Every team lapped the Bahrain International Circuit slower than they did at last year’s grand prix – with one conspicuous exception.
Here’s the key lap time data from the first two days of running at the track.
Sector times
Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton were two of the unhappiest drivers after qualifying in Bahrain. They had good reason to be, as both were soundly beaten by their team mates, but the sector times reveal somewhat different explanations for both.
In Norris’s case, he was quickest of all in Q1, second in round two, then third after the first runs in Q3. It all went awry on his final run, where he posted only a modest improvement and fell to sixth place as a result.
The sector times show he had the ingredients for a far better qualifying position. By combining his best sectors he could have taken a 1’30.060, good enough to join Oscar Piastri on the front row of the grid once George Russell’s penalty was applied.
A missed opportunity is one thing, but Hamilton’s sector times tell the tale of a driver who hasn’t mastered his car yet. He did string his quickest sector times together on one lap, but it still left him almost six tenths of a second down on his team mate.
| P. | # | Driver | S1 | S2 | S3 | Ultimate lap (deficit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | 28.784 (2) | 38.574 (1) | 22.483 (1) | 1’29.841 |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | 28.771 (1) | 38.710 (4) | 22.528 (2) | 1’30.009 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | 28.800 (3) | 38.678 (2) | 22.582 (5) | 1’30.060 (+0.207) |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | 28.926 (8) | 38.714 (5) | 22.535 (3) | 1’30.175 |
| 5 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | 28.836 (4) | 38.786 (6) | 22.561 (4) | 1’30.183 (+0.030) |
| 6 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | 28.883 (6) | 38.694 (3) | 22.639 (6) | 1’30.216 |
| 7 | 1 | Max Verstappen | 28.880 (5) | 38.855 (7) | 22.688 (7) | 1’30.423 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | 28.894 (7) | 38.929 (8) | 22.723 (8) | 1’30.546 (+0.134) |
| 9 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | 28.955 (9) | 39.058 (9) | 22.759 (10) | 1’30.772 |
| 10 | 7 | Jack Doohan | 29.094 (13) | 39.215 (11) | 22.752 (9) | 1’31.061 (+0.184) |
| 11 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | 29.026 (10) | 39.177 (10) | 22.900 (13) | 1’31.103 (+0.125) |
| 12 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | 29.081 (12) | 39.267 (12) | 22.851 (12) | 1’31.199 (+0.072) |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | 29.039 (11) | 39.479 (13) | 22.846 (11) | 1’31.364 (+0.703) |
| 14 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | 29.154 (14) | 39.527 (15) | 22.904 (15) | 1’31.585 (+0.009) |
| 15 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | 29.231 (16) | 39.502 (14) | 22.901 (14) | 1’31.634 |
| 16 | 23 | Alexander Albon | 29.227 (15) | 39.757 (17) | 23.037 (19) | 1’32.021 (+0.019) |
| 17 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | 29.319 (18) | 39.796 (18) | 22.965 (17) | 1’32.080 (+0.293) |
| 18 | 30 | Liam Lawson | 29.327 (19) | 39.808 (19) | 22.958 (16) | 1’32.093 (+0.072) |
| 19 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 29.520 (20) | 39.608 (16) | 23.001 (18) | 1’32.129 (+0.057) |
| 20 | 18 | Lance Stroll | 29.282 (17) | 39.858 (20) | 23.106 (20) | 1’32.246 (+0.037) |
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Field performance
The Bahrain Grand Prix is taking place later in the season than last year, which means higher temperatures and generally slower lap times. This year’s lap times are some of the slowest seen this decade, even lagging behind those from 2016, when rules imposed narrower, less aerodynamically sophisticated cars.
Teams’ performance
But not every team is slower than last year. Alpine is the exception to the rule, thanks to Pierre Gasly’s superb qualifying run. The driver who started last on the grid for the team in 2024 will line up fourth on Sunday.
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With Russell rebounding from his Suzuka qualifying blip and Ferrari bringing a beneficial floor upgrade, Red Bull were under the cosh in qualifying. Gasly’s lap time relegated last week’s pole-winners to fifth overall.
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