Oscar Piastri has the chance to become the first Australian to lead the F1 world championship in nearly 15 years in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver will start the 57-lap event from pole after a blistering qualifying session with team-mate Lando Norris only sixth after a "clueless" performance.
Piastri is joined on the front-row by Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, knowing that if he wins, and Norris is fourth or lower, he will become the first Australian since his manager Mark Webber to lead the drivers' championship after a grand prix since the 2010 Japan event.
Elsewhere, George Russell lost his front-row spot after he and team-mate Kimi Antonelli were handed a one-place grid penalty for a rules breach in qualifying, with Max Verstappen one place behind Norris in seventh.
Lewis Hamilton is ninth for Ferrari following a poor qualifying session.
You can follow all the action below with our dedicated live blog, which also features live timing!
Race - Bahrain
Also interesting:
WATCH: F1 Update: Verstappen Hamilton & Norris suffer Bahrain blues as Mercedes punished
Join RacingNews365’s Ian Parkes and Nick Golding as they reflect on qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix which saw a couple of surprise results!
Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.
Follow RacingNews365 on GoogleMost read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..













Join the conversation!