Lars Baron/Getty Images Ferrari continued to dominate at the 2019 Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, as Charles Leclerc finished top of final practice and qualifying on Saturday. Sebastian Vettel joined him on the front row, beating the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Max Verstappen took fifth place, while Red Bull team-mate Pierre Gasly couldn't even make it into the final qualifying session. McLaren duo Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris did, in what was an excellent day for the team. But the star of qualifying was Leclerc, who secured his first ever pole position after several impressive practice sessions. Qualifying Recap Ferrari dominated every practice session, and their advantage carried over into Q1, as Leclerc's first flying lap was a full second better than Bottas'. Autosport did note the rest of the field was competitive relative to Mercedes, believing the massive gap may not have been entirely down to pace: Video Play Button Videos you might like Hamilton would go third-fastest later in the session, although he was still well over half a second behind Leclerc. Red Bull were significantly slower than the top dogs, with Gasly well behind Verstappen. Norris and Romain Grosjean nearly came together when the Haas man swerved onto the racing line, drawing the ire of Formula One writer Curtis Moldrich: Norris didn't let the incident break his concentration, finishing Q1 in an impressive fourth place. Grosjean received a three-place grid penalty, per sportswriter Andrew Benson. The Williams cars predictably missed out on Q2 as their struggles continued, while Renault's Nico Hulkenberg also couldn't push his way into the second session. He had been a standout in practice, but couldn't even best Antonio Giovinazzi of Alfa Romeo in Q1. Hamilton set the early mark in Q2, but his time was once again obliterated by Leclerc. Vettel was significantly slower with his first run, but traffic played a big role; he would record the second-fastest time later in the session. Daniel Ricciardo and Gasly were both in the drop zone with three minutes to go, while the two McLaren drivers worked their way into the top 10. Despite their best efforts both Ricciardo and Gasly fell short with their final runs, continuing their poor starts to the season. Gasly blamed an issue with the throttle: Norris impressed again by going sixth-fastest, drawing praise from YouTuber Matt Gallagher: Mercedes upped the pace to start Q3 but Leclerc still beat Hamilton's initial offering, taking the lead by 0.232 seconds. Vettel ran twice in Q2 and opted not to venture on track early in Q3, limiting himself to a single run, while Verstappen used the same strategy. Both had just a single set of tyres left to work with. Vettel's one lap was a good one, although team-mate Leclerc beat him by nearly two tenths to secure a front-row lockout for Ferrari. Mercedes secured the second row, while Sainz beat out Norris, who had to settle for 10th place prior to Grosjean's penalty. It was still a great day for McLaren, who hadn't gotten both cars into the top 10 since 2017. FP3 Recap Here are the standings from final practice in Bahrain: At the start of the session, the Pirelli Motorsport Twitter account provided details of the tyres in operation this weekend: After using two new sets of tyres in FP2 on Friday, it was anticipated Ferrari might come back toward the rest of the pack on Saturday before giving it their all in qualifying. But they were relentless again in final practice. The Scuderia drivers were coasting for much of the session, until Leclerc upped the pace late on with his mark of 1:29.569. It was a standard the rest of the field were unable to get near to, meaning the Monegasque driver was on top for the second time this weekend. The Autosport Live Twitter account noted there had been encouraging signs from Leclerc in his lap construction: F1 journalist Luke Smith was also impressed with what he'd seen from the Scuderia: It will be intriguing to see how Leclerc copes with the extra expectation in qualifying, especially going up against his team-mate, Vettel; the German has won on four occasions at this circuit. If it's not going to be a Ferrari on top on Sunday, Mercedes will have to do something drastic. Early in the day, they appeared to be at their maximum; when the Silver Arrows are at full tilt, it's rare to see someone of Hamilton's pedigree so far off the pace.