Summary

  • Perez takes pole, Leclerc 2nd, Alonso 3rd

  • Verstappen out in second session with power issue; Norris out in first session

  • Leclerc will take grid penalty, meaning Alonso starts 2nd and Russell 3rd

  • Get involved using #BBCF1 on Twitter

Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna

  1. Elimination zone

    16. Lando Norris (McLaren)

    17. Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri)

    18. Nyck de Vries (Alpha Tauri)

    19. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

    20. Logan Sargeant (Williams)

  2. The yellow flag was a quick one and the action is under way again.

    This is not the news McLaren wanted, as Lando Norris' car is being tweaked and fiddled with in the garage. With two minutes to go it doesn't look like the Briton is going to get back out.

  3. Team radio- Williams to Sargeant

    Engineer: "Your lap was deleted for track laps on turn 27."

    Sargeant: "Turn 27 you can't go off."

  4. yellow flag

    Yellow flag

    Logan Sargeant is the wrong way around. The Williams man, who was less than impressed with his lap time being deleted, avoids any major disasters and is back on his way.

  5. Fernando Alonso has dusted himself and managed to put a time on the board following his little twirl a few moments ago. The Spaniard clocks a time of 1:29.404 to go P4, which is six tenths off Max Verstappen's marker.

  6. Charles Leclerc is carrying the weight of a 10-place grid drop for tomorrow but in Q1 now the Ferrari man is up into third place behind the two Red Bulls.

    Just behind the Monegasque driver are the Mercedes of George Russell in fourth and Lewis Hamilton and fifth.

  7. Alice Powell
    British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Even though he (Norris) slightly locked up that wall heads for you quickly. McLaren's looking certainly better than there were in Bahrain that's for sure.

  8. Lando Norris needs to box already, as the McLaren driver hits the wall on the way into one of the 27 hair-raising corners.

    Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, is out on track and immediately suffers a spin and scuffs up his lap.

  9. Drop zone

    16. Logan Sargeant (Williams)

    17. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

    18. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

    19. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

    20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

  10. With Logan Sargeant punished, Nico Hulkenberg is the next driver to complete his lap and go to the top of the board in the Haas.

    Here come the two Red Bulls though and Hulkenberg finds himself pushed down into third within a few high-speed corners as Sergio Perez goes quickest, followed by team-mate Max Verstappen.

    The Dutchman is already in the 1:28s on the soft tyres.

  11. Logan Sargeant, Alex Albon's new team-mate for 2023 at Williams, is the new leader of the field in the 1:29s. But his delight doesn't last long as the American has his lap time deleted for track limits.

  12. Soft tyres for the first 12 drivers who have come out early in Q1. Alex Albon is the first man to cross the line in the Williams with a time of 1:30.167. Nyck de Vries has made it out for this session but the Alpha Tauri screeches to a halt after a lock-up.

  13. 'He's just so strong'

    Alice Powell
    British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    l don't want to spoil it for anyone but I think Max Verstappen might be on pole. He's just so strong, especially in FP3, Red Bull seem to really have it under control at the moment.

  14. Click the audio icon to listen to full commentary of qualifying at the top of this page.

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  15. Go! Go! Go!

    This is going to be quick. Good luck in Q1.

  16. Bahrain joy for Aston Martin

    Fernando Alonso's superb podium and Lance Stroll's remarkable recovery places Aston Martin second in the constructors' championship behind last year's winners Red Bull.

    Haas, Alpha Tauri and McLaren will be hoping to get off the mark this weekend after coming away from Sakhir empty handed.

    Constructors' championshipBBC Sport

  17. Red Bull on top

    Very, early days in this 23-race season but this is how the drivers' championship looks after the Bahrain Grand Prix.

    Lance Stroll broke both wrists and his big toe in his pre-season cycling accident but the Canadian still managed to collect eight points for his Aston Martin team with a six-placed finish.

    The extra point for fastest lap went to Zhou Guanyu with a 1:33.996, but as the Alfa Romeo man didn't finish in the top 10, he didn't get to collect the bonus prize.

    Drivers' championshipBBC Sport

  18. Weather watch

    Rain is not invited to the Jeddah street circuit this weekend but a light to moderate breeze may be given a ticket to join for the main events.

    Jeddah weather

  19. Tyre talk

    A reminder the tyres on offer this weekend are the C2 (white, hard), C3 (yellow, medium) and C4 (red, soft). These are in the middle of the Pirelli range.

    A one-stop strategy was the fastest option in 2022, when a safety car led to an early trip to the pits for most drivers, who then finished the 50-lap race on the hard compounds.

    Pirelli tyresPirelli Motorsport Twitter

  20. Nyck de Vries had to be a spectator during third practice after Alpha Tauri detected an issue on his car but their social media team has just released a clip of the Dutchman warming up with his trainer, so looks like the 28-year-old can suit up and get ready for qualifying.