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From the sunset of Melbourne into the twilight of Manama, the Formula One world championship moves to its second stop for 2019, arriving at the Sakhir circuit for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Join The Roar for a live blog, starting from 2:10am AEDT.
Mercedes AMG and Valtteri Bottas stunned the entire grid with their dominant performance in Australia, coming away from the round with maximum points – including the extra point now awarded for fastest lap.
Preseason favourites Ferrari were left scratching their heads after finishing almost a minute behind the Silver Arrows, however they arrive in Bahrain with confidence that they’ve regained their testing speed.
The 5.4km Bahraini circuit is more representative of the traditional grand prix venues that Formula One visits throughout the year, including the testing venue in Barcelona.
It’s combination of high-speed corners and long straights – which this year will feature three DRS zones, will present more chances for overtaking and give a better representation of how strong a team is.
As expected, Ferrari’s speed from testing was on full display through practice and qualifying, as they were comfortably fastest through every session.
A maiden career pole position was claimed by Charles Leclerc, in only his second race for the Scuderia and it was a front-row lockout for Ferrari, with Sebastian Vettel lining up second.
Mercedes AMG occupy the second row of the grid, with Lewis Hamilton to lead their attack on the red cars – however the race pace during practice suggests the Ferraris will be faster in the grand prix too.
Max Verstappen again completes the top five, as he aims to turn around Red Bull’s poor fortunes at this race, having himself retired for the past two years in succession.
Fourth for Pierre Gasly last year in the Honda-powered Toro Rosso will be encouraging for the improved power-unit.
Another interesting midfield battle looms, with Kevin Magnussen leading the pack for Haas. Both McLarens feature inside the top ten, with Carlos Sainz outqualifying rookie teammate Lando Norris on this occasion.
Disappointing for the works Renault outfit though, with Daniel Ricciardo just outside the top ten in eleventh, though will have a free choice of starting tyre – which’ll give strategic options during the race.
He’s claimed his first pole, but can Leclerc make a statement of intent for this championship with a first win of his young career?
57-laps await of the Bahrain Grand Prix, so tune in from Monday 2:10am AEDT for live blog updates, as Formula One well and truly lights up in 2019.
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