole but at least we know the performance we need to find going forward. After the victory in Abu Dhabi the whole Team has been pushing really hard and even more motivated. But in the final year of these regulations you need to push the needle further to not only beat Red Bull but also some of the other teams. Our long runs have been good so far, both in testing and free practice, so we’re going into the race confident in our ability to compete for good points.”, BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren F1 Team MCL35M Mercedes on track during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. It was not the only standout moment during qualifying as RacingNews365.com gives you the details of what we can take away from Satuday's running in Sakhir. “I’m really pleased with my performance today, it’s one of my best qualifying positions I’ve had with the team. However, it was bad luck for Esteban to not make it further than Q1 with a yellow flag hindering his second run. By Michael Lamonato March 27, 2021 9:32 AM. The plan for tomorrow is to attack and score points. There is still no guarantee for the rest of the year but everyone here and back at the factory have done a great job to give me a car like this and they should be very proud. We have to finish it off tomorrow but if I can have a good start I’m confident we can do a good job.”, “Congratulations to Max and the Team on pole position as that’s the perfect way to start the season. RACE CENTRE: Bahrain Grand Prix, qualifying, live timings. Tomorrow, we still target points. Coming out for their final laps, the team made the even braver decision to go again on the mediums. He’s only had 1.5 days of testing and everything is very new for him in terms of how the car feels, but he will be competitive in the race tomorrow and should not be counted out. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen scored his 4th F1 pole position of his career, during the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying session today. Starting on old soft tyres though, he’s going to have a tough time of it tomorrow to keep the Red Bull of Perez behind from the off. “I enjoyed the experience a lot. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images), BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: The Red Bull Racing team celebrate the pole position of Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. 752 shares. Sadly, the form of their new driver remains just that, Vettel’s flying lap in Q1 ruined by yellow flags. Formula One Calendar for 2021 season with all F1 grand prix races, practice & qualifying sessions. Today, we saw the first fruits of this work and we hope to see more tomorrow, when the points are given out. F2 Replay Race ", Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Mercedes AMG F1 in qualifying parc ferme. Obviously, the temperature had dropped down and the wind had turned around, and these Formula 1 cars are very wind-affected. We’ll need to see how the weather is tomorrow, do our best and see what we can get out of the race. 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix - Post Qualifying Discussion. The latest Formula 1 news and news from other motorsport series you will find on RacingNews365.com, the world’s leading independent F1 website bringing daily news from the world of F1, as well as the top drivers including world champion Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo or youngsters like Lando Norris and George Russell.. ", "Today was a lot better than testing. It was the 64th pole for the Red Bull Racing team. "I feel confident for tomorrow but it’s going to be difficult as other cars around us seem to be very strong in terms of race pace and are starting on mediums, so it’s going to be tricky to keep them behind. I had an issue with my brake-by-wire and I locked-up on the rears at Turn 1. "That performance was the absolute maximum today and I am really happy. Only using the medium tyre in Q2 was a huge risk, but we managed to make it work, and hopefully we can use this to our advantage tomorrow in the race. THE 2021 Formula 1 season is UNDER WAY and Lewis Hamilton has dealt the first blow with victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix. For the first race of the year it’s important for us to show some good potential for the season ahead and I think we’ve managed to do that today. You are such a boss! Tomorrow is going to be very tight and Mercedes have turned it up, everyone wrote them off two weeks ago and they’re right up there as we expected. Tomorrow is race day and we’ll try to push even more. (Photo by Clive Mason - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images), BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: Lance Stroll of Canada and Aston Martin F1 Team walks in the Paddock before final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. 752 shares. There’s still plenty to look for but this was always going to be difficult coming into qualifying.”, “We were pretty happy with our performance earlier in FP3. However, there are a number of options and the cooler temperatures expected tomorrow might mix up the strategies even more. That’s when on his third attempt he spun – his rear brakes locked up. With Raikkonen just behind, those two could still mount a challenge for the points tomorrow. Close. Follow your favorite team and driver's progress with daily updates Dropping behind a Ferrari and an AlphaTauri wasn’t part of the plan, but it is a solid enough opening for the team as they seek a good start to their defence of third in the constructors’ championship tomorrow. It wasn’t something I expected, and I hadn’t had it happen before driving in the test here or in practice. I’ve been improving throughout the sessions, with good pace