Bahrain Grand Prix: Qualifying Recap

Recap

Uralkali Haas F1 Team drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin qualified 19th and 20th, respectively, for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, the opening round of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship at Bahrain International Circuit.

Both drivers saw their qualifying session end after the opening knockout round – Q1. The run plan for both cars consisted of three timed runs – three new sets of Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires at each driver’s disposal. Schumacher was the first driver to post a time in the session with a 1:33.861, but on his return to the pits he was called to the FIA weighbridge – prompting the team to switch to a two-run plan to compensate for time lost. Schumacher returned later in the session to clock a best lap of 1:32.449 for 19th overall.

Mazepin was forced to abort his opening run after a tail wind lost him the rear tires on his VF-21 at turn 13. His second timed attacked netted a 1:33.273 for the rookie – which would ultimately place him 20th. Like his teammate, Mazepin was called to the FIA weighbridge on his return to the pits costing precious time. A subsequent brake-by-wire issue led to a lock-up at turn one on his last run ending any hope of an improved lap time.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing claimed pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Q3 – the Dutchman’s fourth career Formula 1 pole. His fast lap of 1:28.997 beat Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes by .388 of a second.

 

Nikita Mazepin, Driver No. 9, Uralkali Haas F1 Team

“The conditions in qualifying were very tricky, they’d changed a lot from FP3. Obviously, the temperature had dropped down and the wind had turned around, and these Formula 1 cars are very wind-affected. I had an issue with my brake-by-wire and I locked-up on the rears at turn one. The pedal just went long, it’s something we need to look into. It wasn’t something I expected, and I hadn’t had it happen before driving in the test here or in practice. Hopefully that won’t happen tomorrow. There’s still plenty to look for but this was always going to be difficult coming into qualifying.”

 

Mick Schumacher, Driver No. 47, Uralkali Haas F1 Team

“I enjoyed the experience a lot. In general, I was happy with my performance today, I’d say I was about 95 percent happy with my lap. I had one little moment with it where I felt I could have done better. To be honest, after having had a disruptive run, it was kind of ok. The car had felt good coming from FP3 and the communication with the team was really good. There’s definitely room for improvement on my side, so I’m just looking forward to being able to get into another qualifying soon. The race is going to be interesting as we see how the cars are going to behave in windier conditions. My main focus is to learn and to gain experience and build on that for the future.”

 

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Uralkali Haas F1 Team

“We were pretty happy with our performance earlier in FP3. We got everything done that we wanted to do – it was difficult circumstances with the heat, but the guys did a good job. Then in qualifying, maybe not everybody saw, but we had both cars stopped on the FIA weighbridge. We wanted to do three runs each with both cars, but the time gets very short to do them – we couldn’t do all that. With Nikita, with rushing, something went wrong with his brake-by-wire setting. That’s when on his third attempt he spun – his rear brakes locked up. All-in-all the result doesn’t look great, but the guys now have their first qualifying under their belt. They experienced about all the issues you can have in qualifying – not least both of them getting stopped on the weighbridge, that was a new one for us. At least they know how do to that now.”

 

Today's Info

Event: Qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix – Saturday March 27
Location: Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir
Layout: 5.412-kilometer (3.363-mile), 15-turn track
Weather: Clear
Air Temps: 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit)
Pole Winner: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:28.997) 
Result: Mick Schumacher qualified 19th, Nikita Mazepin qualified 20th 

Free Practice No. 3 Rundown

Schumacher: 18th overall (1:33.422), 14 laps completed
Mazepin: 19th overall (1:33.622), 14 laps completed
Fastest: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:30.577)

Q1 Rundown: 

⦁    18-minute session with all 20 drivers – Top 15 advance to Q2

Schumacher: 19th overall (1:32.449)
Mazepin: 20th overall (1:33.273)
Fastest: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:30.499) 

Q2 Rundown: 

⦁    15-minute session featuring the Top 15 from Q1 – Top 10 advance to Q3

Fastest: Carlos Sainz of Scuderia Ferrari (1:30.009) 

Q3 Rundown: 

⦁    12-minute session featuring the Top 10 from Q2

Pole Winner: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:28.997)
Second: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (1:29.385)