Welcome along to everyone who has just joined us. Oscar Piastri is on pole, Charles Leclerc has been handed P2 because George Russell has dropped to P3 and championship leader Lando Norris is starting in sixth, one place higher than rival Max Verstappen.

A two-stop strategy is what we expect to see, but is anyone going to be bold and try a one-stopper?

Different tyres on the front row as Oscar Piastri starts on he soft compound while Charles Leclerc has opted for the mediums. George Russell down to Max Verstappen are also soft runners; Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, joins his Ferrari team-mate on the yellow rubber.

Not a hard tyre in sight.

Image source, BBC Sport

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McLaren are leading the constructors' championship by 36 points from Mercedes thanks to wins and podiums at each race weekend so far this season.

Alpine are the only team yet to score in 2025 but with Pierre Gasly starting so high up the order, is this the day the French side get off the mark?

Image source, Getty Images/BBC Sport

Max Verstappen's stellar weekend at Suzuka last time out has put the four-time world champion one point behind rival Lando Norris as we gear up for round four. If things go Oscar Piastri's way in Bahrain, the Aussie will leapfrog over the top two and become the new title leader.

Image source, Getty Images/BBC Sport

Kimi Antonelli has got his big silver cool jacket on for the drivers parade and Alex Albon has already whipped his clothes off and jumped in an ice bath, so it's fair to say the weather is still warm in Bahrain for today, or tonight's 57-lap race.

The FIA forecast says air temperature is around 27C; track temperature will be between 30C and 34C.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Pirelli 2025

This is expected to be a two-stop race, primarily focused on the medium and hard tyres. There is a mix of tyre choices at the front. McLaren and Ferrari go into the race with two sets of mediums and one of hard, but Max Verstappen and Red Bull have gone the opposite way. And Mercedes have only one of each. Does that mean they will go for softs at the start?

This will not be a static race like in Japan a week ago - tyre degradation is high on the hot, rough asphalt in Bahrain, giving Lando Norris the opportunity to make up ground from his lowly sixth grid spot in what remains the fastest car regardless of his qualifying struggles.

In strategy terms, the undercut - stopping first to gain a position - is very powerful. But there is a compromise - go too early, and you will be vulnerable to being overtaken by drivers who stop later and have fresher tyres.

Pit-stop time loss is 23 seconds under green flag conditions; about 16 under a safety car.

Image source, Getty Images

Alpine's Pierre Gasly will be starting in fourth on the grid, he told Sky Sports: "I'm feeling very excited, it was a very strong qualifying yesterday, I felt good in the car. Anything is possible so let's see."

Nulla Pax: The most intriguing starting grid for a long time. This could be fun

Image source, Getty Images

The tyres selected by manufacturer Pirelli are exactly the same as the Japanese Grand Prix last weekend: C1 is the hard, C2 is the medium and C3 is the soft.

Max Verstappen confirmed to Sky Sports yesterday he has an extra set of new hard tyres but added he has no idea how the white rubber will perform. George Russell, meanwhile, has told Sky he doesn't there will be too much difference between the compounds.

Bahrain was the season-opening race last year - we're a month later arriving in the Middle East so temperatures are also higher - and Max Verstappen won using a two-stop strategy of soft-hard-soft. The medium compound didn't get a look in during the 2024 grand prix.

Image source, Getty Images

George Russell will start in third in the Mercedes after receiving a one-place grid penalty, he told Sky Sports: "I'm fine with it, it's a long race and unlike the first few races of the season where qualifying was everything, I think here generally speaking you end up finishing in the order of the pace of the car so P2, P3, no biggie."

On the race: "I'm looking forward to it, we've got to be realistic, our fight is with Charles [Leclerc], I'm sure Max [Verstappen] is going to come back through.

"Lando [Norris] is going to be the interesting one; I'm not sure what happened yesterday but I'm confident he's going to come back through and in our race at some point. With Oscar [Piastri], unless we are ahead of him at Turn One, he's going to be sailing off into the distance."

On the tyres: "We've only got one hard [set] and one medium [set] so we will definitely be doing part of the race on the soft, whereas the McLarens and the Ferraris have got two mediums. Max has got two hards, I don't think there is a lot between all the tyres. I don't think strategy will be as key as it has been recently."