<doc-sep>3:11 Fresh from his first ever F1 pole position, Charles Leclerc joins Ant Davidson at the Skypad to reflect on his scintillating pole lap in Bahrain. Fresh from his first ever F1 pole position, Charles Leclerc joins Ant Davidson at the Skypad to reflect on his scintillating pole lap in Bahrain. Charles Leclerc secured his first F1 pole position by leading Ferrari's impressive charge as they held off Mercedes in Bahrain GP qualifying. Leclerc will start Sunday's race ahead of Sebastian Vettel on the front row after outpacing his team-mate by 0.294 seconds to become the second-youngest pole-sitter in the sport's history. "Seb is an amazing driver," said Leclerc. "I will learn a lot from him, but today I'm very happy to be in front of him." Mercedes have been off the pace compared to a resurgent Ferrari all weekend and Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas could only manage third and fourth on the grid respectively. Full result from Qualifying Hamilton hopes for Merc fightback When's the Bahrain GP on Sky F1? Hamilton, however, was only three-hundredths of a second slower than Vettel. 1:47 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton is expecting a closely fought Bahrain GP and hopes to take the fight to an improved Ferrari team who've locked out the front row. Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton is expecting a closely fought Bahrain GP and hopes to take the fight to an improved Ferrari team who've locked out the front row. "Ferrari have been incredibly quick," said the world champion. "They have shown incredible pace but that doesn't mean they can't be beaten." After facing a hefty deficit in the season-opener in Melbourne, Ferrari have manufactured a one-second turnaround in Bahrain - a seismic shift and one that potentially hints they are the title favourites for F1 2019. Max Verstappen scraped into fifth, just ahead of Kevin Magnussen in the Haas, but Pierre Gasly once again failed to deliver his Red Bull into Q3. 2:25 Ant Davidson is at the Skypad to look at how Charles Leclerc beat Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel to pole position for the Bahrain GP. Ant Davidson is at the Skypad to look at how Charles Leclerc beat Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel to pole position for the Bahrain GP. In the second qualifying session of the F1 2019 season: Ferrari secured their first front-row lockout since Monza last year and Leclerc becomes F1's second-youngest pole-sitter, behind Vettel - who broke record with Toro Rosso in 2008 Leclerc set a Bahrain track record in his Ferrari but Vettel only had one lap in Q3 and was fortunate to finish just ahead of Hamilton McLaren got both cars into Q3 for the first time since the 2017 Malaysia GP Romain Grosjean finished eighth but was subsequently demoted three places for blocking Lando Norris in Q1 Gasly was knocked out in Q2 as he complained about traction. The Frenchman, Red Bull's new recruit, was eliminated in Q1 in the season-opener in Australia Nico Hulkenberg, who was looking like a top-six contender, was knocked out in Q1 for Renault as Daniel Ricciardo out-qualified his new team-mate for the first time McLaren's impressive rebuild continues Sunday's race is also intriguingly poised in the midfield after another close Saturday shootout, with Haas and McLaren impressively leading the chasing pack. Magnussen's sixth-placed finish was, by his own admission, the result of one of his best qualifying laps for Haas, who were predicted to dominate the midfield. McLaren, however, had no such expectations attached, but Carlos Sainz delivered seventh place ahead of Romain Grosjean, which equals the team's highest grid position from 2018. Grosjean was subsequently handed a three-place grid penalty for blocking British rookie Lando Norris during Q1. McLaren recovery gathering pace Norris will therefore start ninth, behind Kimi Raikkonen, who has started the season strongly on his return to Alfa Romeo. Renault, meanwhile, are trailing their rivals in midfield. Though Ricciardo pulled a lap out of the bag to finish 11th, ahead of Alex Albon and the man who replaced him at Red Bull, Gasly, Hulkenberg endured a hugely frustrating evening to end up 17th. Racing Point were also curiously off the pace, while Williams continue to suffer at the start of F1 2019. George Russell and Robert Kubica's times were almost four seconds slower than the pole time. Bahrain GP Qualifying Timesheet Driver Team Time 1) Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:27.866 2) Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +0.294 3) Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.324 4) Valtteri Bottas Mercedes +0.390 5) Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.886 6) Kevin Magnussen Haas +0.891 7) Carlos Sainz McLaren +0.947 8) Romain Grosjean* Haas +1.149 9) Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo +1.156 10) Lando Norris McLaren +1.177 Out in Q2 11) Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:29.488 12) Alex Albon Toro Rosso 1:29.513 13) Pierre Gasly Red Bull 1:29.526 14) Sergio Perez Racing Point 1:29.756 15) Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:29.854 Out in Q1 16) Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1:30.026 17) Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:30.034 18) Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:30.217 19) George Russell Williams 1:31.759 20) Robert Kubica Williams 1:31.799 *handed three-place grid penalty Get the dedicated Sky Sports F1 channel - the exclusive home of all live F1. Get Sky Sports F1.<doc-sep>
