Oscar Piastri claimed the second pole of his career in the Bahrain GP qualifying. The Aussie got the better of Mercedes rival George Russell and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in a thrilling qualifying session. It was a track where McLaren was dominant from the first practice session, and everyone expected a 1-2 start for the Papaya team.

Lando Norris had other plans and will start 6th after a disappointing session. Pierre Gasly with Alpine will start an impressive 4th after such a tough start this season. Lewis Hamilton will start in 9th ahead of Yuki Tsuonda and behind Carlos Sainz. Last weekend’s race winner, Max Verstappen, will start in 7th after a disappointing session for the Dutch driver. Here are the top takeaways from the Bahrain GP qualifying session.

Top Takeaways From Bahrain GP Qualifying

1.    Oscar Piastri Reigns Supreme in Bahrain Qualifying

Oscar Piastri carried McLaren’s Bahrain Grand Prix practice domination through to pole position. The Aussie was pushed hard by George Russell and had to put in the best lap to claim pole. Before the final part of qualifying, Piastri looked like the more confident McLaren and looked destined to clinch pole from Norris.

2.    Lando Norris From Last Year Resurfaces

Lando Norris fails once again to claim pole position for the race. In the past 2 qualifying sessions, the championship leader finished in 2nd position; however, he will start from 6th in Bahrain. This reminds everyone of the Lando of 2024, where despite having the fastest car, the Britan couldn’t capitalize on it. To top it off, in the post-qualifying interview, he told reporters that the best he can hope is to finish in 2nd position behind his teammate. All this raises the question of whether Lando Norris has started feeling the heat already.

3.    Red Bull Struggles in Bahrain

Max Verstappen took victory in the Japanese Grand Prix, and everyone thought Red Bull was back. However, that is not the case, and they were completely exposed in the 2025 Bahrain GP qualifying. Max, who could handle the tricky Red Bull car in the past, couldn’t tame the beast as he will start 7th in the race. The only plus point for the team is that their 2nd car will start in the top 10 for the first time this season. Yuki Tsunoda had a good qualifying session and may even have qualified higher if he was not interrupted by a red flag in Q2.

4.    Mercedes Duo Get a 1-Place Grid Drop

George Russell continued his impressive showing by qualifying in second position for the race. Kimi Antonelli, in the other Silver Arrows, was classified as 4th. However, they were both demoted one place after they ventured into the pit fast lane before the session restart time. This is a quite disappointing outcome for the Silver Arrows after an encouraging Saturday qualifying session.

5.    Alex Albon Falters to Carlos Sainz for the First Time in 2025

Alex Albon was out-qualified by Carlos Sainz for the first time as a teammate. The Thai driver has had an impressive start to the 2025 season; however, that came to an end in Bahrain. Albon couldn’t get out of Q1 and will start in 16th position. Carlos Sainz, who starts 8th, has a good chance to get some retribution and show why he is considered a top driver in Formula 1.

Bahrain GP  2025 Starting Grid

1 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
2 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3 George Russell (Mercedes)
4 Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
5 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
6 Lando Norris (McLaren)
7 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
8 Carlos Sainz (Williams)
9 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
10 Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
11 Jack Doohan (Alpine)
12 Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
13 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
14 Esteban Ocon (Haas)
15 Alex Albon (Williams)
16 Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
17 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
18 Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
19 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
20 Ollie Bearman (Haas)