Verstappen picks up where he left off as he takes pole in F1 opener but it’s a disaster for Lewis Hamilton

MAX VERSTAPPEN kicked off the new season with how he finished last year by taking pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Dutchman was comfortably ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, who will start in second place.

GettyMax Verstappen roared to pole for the opening GP of the season[/caption]

EPARed Bull pair Verstappen and Sergio Perez took the top two positions[/caption]

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz qualified in third and fourth respectively as Ferrari locked out the second row on the grid.

But the expected challenge from Fernando Alonso failed to materialise and the Spaniard had to settle for fifth, but crucially ahead of the two Mercedes drivers.

George Russell will start in sixth and Lewis Hamilton will line up alongside him in seventh on the grid.

McLaren face an uphill task this season after Lando Norris failed to reach the top 10 in qualifying.

The Brit has a unique talent of getting the best out of his car during the Saturday sessions but he could only qualify in 11th place as the team’s fears about a lack of pace proved valid.

Based on this evidence, the Woking team only have the seventh quickest car on the grid.

Meanwhile, this season’s three rookies were all given an early bath and knocked out of qualifying at the first hurdle.

Logan Sargeant did the best of the lot in his Williams and will start in 16th place.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST NEW CUSTOMER SIGN UP DEALS

The American matched Norris’ lap time but because the McLaren man had achieved it earlier in the session he was put through.

Norris’s team-mate Oscar Piastri was also knocked out in Q1 and will start ahead of Nyck De Vries, who is making his first full season as an F1 driver with AlphaTauri.

Frenchman Pierre Gasly will start in last place after a disappointing performance after joining Alpine.

AFPSeven-time world champ Lewis Hamilton will line up on Sunday in a disappointing seventh position[/caption]