SAKHIR, Bahrain — Three-time reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen will start in pole position Saturday at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix after clinching the top spot Friday during qualifying.
The 26-year-old Dutch driver for Red Bull was fastest by .228 second over Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. George Russell was third for Mercedes, while Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari was fourth. The second Red Bull car, driven by Sergio Perez, qualified fifth.
“I think in the race it’s going to be close as well. We do look good in the race, and that’s of course the most important, but we’ll see,” Verstappen said. “I’m confident we can have a strong race.”
Verstappen won 19 of 22 races last year — Perez won twice — but the relatively close qualifying times indicated other teams may have closed the gap on Red Bull, which begins the season with its team boss under scrutiny. Leclerc set a time in the second of the three qualifying sessions that turned out to be faster than Verstappen’s eventual time for pole in the third session.
“I’m confident we did a step forward, but we have to wait and see tomorrow how much of a step forward we did. We think that Red Bull is still ahead by quite a bit in the race,” Leclerc said.