George Russell tells Martin Brundle on Sky Sports it felt a bit hot and sticky on the way to the grid earlier. I thought I heard him say "stinky", but I'll keep it as sticky, as that makes more sense. Every driver has made it on time for the national anthem. No fines for an emergency loo stop this week.

Image source, Getty Images

Charles Leclerc said the McLaren was "on another planet" currently after Friday's practice sessions but he gets to at least put an early challenge together against Oscar Piastri's car now that he is starting alongside the Australian in P2.

The Mercedes has preferred a cooler climate in recent times but both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have performed well in the heat this weekend.

If Piastri does make a quick getaway and disappears down the road, the intriguing battle could be Leclerc and Russell for second place. Briton Russell is aiming to score a third podium in four races, while Ferrari man Leclerc is hoping to claim his first of the campaign.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

A week after his outstanding performance to win in Japan, Max Verstappen and Red Bull looked like a different driver in a different car.

He complained over the radio about "terrible" braking and the Red Bull was out of its performance window around the Sakhir track.

"It was tough all weekend," Verstappen said. "For whatever reason I have been struggling with the brakes, the feeling also.

The surprise of qualifying was Pierre Gasly, just 0.375secs off pole for a team that is last in the championship with no points after the first three races.

Image source, Getty Images

Monaco 2.0 has become Suzuka's new name after a procession of a race last weekend. But this second grand prix of the triple-header at the Bahrain International Circuit could provide some decent wheel-to-wheel action because of its long straights, wide layout, three DRS zones and overtaking opportunities at Turns One and Four.

The low-tyre degradation of Japan will also be replaced by a much rougher ride in Sakhir today. The tarmac is as old as Kimi Antonelli and with the temperatures will still toasty even at night fall, managing those compounds over the course of each stint will be crucial to a successful day in the desert.

Image source, Getty Images

The mix up by Mercedes when they sent George Russell and Kimi Antonelli out too early for the restart of Q2 following Esteban Ocon's crash has cost the pair a place on the grid.

According to the stewards, the team misinterpreted the 'estimated restart time' message on the timing screen to mean the actual restart start.

Russell will line up in third place now with Charles Leclerc moving up to P2.

Antonelli drops down the fifth spot, lifting the Alpine of Pierre Gasly up to fourth.

Image source, Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton, who starts ninth for Ferrari: "I feel OK, just looking forward to getting into the race."

On the team: "It's a really, really great team, the energy and passion within the team is just incredible. I've just got to work on delivering better for them and try and see if I can get a bit further ahead today and get some points.

"Charles [Leclerc] did an amazing job yesterday so I really hope today he can have a chance at winning, that would be amazing for the team. We just keep pushing."

Image source, Getty Images

It was another head-scratching qualifying for Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari with the seven-time world champion 0.597seconds off the pace of his new team-mate Charles Leclerc. The Italian team have brought a significant upgrade package to Bahrain with a new floor on the car but Hamilton still could not get close to the pole spot during a Q3 session.

The 40-year-old, like Lando Norris, was critical of his performance, saying he is "not doing a good enough job" at the moment. It's all a learning curve for Hamilton this season, though, after a long and successful career at Mercedes. But for now he said he doesn't have the answers for how he can turn his qualifying showing around.

McLaren's Lando Norris, who is starting down in sixth: "I went to bed and woke up again and I feel a bit better. I'm still optimistic, the car has been great all weekend, obviously I've been a little bit off it but I'm still optimistic that I can get back in the rhythm today.

"I'm excited, I just want to put on a bit more of a show today so hopefully that's the case."

On a possible podium: "I think so for sure. It's a long race with a lot of degradation but it's hard to plan these kind of things.

"I want to be optimistic because our pace on Friday was strong and I've just got to do some overtaking and put on a little show. Strategy can come into play today and safety cars so hopefully all of that goes our way."

Image source, Getty Images

There was not much joy to be found when Lando Norris did his post-qualifying interviews yesterday. The McLaren driver was brutally honest (maybe too honest?) with his assessment of how he performed in Q3, saying he felt "clueless" and "like I have never driven a Formula 1 car before".

While the car feels "amazing", Norris said he had no big complaints because he's just felt off it all weekend. Luckily, he has a chance to make amends today and sixth on the grid isn't too far back from the front-runners.

"I've just got to work on myself," he added. "I can't fault the team and the car is the best by a long way. But clearly I'm just not clicking at the minute."