Oscar Piastri was implacable, stayed with the pole in Bahrain and left behind Norris and Verstappen

Oscar Plastri knows that he did not start as a favorite in McLarenbut at 24 it is encouraged to claim its place by force of great results in the Formula 1. The winner of the China GP was relentless in the classification of the Bahrain GP, ​​fourth date of the season, took advantage of a low performance of his partner Lando Norriswhich ended sixth, and stayed with the pole with 168 thousandths of advantage over George Russell.

“All many more than I would have wanted to have approached.”Pastri remarked about the outcome of a classification that left Charles Leclerc With the Ferrari already Some Antonelli With the other Mercedes in the second row, while Pierre Gasly confirmed a large Alpine comeback from fifth place.

With a track that took the ideal temperature and at night, the classification began with few cars: just Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, the men of Aston Martin. And it was not until six minutes had passed that the McLaren, great candidates to dominate the practices, left the boxes.

The first inconvenience arose with the maximum aspiring to ruin that desire to pole the pilots of the British team. Max Verstappen blocked at the close of his first round launchedwhich made him quickly return to boxes to remove the rear rubber and observe in depth what was the problem that the pilot manifested, which on the radio told Piero Lambiasto that “There is something that is really bad with the car”.

While Red Bull did not have a good time Because his pilots were the only ones without times -to Yuki Tsunoda erased his for going outside in the last sector -, Jack Doohan surprised the world by first putting on the classifierwith a record of 1M31S919, three tenths faster than his partner Pierre Gasly.

Yes ok Lewis Hamilton In the Ferrari he could not improve it either and was 43 thousandths of the Australian, Charles Leclerc (1m31s454), Oscar Piestri (1m31s392) and Lando Norris were lowering the times (1m31s107, eight tenths better than Doohan’s), long before the last exit to the track, in which they were verses and tsunoda. Turn to advance to Q2 and the first five eliminated were defined.

With Monegasco as the only luxury spectator of the outcome of Q1, when staying in the Ferrari garage, Bortoleto (Sauber) and Ollie Bearman. The New Zealander who in the first two races was a companion of Verstappen in Red Bull he learned that he had a failure in the DRS in his fast return, that he closed and made him waste so much time that there was seven positions behind that Isack Hadjar with the same car.

The great satisfaction, on the other hand, had Alpine, the only team that still did not add points in the championship, and especially for Doohan, who ended up in front of his fellow Gasly, When 307 and 355 thousandths, respectively, of the Norris Registry, after the disappointing actions in the Classifications of China (18 °) and Japan (19 °).

The former Escudería pilot Esteban Ocon He was the protagonist at the beginning of the Q2 of the strong accident of the day. They went four minutes when the session stopped, because the Frenchman who now runs with Haas climbed into the piano In curve 3 and impacted fully with the back of the car, destroying it. “I’m fine, I’m very sorry”he apologized after spending long moments inside the car until the FIA ​​doctor arrived.

When the activity resumed, meanwhile, McLaren raised the fight between his pilots. Although Kimi Antonelli put with the Mercedes the best partial at the beginning (1M31S178), Norris First (1m30s560) and Piestri later (1m30s454) marked the reference timesnot even the new red rubber could go down.

In fact, Verstappen, who had given before a preparation return that he did not complete, was ninth with a record of 1m31s019 and his partner Tsunoda put the other Red Bull in Q3 for the first time this year but was saved from the elimination for 17 thousandthsthose that separated him from Doohan, which was eliminated in the 11th place in which it was his best performance, although half a second from Gasly, which advanced to the Q3 with a time that put it only 189 thousandths of Piastri, who did not need to leave the box.

When it seemed that pole would be a hand -to -hand fight between Piastri and Norris, a problem in curve 1 while starting his last round thrown – a wheel was turning – he took that possibility that possibility to the British, British, that ended sixth, even behind Gaslywho cling with joy to a unthinkable fifth with Alpine after working until the morning in the circuit in tune with what Franco Colapinto did in the Estone simulator, the basis of operations of the French team.

The pole, then, went to the hands of the Australian of McLarenthat with the best time of the weekend and new record of the circuit after 20 years of validity of a brand of Pedro de la Rosa (1m29s841) He took 168 thousandths to his partner in the first row this Sunday, George Russell, and 334 and 372 respectively to Leclen and Antonelli, who will leave from the second row.

“After today’s performance I don’t have much hope but the car is good, it gives me confidence and I know I can improve”Norris said after finishing sixth, just ahead of Verstappen, in the distant seventh place and three positions ahead of his new companion of Red Bull, Tsunoda, which ended after Sainz and Hamilton.

Precisely, the English heptacampeón was another of those who was hopeless when passing through the press corralito in the Sakhir circuit. “It has been one of my worst days. Right now I don’t feel hopeful. But you will have to find out how to overcome. Until now I’m failing the team“said the pilot with whom the Tifosi had renewed the hope of seeing Ferrari champion in the F1 after 17 years of that last builders title.