8 Days
Until WEC 8 Hours of Bahrain
WEC 8 Hours of Bahrain
FIA World Endurance Championship
The WEC has established itself as one of the premier championships under the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and the leading global series for endurance racing. It attracts countless stars in motorsport, and it continues to grow in popularity every year, with races taking place in eight countries across four continents.
View More
WEC Hospitality Packages
ENJOY TOP-CLASS MOTORSPORT IN STYLE AT BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT'S EXCLUSIVE HOSPITALITY LOUNGE OVERLOOKING THE PIT LANE AND GARAGES ON THE MAIN STRAIGHT. WITNESS ONE OF THE MOST EXHILARATING EVENTS OF THE YEAR, THE 2024 FIA WEC 8 HOURS OF BAHRAIN PRESENTED BY BAPCO
View MoreVerstappen leads Red Bull front-row lock-out for F1 Bahrain GP 2023
Verstappen leads Red Bull front-row lock-out for F1 Bahrain GP 2023
Max Verstappen led Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez to a front-row lock-out for Sunday’s highly anticipated Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2023—the first round of this year’s FIA F1 World Championship.
Verstappen blitzed to a sensational pole after steering his RB19 challenger to a quickest lap time of one minute 29.708 in the top 10 shootout of qualifying, held under lights in front of a massive Saturday night crowd at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).
Verstappen’s time was almost a second quicker than Charles Leclerc’s pole-setting mark in Sakhir from last year of 1:30.558 for Ferrari.
“Very happy to be on pole, having such a strong car with Checo up there as well, it’s amazing and I’m looking forward to tomorrow as well,” said the Dutchman.
Verstappen was 0.138 seconds quicker than Perez, while set to start behind them on row two are the tandem of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Leclerc’s best lap in the Q3 shootout was 0.292s slower than Verstappen’s, while Sainz was 0.446s off the pace.
Two-time world champion and three-time winner in Bahrain Fernando Alonso could not translate his leading pace in today’s practice into pole position, but still impressed by securing fifth on the grid in his first grand prix weekend with Aston Martin. He was 0.628s back.
The Mercedes pair of George Russell (+0.632s) and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton (+0.676s) followed in sixth and seventh, respectively, while Lance Stroll (+1.128s) was classified eighth in the other Aston Martin.
Esteban Ocon qualified ninth after finishing 1.276s from the leader, and Nico Hulkenberg was 10th after being unable to set a time in Q3.
Earlier in the day, dropping out of qualifying from Q2 were Lando Norris of McLaren, the Alfa Romeo pair of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’s Alexander Albon.
In Q1, eliminated from further contention were Williams rookie Logan Sargeant, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Haas’s Kevin Magnussen, McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri and AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries.
Images
