01 March 2024 , 17:23
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Red Bull chief Christian Horner insisted Max Verstappen had nothing to apologise for after landing pole position for the 2024 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
After being told by engineer Gianpiero Lambiase on team radio that he had done "enough" for pole position on Friday, Verstappen said sorry to Lambiase. It appeared the reigning champion wasn't confident his hot lap was sufficient, but in the end he was 0.228 seconds clear of closest challenger Charles Leclerc.
"Nothing to be sorry about Max," Horner said after the defending champ crossed the line. "A very good start. Two tenths clear of Charles and three tenths clear of George [Russell]."
"We did very well in that qualifying to get the most out of it," Verstappen responded after making sure of pole. "So thank you to everyone. Well done."
Verstappen won in Bahrain in 2023 to kick off a dominant season, and team-mate Sergio Perez was second on that occasion. Perez will need to make up some ground this time if he wants a repeat, though, having qualified down in fifth.
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Leclerc's Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz is in fourth, with Fernando Alonso in sixth for Aston Martin. He's followed by the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, with Lewis Hamilton ninth as he kicks off his final Mercedes season and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg rounding out the top ten.
"To really get everything out of it in Q3 was a little more difficult but I'm very happy to be on pole," Verstappen said, per Sky Sports "It was a little bit unexpected but luckily in qualifying the car came to us and I felt a bit happier with the whole car."
Will Max Verstappen start the season with a win in Bahrain? Have your say in the comments section
Max Verstappen won in Bahrain in 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)Verstappen's comments came after he appeared to be having a tough time in practice before the season opener. "Everything is s***, like miles off," he was heard saying on team radio.
Leclerc wasn't quite able to bridge the gap, though, and the Ferrari driver appeared a little frustrated not to have out-qualified his rival. "I’m a bit disappointed, but yeah, we did a good qualifying," he said ahead of the Saturday grand prix. "It’s been a tricky weekend until now. We were trying quite a few things in practice and then I found the sweet spot in qualifying.
"I’m confident we did a step forward but we have to wait and see tomorrow how much of a step forward we did," Leclerc added. "We really think that Red Bull is still ahead by quite a bit, in the race I mean. So we’ll see, but if there’s an opportunity as always I’ll go for it, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow."