F1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2025 Qualifying Recap: Piastri holds off Leclerc and Russell to take pole in Bahrain

McLaren with the advantage again

Oscar Piastri snatches pole from George Russell and Leclerc, giving McLaren the edge heading into race day. Russell and his teammate, Kimi Antonelli ended up getting a post-qualifying penalty which dropped both the Mercedes drivers one spot below their original qualifying position.

Here’s a quick recap of the Bahrain Grand Prix 2025 qualifying session

Q1 – Red Bull pull through after early scare; McLaren dominates

McLaren kicked off qualifying from where they left off the Free Practice sessions with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the top with Norris on top with a 1:31.107s while Piastri was three-tenths behind. Ferraris and the Mercedes held their place in the top 10 although both the Red Bulls didn’t have a time until the final minute. 

As the chequered flag fell, both Max Verstappen and his new teammate, Yuki Tsunoda improved to get themselves out of the first session and a stellar final lap from Isack Hadjar put him into the second qualifying session. It was the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto along with Liam Lawson, Alex Albon, Ollie Bearman and the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll failing to make it out of Q1.

Drivers eliminated in Q1

Alex Albon
Liam Lawson
Gabriel Bortoleto
Lance Stroll
Oliver Bearman

Q2 – McLaren remain at the top as Ocon crashes out

The Haas of Esteban Ocon suffered a big crash as the Frenchman went into the barriers, bringing out the red flag early on in Q2. Once the final laps came along, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris was at the top of the time sheets again with Piastri’s 1:30.454s being the benchmark but it was the Alpine of Pierre Gasly that was the biggest surprise as the Frenchman put in a stellar final lap to go P3 above both the Mercedes, Ferraris and Red Bulls. 

While Gasly sailed through into the top 10 shoot-out his teammate Jack Doohan, Nico Hülkenberg, Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso missed out on the top 10 shootout along with Ocon. Verstappen once again needed a strong final flourish to get into Q3.

Drivers eliminated in Q2

Jack Doohan
Iscak Hadjar
Fernando Alonso
Esteban Ocon
Nico Hülkenberg

Q3 – Piastri shines while Gasly surprises

Oscar Piastri kicked off the final qualifying session right from where he left off Q2 as the Australian set the time to beat for the grid and took provisional pole position early on with a 1:30.233s. It was Russell who came closest, going a hundredth behind while Leclerc was more than a second behind Piastri in third. 

Piastri’s teammate, Norris had the best chance to get Piastri with a purple sector 1 but Norris could only manage a 1:30.396s, moving into third place over Leclerc. As the final laps came in, it was the young Mercedes driver, Kimi Antonelli, stealing pole with a 1:30.213s before his teammate, Russell snatched away from him with a 1:30.009s.

Mercedes’ joy was short-lived though as Oscar Piastri put in a near-perfect lap to steal pole position with a 1:29.841s while Leclerc managed to squeeze into third place ahead of Antonelli. Piastri’s teammate and championship leader Lando Norris, managing only P6 ahead of Max Verstappen. 

The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli though, were given a one-place grid penalty post qualifying. The Sauber of Hülkenberg meanwhile had his Q1 time deleted for exceeding track limits, almost an hour post his lap, which saw him go into Q2, but with his time deleted, the German driver will start P16 with Albon starting P15.

Starting Grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix 2025

1. Oscar Piastri
2. Charles Leclerc
3.. George Russell*
4. Pierre Gasly
5. Kimi Antonelli*
6. Lando Norris
7. Max Verstappen
8. Carlos Sainz
9. Lewis Hamilton
10. Yuki Tsunoda
11. Jack Doohan
12. Iscak Hadjar
13. Fernando Alonso
14. Esteban Ocon
15. Alex Albon
16. Nico Hülkenberg**
17. Liam Lawson
18. Gabriel Bortoleto
19. Lance Stroll
20. Oliver Bearman

*One-place grid penalty for infringement during qualifying

** Had his lap time in Q1, which put him into Q2, deleted