Qualifying Report - Charles The First

By Dan Knutson in Sakhir

Charles Leclerc won the first pole position of his Formula 1 career as he posted a better lap time than his Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

"Thanks guys, the car was amazing," Leclerc radioed to the Ferrari crew on his cooldown celebration lap. "Tomorrow is the race and it's where we score points, but it's a good beginning."

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes - Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari - Vettel and Leclerc; Red Bull TAG Heuer -Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly; Renault - Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg; Haas Ferrari - Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; McLaren Renault - Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris; Racing Point Mercedes - Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll; Alfa Romeo Ferrari - Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi; Toro Rosso Honda - Daniil Kvyat and Alexander Albon; Williams Mercedes - George Russell and Robert Kubica.

QUALIFYING 1

Ferrari had dominated all three free practice sessions. Vettel clocked the fastest time of all three - a 1:28 846 - in FP2. He had also won the pole for the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix with lap of 1:27.958.

The ambient temperature at the start of the 60-minute qualifying session was 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Centigrade).

Q1 lasted 18 minutes, and just past the midpoint Kvyat was 15th and on the bubble with Stroll 14th and Giovinazzi 16th.

Leclerc was out front at this time, with Vettel second followed by Bottas and Sainz.

With three minutes remaining, Stroll was 15th, Norris 14th and Kvyat 16th. And Hamilton was now up to third place.

In the final two minutes every driver from eighth on down was out on the track. And that track evolved a lot in the final moments with the result that the order changed constantly.

The five drivers who were eliminated at the end of Q1 were: Giovinazzi, Hulkenberg, Stroll, Russell and Kubica.

The fastest 15 drivers who moved on to Q2 were: Leclerc, Vettel, Hamilton, Norris, Bottas, Albon, Sainz, Magnussen, Verstappen, Grosjean, Ricciardo, Kvyat, Perez, Gasly and Raikkonen.

It was a close session with just one second covering third to 18th places.

QUALIFYING 2

After waiting for three minutes, ten drivers headed out on to the track while the remaining five remained in the garages a tad longer.

With ten minutes left in the 15-minute Q2, all 15 drivers were going for it. All, of course, were on the super soft Pirelli slicks.

Bottas took the lead with a 1:28.830, which Hamilton beat with a 1:28.578. Leclerc lopped that down to a 1:28.046.

Vettel could only manage sixth behind Magnussen and Verstappen.

At the end of the first runs, Raikkonen was tenth and on the cut line with Ricciardo 11th and Grosjean ninth.

With about three minutes remaining the drivers started to file out for the final fast laps. Leclerc was confident enough to stay in the garage.

The five drivers who were eliminated at the end of Q2 were: Ricciardo, Albon, Gasly, Perez and Kvyat.

The fastest 10 drivers who moved on to Q3 were: Leclerc, Vettel, Hamilton, Bottas, Magnussen, Sainz, Verstappen, Grosjean, Norris and Grosjean.

QUALIFYING 3

Q3 lasted 12 minutes. Everybody but Vettel and Verstappen soon took to the track.

Bottas set a 1:28.335. Then Hamilton did a 1:28.190. But next Leclerc crossed the line at 1:27.958.

Magnussen, Sainz, Grosjean, Norris and Raikkonen rounded out the top six with six minutes remaining. Vettel and Verstappen had yet to appear as they each had only one set of new tires available.

Soon thereafter all ten drivers were in the garages. The action restarted with three minutes to go.

Vettel posted a 1:28.160, good enough for second but not good enough to the pole from Leclerc who got down to 1:27.866.

Hamilton's 1:28.190 put him third ahead of Bottas. Then came Verstappen, Magnussen, Sainz, Grosjean, Raikkonen and Norris.