Feature

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

28 November 2020

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.

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.

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.

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.