Piastri takes Bahrain pole while Norris settles for sixth

Oscar Piastri claimed a stunning pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix, while Mercedes drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli were each handed one-place grid penalties hours after qualifying.

Q1

Red Bull faced immediate pressure with Max Verstappen running wide at the final corner while reporting "something really wrong with the car."

Despite his concerns, the Dutchman advanced in third behind session leader Lando Norris.

Williams' Alex Albon suffered a surprising elimination, joined by Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll, and Oliver Bearman.

Q2

Q2 began dramatically with a red flag after Haas driver Esteban Ocon crashed exiting Turn 2.

The Frenchman lost control when his car crossed the exit kerbs, spinning into the wall.

Following the interruption, Piastri led teammate Norris by a tenth, while Alpine's Pierre Gasly impressed with third.

Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda barely scraped through in ninth and tenth, as Doohan, Hadjar, Hulkenberg, and Alonso were eliminated.

Q3

Verstappen struggled with brake issues while Piastri set the early pace.

Mercedes drivers Russell and Antonelli briefly held provisional pole on their final runs, but Piastri stormed back to secure his second career pole position.

Charles Leclerc qualified third, followed by Antonelli, Gasly, Norris, and Verstappen.

Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, and Tsunoda completed the top ten.

Mercedes Penalties

Hours after qualifying, stewards penalized both Mercedes drivers for entering the pitlane before race control announced a restart time during the Q2 red flag.

The one-place grid drops promote Leclerc to the front row beside Piastri, while Gasly moves up to fourth ahead of Antonelli.

McLaren's pace confirms their favorite status, while Red Bull's disappointing qualifying session leaves Verstappen with significant ground to make up in Sunday's race.