Sergio Pérez took second place on Saturday for the starting grid of the Bahrain Grand Prix in the start of the 2023 Formula 1 season, earning a 1-2 for Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen's pole position.
The Mexican driver came close to taking the first position from his teammate in the Austrian team, after competing hand in hand in Q3, but in the end, the Dutchman showed better pace in the qualifying session.
Verstappen, 25, achieved the 22nd pole of his career in the Grand Circus, covering the 5.412 meters of the circuit outside Manama in one minute, 30 seconds, and 282 milliseconds, 221 less than his teammate, Checo Pérez, who will start alongside him from the front row.
The Ferrari drivers took the second row. Monegasque Charles Leclerc, who finished 262 milliseconds behind, will start third, with Sainz - 446 milliseconds behind Verstappen - by his side; while the two-time world champion from Asturias, six tenths of a second behind Mad Max, will face his first race as an Aston Martin driver from the fifth spot on the grid.
Englishman George Russell (Mercedes) will start from the third row, alongside the two-time world champion from Asturias; and from the fourth row, their respective teammates will do so: the seven-time British intercontinental champion, Lewis Hamilton, and the Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), eighth on Saturday.
Frenchman Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and German Nico Hülkenberg (Haas), who finished ninth and tenth, respectively, on the main time trial, will start from the fifth row of the starting formation for the first race of the year, scheduled for 57 laps to complete a distance of 308.2 kilometers.
The Ferrari drivers took the second row. Monegasque Charles Leclerc, who finished 292 milliseconds behind, will start third, with Sainz - 446 milliseconds behind Verstappen - by his side; while Alonso, six tenths of a second behind Mad Max, will face his first race as an Aston Martin driver from the fifth spot on the grid.
Englishman George Russell (Mercedes) will start from the third row, alongside the two-time world champion from Asturias; and from the fourth row, their respective teammates will do so: the seven-time British intercontinental champion, Lewis Hamilton, and the Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), eighth on Saturday.
The Frenchman Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and the German Nico Hülkenberg (Haas), who finished ninth and tenth, respectively, in the main qualifying session, will start from the fifth row of the starting formation for the first race of the year, scheduled for 57 laps to complete a distance of 308.2 kilometers.