By: Good morning to all our friends at Formula1.it. We have reached one of the most important moments of the Bahrain GP weekend in Malaysia: qualifying. During practice, we saw a very strong Mercedes, particularly with Antonelli in FP3. Verstappen has also proved highly competitive and, in the final session, was the only driver able to get close to Kimi.
Behind them, Hadjar also looked consistent, but Isack will have to serve a five-place grid penalty. As a result, even if he could fight for pole, he is certain not to be the driver who will start from that position tomorrow.
McLaren appear to be keeping their cards close to their chest, but should move closer to the front, while Ferrari seem unable to keep pace with the track evolution. It could be difficult for Leclerc and Hamilton to match the times of the drivers ahead.
Before we turn our attention to live qualifying coverage, let us look at the Pirelli tyre allocations for the Bahrain GP: Hard C2, Medium C3 and Soft C4 compounds will be available, the middle combination in the range (photo: Pirelli graphic).
Pit lane opens at 10:00 Italian time. Live coverage from 09:45.
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Cover photo by Peter Kiss / WHYOUT Images
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Bahrain GP 2026
