Lewis Hamilton’s Bahrain GP qualifying lap just got even more amazing with new data coming out!
Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in second place after an amazing qualifying lap at the Sepang International Circuit—new data shows just how impressive it was.
Hamilton will line up right behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who grabbed his first pole position of the season for the race on Sunday. Verstappen’s pole time of 1:35.130 was just under three tenths faster than Hamilton, who was himself two tenths ahead of Kimi Antonelli in third. While Verstappen’s lap was the fastest overall, Hamilton’s performance was impressive in its own way too.
Data on straight-line speed shows that Verstappen’s teammate Isack Hadjar, who qualified third but has a five-place grid penalty, actually had the quickest car on the straights during qualifying in Sepang. Verstappen was only 0.4% slower than Hadjar, proving how strong the Red Bull Ford powertrain is around a lap just under 95 seconds.
Antonelli and Hamilton’s Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc were about 0.9% slower than Hadjar, while Hamilton himself was 1.8% slower on the straights. Despite that, six drivers had slower straight-line speed than Hamilton, with only George Russell from those six making it into Q3.
That means Hamilton had to really perfect his cornering to make up time, hitting a personal best in sector two by 0.3 seconds compared to his earlier lap. However, he lost some time in the final sector, which includes two slow corners, a long back straight, and the run to the finish line.
After claiming pole, Verstappen told F1TV’s Laurence Barretto, “From Q1 onwards, you could tell I was in the mix. The car has been working really well for me. After a tough start to the year, we made lots of improvements and better understood the car’s behavior. It’s an amazing moment for everyone to get our first pole. We want that as a team, and I’m very happy. Hopefully, we can have a strong race tomorrow.”
Hamilton spoke to Sky Sports F1’s Naomi Schiff and said, “We made one last change before qualifying and I think we found the sweet spot. Closing the gap to Max, who’s been super quick all weekend, is great, and I’m really grateful. I’m much happier with the car compared to practice. But tomorrow will be a different challenge. The tires overheat from the start, so every little slip or spin matters, especially with the wind. I think we have a good balance. Max was really strong in long runs, so I’ll do my best to keep up.”
The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia starts at 8am UK time on Sunday morning.