Piastri Repeats Perfection in Bahrain Pole Performance
After an uneventful race weekend in Suzuka last week, Formula One fans and drivers are in need of some excitement. With the outcome of the Bahrain Grand Prix’s qualifying, though, things could get interesting. This Saturday saw a number two reaching number one, rivals paired together, and a formidable team showing promise to beat the odds. Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s qualifying session.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri is now batting .500. Or, racing .500. The Australian earned his second pole position both of the season and his career in qualifying, after a stunning one-minute 29.841-second lap around Bahrain International Circuit. “In Qualifying the others caught up a little bit closer than what I wanted, but I still delivered the laps when it mattered which was the most important thing, so I’m very, very happy,” Piastri said. His teammate in papaya, Lando Norris, struggled with his car and ended up in sixth place.
Speaking of Norris, he will line up right next to last year’s title rival, and eventual champion, Max Verstappen on Sunday. During the 2024 season, the pair were known to drive aggressively and even get their wheels dirty when they were lined up side by side. This rivalry showed its teeth during last year’s Austrian Grand Prix, where a collision all but ended Norris’s race and brought Verstappen down to fifth. Is the grid in for another nasty battle between the two down in the third row on Sunday? Or have they learned to play nice in the offseason?
Finally, the Mercedes of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli has won the early-season championship, with both drivers putting up consistently impressive performances, and ending in the points. Russell earned a front row spot alongside Piastri, and Antonelli rounded out the second row with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the end of the session. After the session, though, a penalty was given after Mercedes pit wall sent its drivers out too early after a session-pausing crash, dropping Russell to third and Antonelli to fifth. However, because of the W16 consistency thus far, either Mercedes driver has a fair shot at fighting for the win.
