Bahrain GP: Lewis Hamilton, untouchable in qualifying for 98 F1 pole position

There is no truce with the new seven-time F1 champion, who claims the tenth pole of the 2020 season; Valtteri Bottas denies Max Verstappen the place in the front row on the last lap; Ferrari suffers a double elimination in Q2; Watch Sunday’s race starting at 2.10pm on Sky Sports F1, with preparation starting at 12.30pm

2:44

LOOK: Karun Chandhok looks at where Lewis Hamilton made the difference in the fight for pole position at the Bahrain GP.

Lewis Hamilton saw the challenge of his rivals to claim pole 98 of his F1 career for his first race as a seven-time world champion at the Bahrain GP.

Hamilton led all three qualifying sessions under the lights of Sakhir and was ultimately untouchable in the decisive phase of Q3 to seal his 10th pole of the year from his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas by 0.289s with a lap of 1: 27.264

Max Verstappen had been Hamilton’s closest challenger until the final laps, but Bottas demoted him to third, 0.414 seconds off pole.

Alex Albon bounced back from his costly accident on Friday to secure a Red Bull second-row lock in an important, albeit distant fourth place, a fraction ahead of Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, who is vying for the Thai driver’s seat.

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Perez was just half a tenth behind Red Bull to win the midfield fight for Racing Point from Renault pairing Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon, who were split by just 0.002s.

However, McLaren suffered a disappointment as, despite his good form in practice, Lando Norris was their leader in ninth place after Carlos Sainz drove off early in Q2 with an apparent technical problem in his car.

0:50

After a good start for McLaren in qualifying, Carlos Sainz is stumbling in Q2, which means he won’t start above 15th tomorrow.

Sainz will start no higher than 15th.

Ferrari locked the front row on F1’s last visit to Bahrain in March 2019 but despite showing recent improvement with the SF1000, the power-sensitive track once again exposed its weaknesses in 2020 and both drivers were left knocked out in Q2.

Britain’s George Russell starred again on Saturday for Williams to reach Q2 for the ninth time this year, the Briton qualified 14th on a day when his teammate Nicholas Latifi was the slowest of all.

0:31

See the final stages of qualifying for the Bahrain GP as Lewis Hamilton claimed another brilliant pole position.

Bahrain GP Top 10
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
3) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
4) Alexander Albon, Red Bull
5) Sergio Pérez, Racing Point
6) Daniel Ricciardo, Renault
7) Esteban Ocon, Renault
8) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
9) Lando Norris, McLaren
10) Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri

Complete classification result

Champion Hamilton shows no mercy

Two weeks after equaling F1’s most prestigious record with his seventh world championship title, Hamilton has shown no truce on the clock over the Bahrain weekend so far.

With more records still on the horizon in the last three races this year, such as matching the scores of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel for the most wins in a single F1 season, Hamilton still has tangible goals to hit.

“I didn’t really celebrate [my seventh title] too much to be honest, “said Hamilton.

“That’s because I was training and keeping my mind and eye on the ball.

“This is a continuation of what we can accomplish as a team, I am still in awe of my guys.”

Verstappen, who had led final practice, was second behind Hamilton in Q2 and then again in the first few races of the pole session, but was unable to generate grip from his soft tires to break Mercedes’ front row.

“My lap was pretty good,” said the Dutchman., he has qualified third nine times in 15 races this year.

“For my taste, I just lack a bit of rear grip in the slower corners. But overall I think it was a decent qualifying. Let’s see how we are doing tomorrow in the race because it is very difficult on the tires.”

“I hope we made the right compromise for that.”