Photo: Red Bull Media House

F1 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix: Starting Grid

The Bahrain Grand Prix opens the new Formula One season, with the grid all set and ready to go at 3 pm UK time today.

 

Max Verstappen lines up on pole after he set the fastest lap in Q3 yesterday. He will be joined on the front row by his teammate Sergio Perez, who will be hoping to lay down an early marker if he wants to be in the title fight this season.

 

It’s an all-Ferrari second row as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz line up third and fourth. They will be hoping to start this season as well as they did last and hope they can sustain a strong pace over the course of the season.

 

Fernando Alonso lines his Aston Martin up in third, alongside Mercedes’ George Russell, who has taken an early lead in the battle for leading British driver with Lewis Hamilton this season.

 

Lewis Hamilton will start from seventh and will be joined by Lance Stroll, whose time in his Aston Martin so far has been limited after injuring his wrist pre-season.

 

Row five will consist of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg. A row to keep an eye on for an early scrap going into the first corner.

 

After scraping through Q1, McLaren’s Lando Norris narrowly missed out on progressing into Q3, but a P11 start is what he has to settle with. Joining him on the sixth row is Valtteri Bottas in his Alfa Romeo.

 

Zhou Guanyu will start diagonally to his team-mate, with Yuki Tsunoda alongside him in his Alfa Tauri.

 

Then it’s an all-Williams row seven, with Alexander Albon starting just ahead of rookie Logan Sargeant, who was knocked out in Q1 despite matching the time that Lando Norris set, with the British driver progressing as he set his lap time first.

 

Kevin Magnussen will be disappoinment about being eliminated in Q1, especially with his new-team mate making it into Q3. Rookie Oscar Piastri will keep him company starting from 18th.

 

The final row is made up of Nyck de Vries and Pierre Gasly, with the French driver having his Q1 lap time deleted and therefore having to start at the back of the grid.

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