Verstappen beats Hamilton to Bahrain pole, Bottas 3rd
Perez out in Q2, Vettel out in Q1, Verstappen fastest in final practice
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Daniel Eckersley: A Mercedes-powered Russell and a Ferrari-powered Schumacher going head-to-head feels like a little glimpse into the future of F1. It could be an epic season-long battle between the two...for 17th.
Toby Collins: I think Max Verstappen is going to take a very easy pole. Been watching all weekend and the Red Bull is clearly much faster, not sure why everyone thinks it will be close?? Just me?
A Mazepin spin brings out the yellow flags briefly. That's his third of the weekend, this one at Turn 13 and that is back to the pits for him and a less than ideal start to his first qualifying session.
"Lost the rears," says the Russian.
Here we go for qualifying. Rarely has there been so much excitement over what is going to happen over the next hour or so.
We start with 18 minutes of action in Q1. The top 15 will advance into Q2, the bottom five will be eliminated.
Your qualifying predictions
Reece Young: My top 10 for Quali 1. Verstappen 2. Hamilton 3. Perez 4. Norris 5. Bottas 6. Ricciardo 7. Gasly 8. Leclerc 9. Sainz 10. Tsunoda
The drivers won't be happy to hear that the wind has got stronger, but it adds another dramatic aspect to it all.
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BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
Press the play button at the top of the page to listen to BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and our superb team of Jack Nicholls, Jolyon Palmer, Jennie Gow and Andrew Benson.
"It's a season-defining qualifying session," says Jack.
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Max Verstappen starts as favourite for qualifying, which is some achievement considering Mercedes won 13 of 17 races last season.
Image source, .
Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
Lando Norris in the McLaren looked really good yesterday and McLaren, with a Mercedes engine and the signing of Daniel Ricciardo, are a punchy team.
With Ferrari there are just a few signs they are starting to move forward from the doldrums of last year and Carlos Sainz, Norris' team-mate last year, has looked remarkably good.
Your qualifying predictions
Chris of Ballard: My top 10: 1. Hamilton 2. Verstappen (less than a tenth between them) 3. Gasly (almost a second back) 4. Perez 5. Bottas 6. Norris 7. Ricciardo 8. Tsunoda 9. Stroll 10. Russell (it's a much closer field and Mr Saturday can do wonders).
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Which is the best looking F1 car on the grid in 2021?
The winner of that semi-final will meet the racing green of Aston Martin, who defeated Alfa Romeo.
The Aston Martin picked up 2,401 votes, compared to 1,108 for the Alfa Romeo.
The final will be tomorrow.
Image source, .Round 1
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Semi-final: McLaren (thumbs up) v Williams (thumbs down)
Second semi-final time. It's McLaren, who absolutely crushed Ferrari in the best-looking quarter-final, versus Williams, which judging by the responses is either a car you love or you hate.
For a place in Sunday's final, press 'thumbs up' for McLaren and 'thumbs down' for Williams.
As with all the other votes, you have an hour to choose.
Image source, Getty ImagesMcLaren (thumbs up)...
Image source, Getty Images...or Williams (thumbs down)
Jack Nicholls
BBC Radio 5 Live F1 commentator
Fernando Alonso with the Alpine team has been outpaced by team-mate Esteban Ocon in every season.
Mick Schumacher is in for a tough season. If he is quicker than Nikita Mazepin, that's all he can do as the car he is driving is absolute rubbish.
It will be interesting to see how Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time world champion Michael, gets on today. With the way the Haas team have struggled this weekend, getting out of Q1 would be a great result.
Watch below as Schumacher tells BBC sports editor Dan Roan he is "happy to have brought back the Schumacher name into F1" as he prepares for his "lifelong dream" of competing in a Formula 1 race.
I'm happy to have brought back the Schumacher name into F1
Your qualifying predictions
Kristine Kirby: My top Bahrain GP top 10 qualifying guess (hard one for pole, because Mercedes usually has something in the bag for Q3 and I think we’ve seen the true pace of Red Bulls)
1. Verstappen, 2. Hamilton, 3. Bottas, 4. Gasly, 5. Norris, 6. Sainz, 7. Perez, 8. Leclerc, 9. Ricciardo, 10. Stroll
Sheldon Dougherty: My Predictions for Quali in Bahrain later today are as follows: 1. Verstappen 2. Hamilton 3. Norris 4. Perez 5. Bottas 6. Gasly 7. Ricciardo 8. Sainz 9. Kimi 10. Leclerc.
Just over 20 minutes until the first qualifying of the season. Alpha Tauri will have genuine hopes of starting tomorrow in the top six - and it's not often we say that.
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And Hamilton, who signed a one-year deal to race for Mercedes earlier this year, has just tweeted the following...
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Image source, Getty ImagesLewis Hamilton says world champions Mercedes are "not the fastest" team heading into the first race of the new Formula 1 season in Bahrain.
Mercedes struggled with their car in testing and Hamilton said the title fight would "absolutely" be closer than 2020, which he and his team dominated.
The seven-time champion said: "It's massively exciting for us as a team. We're not the fastest. How are we going to work to get to where we want to be? That challenge is so exciting."
Hamilton added that the team had been working hard in the week and a half since testing finished to understand the problems they were having with their car, which was unstable at the rear.
"I am fully confident they have done the absolute best," Hamilton said, "but it is going to be a continued battle to get the car to be where we want it to be."
Image source, Getty ImagesBritain's George Russell says he has proved he can fight for world titles and wants a car that will allow him to do that.
The Williams driver, 23, starred in a one-off race for Mercedes in Bahrain last year, when he stood in for Lewis Hamilton, andlost a win only to a team pit-stop error.
Russell said: "That opportunity I had last year showed that when the pressure is on, when I am thrown into the deep end, I was able to do a pretty solid job."
He added: "I got a small taste of being at the front. I believe in myself. I believe I'm capable."
Russell is in the running for a Mercedes seat in 2022, with both Hamilton and team-mate Valtteri Bottas out of contract.
"I don't believe I'm the finished product yet," he told 5 Live Breakfast. "I believe I've still got to improve but I think I'm definitely capable of winning races and fighting for World Championships.
"Ultimately I need to find myself in a car and a team that I think will give me the best opportunity in doing that because I need to be in that position now to start capitalising when I get into my prime."