That Ferrari are absolutely in this season’s title fight was confirmed with glorious, youthful aplomb when Charles Leclerc stormed to a dominant pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The 21-year-old’s first ever pole delivered notice that he too resolutely intends to be a player in the championship battle. He drove magnificently, entirely undaunted by his four-time world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel, who was in second. The Scuderia were off the pace and off-colour in Australia but it was Ferrari’s young gun who made the red cars impossible to ignore in Bahrain. Leclerc put in a series of faultless laps that Vettel could not match and nor could Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, who were a full three-tenths back in third and fourth. Ferrari had been on top all weekend and, pleasingly for the championship battle, their front-row lockout proves they are more than capable of taking the fight to Mercedes. Ferrari were joyous, as was the young Monégasque as he revelled in a special moment. “I am truly happy,” he said. “Seb is an amazing driver and I have learned a lot from him and I will learn from him all year but today is a good day for me. “A lot of emotions but I am trying to stay as cool as possible because there are no points for pole position. It has been a great weekend for us but now we have to focus on the race and do the best race possible.” Leclerc’s first career pole position is a hugely impressive start in only his second meeting for Ferrari. That he managed it under the immense pressure of driving for the Scuderia only reinforces his strong credentials as a potential world champion. Vettel acknowledged his teammate’s achievement and the strides Ferrari have made since Melbourne. “Charles did a very good job today and he deserves to be on pole,” he said. “We are both much happier with the car this weekend. The credit goes to the team. We came here and proved we are capable of fighting at the front and for pole.” Ferrari were left perplexed at their lack of pace in Melbourne, finishing down the field in fourth and fifth to a Mercedes one-two from Bottas and Hamilton. However, here they found both the grip and balance that were absent at Albert Park and Leclerc took advantage. On this form Ferrari are once again on the front foot, as acknowledged by Hamilton. “Ferrari have been incredibly strong. I couldn’t have done Charles’s time. We have some work to do,” he said. However, the British driver, who has shown good race pace, remained optimistic. “Ferrari have been incredibly quick,” he added. “They have shown incredible pace but that doesn’t mean they can’t be beaten.” Leclerc’s performance was one of maturity that belies his age. At 21 years and 165 days, he is the second youngest driver to have taken the top spot in qualifying; only Vettel in 2008 was younger. Leclerc knows the real business begins on Sunday but Vettel has been made fully aware there will be no pushover in the garage next door this season. This puts the spotlight firmly on the Ferrari pit wall. The team have said they will let their drivers race but also that under certain circumstances they will favour Vettel. In Australia they told a charging Leclerc to hold station behind the German in the closing stages. How they handle their drivers may be crucial and an indicator of how they intend the season to play out. The team principal, Mattia Binotto, said on Friday that Leclerc would be allowed to stay in the lead should he hold it, and this prodigious young talent has put himself in the best possible position to do so. Max Verstappen’s Red Bull was fifth and Kevin Magnussen in the Haas took sixth. McLaren will be buoyed by putting two cars into Q3, with Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris in seventh and 10th respectively. Romain Grosjean was in eighth for Haas but received a three-place grid penalty for blocking Norris in Q1. Kimi Räikkönen was in ninth for Alfa Romeo. Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly had another disappointing qualifying, going out in Q2 in 13th, lacking traction from his tyres. Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault was in 11th. The Toro Rosso’s of Alexander Albon and Daniil Kvyat were in 12th and 15th, with Sergio Pérez’s Racing Point in 14th.