00:00After 97 long days, it is finally time.
00:04This is Formula One qualifying.
00:07With 20 of the best drivers in the world,
00:10under the floodlights of Bahrain International Circuit,
00:13we meet again for the first qualifying session of the season.
00:18Now let's work out who we're going to see in the second part of qualifying.
00:22On board we go with Yuki Tsunoda, currently 17th,
00:25needs an improvement, finds an improvement.
00:28But remember, he's the first one to take the chequered flag,
00:30so others will have a chance to respond,
00:32starting with his teammate Daniel Ricciardo, gets himself up to 11th.
00:37Logan Sargent finds himself in the drop zone,
00:39so does Lewis Hamilton, who needs a lap, but he's on an improvement.
00:44Stroll goes to second place, that was tidy when he needed it most.
00:48Lewis Hamilton, 18th position, not what he wants at all,
00:52needs a lap to answer it, here it comes,
00:54and he moves himself up to 10th place, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda.
00:58He will breathe again.
01:00What about Ocon? What about Gasly?
01:02It is a tale of woe for the French manufacturer at the moment.
01:05Two race-winning Grand Prix drivers.
01:08The drivers aren't in question,
01:10but they are trying to hustle a car around the circuit
01:13that does not have the performance.
01:15Ocon improves his lap time, not his position.
01:17Gasly's only fighting his teammate.
01:19It's a sorry state of affairs for Alpine.
01:22Here's the French Grand Prix winner over the line.
01:24He too improves his time and not his position.
01:27And for the second year in a row,
01:29Pierre Gasly will start the season from P20.
01:34Out in the first part of qualifying.
01:36Two Salbers, Bottas ahead of Joe, Logan Sargent and two Alpines.
01:41Ocon ahead of Gasly.
01:44And once again, the requirement to take a step forward under pressure
01:49is going to separate those who exit
01:51and those who advance to the top 10 shootout.
01:53Piastri has gone up to sixth place.
01:55Where can Alexander Albon go?
01:57He'll go into eighth.
01:58A good effort, but it will leave him vulnerable.
02:01Monster lap from Nico Hülkenberg.
02:04Yeah, phenomenal lap time from Hülkenberg.
02:06He's second.
02:06He's second in the order.
02:08Over the line goes Stroll.
02:09He goes to eighth.
02:10Albon down to ninth.
02:11Hamilton at risk in 10th position.
02:13Here's a driver who could knock Hamilton out for a second.
02:15It's Daniel Ricciardo who does so.
02:17Daniel Ricciardo to 10th position.
02:19He's beaten Hamilton by eight hundredths of a second.
02:22Sainz is currently in 12th, but he's got the fastest middle sector.
02:25He's got the second fastest time now.
02:27He's behind only Verstappen.
02:29And now it's Ricciardo in the drop zone along with Hamilton,
02:32Magnussen and the second Mercedes of Russell.
02:34Tsunoda with a good lap time to get up to eighth position.
02:38And the Japanese driver will be the lead RB on the grid.
02:42Charles Leclerc is in sixth, now seventh, because Alonso has gone up to third.
02:46Mercedes need a couple of laps.
02:48They're both out there and they're both finding a bit of pace.
02:51Hamilton 13th and Russell 15th.
02:53They were so late out.
02:54They're only halfway through this lap.
02:55That's the fastest time from Charles Leclerc and the crowd enjoyed that one.
02:59Getting a roar from the grandstand.
03:01Hamilton's had loads of traffic.
03:02They've both had to deal with slowing down cars as well.
03:04Russell sliding, coming out of the final corner.
03:06Russell to the flag, needs an improvement.
03:09Currently in 15th, George Russell comes over the line and goes to sixth.
03:13That was a great final sector when he really needed it.
03:16Stroll is eliminated.
03:18Hamilton currently 14th.
03:19Hamilton finds his way to fourth to knock out Yuki Tsunoda at the end.
03:24Tsunoda out by seven thousandths of a second.
03:29Tsunoda, Stroll, Albon, Ricciardo and Magnussen go out in the second part of qualifying
03:35and progression or the exit separated by seven thousandths of a second.
03:42His first effort in qualifying Q3 is complete.
03:47This is what it looks like when you come across the line and it is a 1.29.6
03:52to marginally go ahead of Norris, then Hülkenberg, Verstappen.
03:56Fastest in the first sector, personal best in the middle
03:59and he goes ahead of George Russell by less than two tenths of a second.
04:02Yeah, that's within Hamilton striking distance.
04:05So if Hamilton's able to get his lap together, as we're about to find out...
04:10Goes up to fourth behind Norris, behind his teammate, behind his old rival Max Verstappen.
04:16Sergio Perez to fourth position ahead of Hamilton.
04:20But behind Norris and Russell, we await the two Scarlett Ferraris.
04:26This is the man who is top of FP3.
04:28The final practice session before this moment.
04:31Can Sainz get himself to the front row?
04:33The answer is no.
04:34And now we've got a question with Charles Leclerc.
04:37Can he follow up? Can he put the pressure on?
04:41The answer is second place.
04:44It's Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell, Sainz and Norris.
04:47The world champions on top by a fine margin of 0.59 of a second by 0.05 of a
04:54second.
04:54It's super close once again in Formula One qualifying.
05:00In 2005, he was at the front of the field for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
05:04But he's off in the first sector.
05:06The middle sector, though, is absolutely mighty.
05:11And that was with, on this lap, he missed the apex of eight.
05:14He wasn't on the limit at four.
05:16In the middle part of the lap, where the driver makes the difference, Fernando on fire.
05:20Yeah, the matador is showing that he's still got the fight in him.
05:25It's still a couple of times shy of the best middle sector of qualifying so far.
05:29But a brilliant lap.
05:30What a superb performance to run in the gap.
05:33Fernando Alonso gets to third position.
05:38Verstappen has done a 28.5 in the first sector.
05:41Charles Leclerc at 28.7.
05:43And both Mercedes, 28.8.
05:45So now looking like Mercedes are going to challenge for the front row,
05:49assuming the others complete their laps.
05:53Well, unless they make a big step forward.
05:55Does seem to be that middle sector.
05:57A number of drivers are finding a big step forward.
06:00Alonso did it.
06:01We had Landon Norris do it.
06:04It's a checker flags out.
06:05George Russell across the line.
06:06Great final sector.
06:07And he needed it to go up to third position.
06:10Here is Lewis Hamilton across the line.
06:12He's only up to eighth.
06:13He couldn't find the pace of his teammate.
06:15And he will be the second Mercedes on the grid tomorrow.
06:18Max Verstappen looking good across the line.
06:21Lowering the benchmark.
06:23It's a 1.29.1 for Max Verstappen,
06:26who has just thrown down the gauntlet and said,
06:28you need to find an improvement of three tenths of a second.
06:31If you're going to deny me the opening pole position of the year,
06:35across the line comes Charles Leclerc.
06:37He can't find it despite an improvement of time.
06:40And it's all down to Sainz and Perez now.
06:44Sainz improves to fourth place.
06:47Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell and Sainz.
06:50Perez will try and get to the front row.
06:52It's fifth place for the Mexican driver across the line.
06:56And after a great battle,
06:58when the wick was turned up,
07:00when it was all decided,
07:02the world champion steps forward once again.
07:05Max Verstappen takes pole position number 33 in his career.
07:10And he will start Formula One in 2024
07:13from the front of the field.
07:15For car number one, Max Verstappen picking up where he left off.
07:20He remains the driver to beat.
07:22And he has the clearest view at the start of the season tomorrow
07:25for the first Grand Prix of the year.
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