Sensational Leclerc powers to pole in Ferrari front row lock-out

Charles Leclerc continued his sensational form at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) on Saturday evening as he stormed to pole position with a new track record for the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2019. 

Leclerc led a Ferrari lock-out of the front row as the Prancing Horses dazzled for the second straight night under floodlights at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East” in Sakhir.

Leclerc’s pole-winning time of 1m 27.866s was declared a new record and it earned him the first pole position of his career in only his second Grand Prix weekend with Ferrari.

“I’m extremely happy,” said Leclerc, who at 21 years old became the second-youngest pole-sitter in Formula 1 history. “The car was amazing. I will push to try and finish the job tomorrow.”

The Monegasque talent had already set the best lap early on in the 12-minute third Qualifying segment (Q3), but he still opted to return in the final minutes and his grit was rewarded with an even quicker time in the very last lap of the session.

Leclerc, who has won at BIC before while competing in Formula 2, was also quickest in the two earlier Qualifying segments. In Q1, he had a best lap of 1m 28.495s, and then he was even quicker in Q2 with a fastest time of 1m 28.046s.

Leclerc in the end was 0.294s ahead of teammate and former World champion Sebastian Vettel, who was the winner the past two years in Bahrain.

“Charles did a very good job today and he deserves to be on pole,” Vettel said.

Set to start third is reigning World champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, who had a time that was 0.324s behind Leclerc’s pole-winner.

“I really enjoyed Qualifying,” Hamilton said. “The Ferraris are incredibly quick. Tomorrow is the most important day; it’s interesting to see what we can do. We are going to give them a good fight, that is for sure.”

Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas joined him on the second row after qualifying 0.390s off the pace, while Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing will be fifth on the grid. He was 0.886s back.

Haas and McLaren also impressed in today’s Qualifying, with both teams getting their two cars into Q3.

Kevin Magnussen of Haas qualified sixth for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, while McLaren’s Carlos Sainz will start from seventh on the grid. Completing the top 10 were Romain Grosjean in the other Haas, Kimi Raikkonen of Alfa Romeo Racing and McLaren’s 19-year-old rookie Lando Norris, who managed to climb to as high as fourth during Q1.

Knocked out in the 18-minute Q1 were Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, and the Williams pair of George Russell and Robert Kubica.

Out in the 15-minute Q2 were Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon, Red Bull Racing’s Pierre Gasly, Racing Point’s Sergio Perez and Toro Rosso’s other car driven by Daniil Kvyat.