and very few mistakes so I want to keep gaining experience with the car and building confidence on a one-timed lap. An F1 track guide to the Bahrain International circuit at Sakhir, the home of the 2021 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix. report. "We know now where we are in terms of qualy pace and it’s a pleasant surprise, as we didn’t expect to be here, but today we need to keep our feet on the ground. Download or subscribe. New to Kayo? That meant the German departed at the first time of asking, but Stroll at last saved the team’s blushes by making Q3. We have two cars in the top three so we can definitely still fight for the win. F1 spoiler. Overtaking is possible here so we will try our best to use strategy to help Sebastian fight his way through the field tomorrow.”, BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Aston Martin AMR21 Mercedes on track during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. Now we have to focus on preparing for what will be a long and difficult race, run in conditions that could be very different to those we have seen so far this weekend.”, BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Scuderia Ferrari SF21 on track during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. Qualifying: 2:00 - 3:00 AEDT; Monday 29th March 2021. Log in or sign up to leave a comment Log In Sign Up. On my side I wasn’t expecting to qualify in eleventh and obviously it’s not an ideal start but we are making progress and I made a good step between FP3 and qualifying, it just wasn’t enough. The 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2021) was a Formula One race which was held on 28 March 2021, and served as the season opener of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Six different teams in the top 10 today and it's clear that simply being "good" will not be good enough this year. best. The car had felt good coming from FP3 and the communication with the team was really good. Free Practice 1: 20:30 - 21:30 JST ; Saturday 27th March 2021. My first lap in Q1 had quite a bit of margin for improvement, but on my second run there were two yellow flags, which made it impossible to progress to Q2. I’ll analyse the data tonight with my engineers, ahead of the race tomorrow, as I am continuing to learn from every lap that I complete. In United Stated the live streaming will be available at Watch ESPN & Univision Now. Qualifying: 0:00 - 1:00 JST; Race: 20:30 - 22:30 JST; Monday 29th March 2021. Qualifying takes place during cooler track conditions here in Bahrain, but both cars performed well in Q1. I am really pleased we managed to put a clean lap together, get the most out of it and sneak into Q2. It was really exciting to drive these cars again with low fuel and peak performance from the tyres. pin. It's just what the doctor ordered! The latest Formula 1 news and news from other motorsport series you will find on RacingNews365.com, the world’s leading independent F1 website bringing daily news from the world of F1, as well as the top drivers including world champion Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo or youngsters like Lando Norris and George Russell.. We need to keep fine tuning our package to be able to be consistently in the top ten and regularly fight for points, but we have definitely made some big moves in the right direction.”, BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: Kimi Raikkonen of Finland driving the (7) Alfa Romeo Racing C41 Ferrari during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. Qualifying: 0:00 - 1:00 JST; Race: 20:30 - 22:30 JST; Monday 29th March 2021. It’s going to be a tough, long race but we need to capitalise where we can and not make any mistakes. You can also find broadcast information, with details of how and where you can watch the race on TV, or download the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix schedule to your mobile device. pin. Nonetheless, there were several teams that felt the medium tyre was the best option to start the race on tomorrow: four of the top 10 will start the race on the yellow medium C3 compound, including the top three, and this will give them more strategic options. Unfortunately, the yellow flag meant I had to lift off through sector two and I lost quite a lot of lap time as a result. ", BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Williams Racing FW43B Mercedes on track during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen scored his 4th F1 pole position of his career, during the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying session today. Check the Formula 1 2021 calendar for an … Click to see spoiler. Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to the first pole position of the new Formula 1 season, as the Red Bull driver topped 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying by over 0.3s. "George completed an excellent lap and, with some drivers missing out due to the yellows, he set a time quick enough for a place in Q2. The weekend is not over.”, “We have mixed emotions after today’s qualifying with Fernando in ninth and Esteban in 16th. There are still lots of positives to take-away from today – it was my first Formula 1 qualifying session and I’m feeling confident in the car. The AMR21 felt good, but we have got plenty of work ahead to keep improving and to try and push back towards the top end of Q3. 2 days ago. tweet. The teams are understood to … After a lacklustre FP3 which saw both drivers down the order, qualifying was a much better show from the Woking-based team. (Photo by Mario Renzi - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images), BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 on track during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain.