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Qualifying facts and stats: More joy for Mercedes but Verstappen has reasons to smile in Bahrain

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BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - NOVEMBER 28: Pole position qualifier Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and

Mercedes' 75th front-row lockout underlined their qualifying dominance in the hybrid era, but the statistics show Max Verstappen has a chance to win from third on the grid.

  • Mercedes have a 75th front row lockout in their F1 history and Lewis Hamilton has a 98th career pole position.

  • A team locks out the front row in Bahrain for the fifth consecutive season.

READ MORE: Hamilton on pole from Bottas as Red Bull lock out the second row in Bahrain

  • Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen are the top-three qualifiers for the ninth time in the last 12 races (not always in that order).

  • The winner in Bahrain has come from third on the grid twice in the last three Grands Prix. It's Verstappen who starts third here, giving Red Bull their first top-three start in Bahrain since 2014.

ONBOARD: Lewis Hamilton’s 2020 Pirelli pole position lap at Bahrain GP

  • Verstappen's team mate Alex Albon equals career-best start, with P4 for the fourth time this season.

  • Albon was on the podium from fourth on the grid at Mugello.

  • Sergio Perez's last Q3 appearance in Bahrain came in 2014, when he finished third. On Sunday the Racing Point driver starts fifth.

READ MORE: Perez eyes big points haul in Bahrain after securing P5 on grid, as Stroll blames tyre error for Q2 exit

  • Renault's Daniel Ricciardo made a top-six qualification for the fifth time in the last six Grands Prix.

  • Esteban Ocon was out-qualified by Ricciardo for the 13th consecutive race, missing out to his team mate by 0.002s today.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - NOVEMBER 28: Esteban Ocon of France driving the (31) Renault Sport Formula One

Just 0.002s separated Ocon and Ricciardo as both of their cars made Q3

  • Both AlphaTauris reach Q3 for the second time in the last three races.

  • Sebastian Vettel out-qualifies Charles Leclerc for the second consecutive race.

  • Having shared the front row in Bahrain for the past two years, both Ferraris start on the sixth row in 2020.

READ MORE: Leclerc admits he 'hasn't been driving cleanly' as Ferrari miss out on top 10 in qualifying

  • Racing Point's Lance Stroll has had three Q2 eliminations and a pole position in his last four races.

  • George Russell reaches Q2 for the ninth time in the 2020 season, with Williams.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - NOVEMBER 28: Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Scuderia Ferrari SF1000

On pole here last year, Charles Leclerc starts 12th behind Sebastian Vettel

  • Carlos Sainz has had back-to-back Q2 eliminations, in Turkey and Bahrain.

  • Both Alfa Romeos made Q3 in Turkey but were out in Q1 this weekend. Antonio Giovinazzi out-qualified Kimi Raikkonen for the first time in four races.

  • Romain Grosjean was eliminated in Q2 for the sixth-straight race. Kevin Magnussen leads the Haas head-to-head 8-7 now.

  • Williams' Nicholas Latifi was 0.888s slower than Russell in Q1.

READ MORE: Verstappen hopes heavy tyre wear could work to his advantage as he predicts 'exciting race' from P3

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