SAKHIR: Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas took pole position ahead of temporary teammate George Russell for the Sakhir Grand Prix on Saturday.
It was the 16th pole of Bottas' career and he placed just .026 seconds ahead of Russell, driving in a Mercedes for the first time in the absence of world champion Lewis Hamilton, and .056 clear of Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
“I'm happy to be on pole but it wasn't my best performance in qualifying,” said Bottas, who has five poles this season and goes for his third win of the campaign.
But he was pushed hard by the highly rated Russell, who made the transition from Williams seamlessly.
Charles Leclerc, who led F1 with seven poles last season, drove superbly in a Ferrari which has not been competitive this year and qualified in fourth place ahead of Racing Point's Sergio Perez.
Former champion Kimi Raikkonen was among the five drivers eliminated from Q1, the first part of qualifying. Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari; McLaren's Lando Norris, and Red Bull's Alexander Albon all went out of Q2, while Verstappen topped it to set himself up well for Q3.
Earlier, Verstappen boosted Red Bull by posting the fastest time in the third and final practice but lacked enough pace to unsettle Mercedes on his final lap in qualifying.
“I hope we have a bit of fun tomorrow,” Verstappen said after missing out on his first pole this season. “All the lap times are so close.”
In P3, Verstappen moved up the leaderboard late in the session to finish .21 seconds ahead of Bottas and .36 clear of Russell.
Verstappen has won one race this season in a slower car than Mercedes.
Russell topped both of Friday's practice sessions in an impressive performance after stepping in as a replacement for world champion Lewis Hamilton, who is self-isolating for 10 days after contracting the coronavirus earlier this week.
Hamilton sealed his record-equaling seventh F1 title last month in Turkey in a season where he extended his record number of pole positions to 98 and broke the F1 record for GP wins.
Hamilton has 95 wins compared to 91 for seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher, whose son Mick is set to clinch the F2 title this weekend ahead of his move into F1 with the Haas team next season.
Drivers again raced at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir but on a smaller outer track of 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) instead of 5.4 kilometers (3.3 miles) and with 87 laps rather than 54.
Haas driver Romain Grosjean, who escaped a horrific crash at last Sunday’s Bahrain GP with minor burns and a sprained ankle, was replaced by Pietro Fittipaldi. He is the grandson of two-time F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi and is the fourth member of Fittipaldi to race in F1.
He will start his first F1 race from last place on the grid.
Valtteri Bottas takes pole position for Sakhir GP ahead of George Russell in Bahrain
https://arab.news/93vf6
Valtteri Bottas takes pole position for Sakhir GP ahead of George Russell in Bahrain
Hakimi, Salah and Osimhen head star-packed AFCON last-16 cast
- A star-studded cast led by Achraf Hakimi, Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen switch to knockout fare from Saturday, when the Africa Cup of Nations resumes in Morocco
RABAT: A star-studded cast led by Achraf Hakimi, Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen switch to knockout fare from Saturday, when the Africa Cup of Nations resumes in Morocco.
Paris Saint-Germain defender Hakimi was crowned 2025 African player of the year in November. Liverpool attacker Salah and Galatasaray striker Osimhen were the runners-up.
After 36 matches spread across six groups, the 16 survivors from 24 hopefuls clash in eight second-round matches over four days.
Fit-again Hakimi is set to lead title favorites Morocco against Tanzania, Salah will captain Egypt against Benin and Osimhen-inspired Nigeria tackle Mozambique.
AFP Sport looks at the match-ups that will determine which nations advance to the quarter-finals, and move one step closer to a record $10 million (8.5 million euros) first prize.
Senegal v Sudan
Veteran Sadio Mane and Paris Saint-Germain 17-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye, in two appearances off the bench, have been among the stars as 2022 champions Senegal confirmed why they are among the favorites by winning Group D. Sudan, representing a country ravaged by civil war since 2023, reached the second round despite failing to score. Their only Group F win, against Equatorial Guinea, came via an own goal.
Mali v Tunisia
“If we carry on playing like this we will not go much further,” warned Belgium-born Mali coach Tom Saintfiet after three Group A draws. Tunisia did well to hold Morocco, but were woeful against Nigeria until they trailed by three goals. The Carthage Eagles then scored twice and came close to equalising.
Morocco v Tanzania
A mismatch on paper as Morocco, whose only previous title came 50 years ago, are 101 places above Tanzania in the world rankings. The east Africans ended a 45-year wait to get past the first round thanks to two draws. Morocco boast a potent strike force of Brahim Diaz from Real Madrid and Ayoub El Kaabi of Olympiacos. They have scored three goals each to share the Golden Boot lead with Algerian Riyad Mahrez.
South Africa v Cameroon
South Africa debuted in the AFCON 30 years ago by hammering Cameroon 3-0 in Johannesburg. It should be much closer when they meet a second time with only four places separating them in the world rankings. In pursuit of goals, South Africa will look to Oswin Appollis and Lyle Foster while 19-year-old Christian Kofane struck a stunning match-winner for Cameroon against Mozambique.
Egypt v Benin
Struggling to score for Liverpool this season, Salah has regained his appetite for goals in southern Morocco. He claimed match winners against Zimbabwe and South Africa to win Group B. Benin celebrated their first AFCON win 25 years after debuting by edging Botswana. The Cheetahs are a compact, spirited outfit led by veteran striker Steve Mounie, but lack punch up front.
Nigeria v Mozambique
Livewire Osimhen is a huge aerial threat and could have scored hat-tricks against Tanzania and Tunisia in Group C, but managed just one goal. Fellow former African player of the year Ademola Lookman has also impressed. Mozambique lost 3-0 in their previous AFCON meeting with the Super Eagles 16 years ago. It is likely to be tighter this time with striker Geny Catamo posing a threat for the Mambas (snakes).
Algeria v DR Congo
The clash of two former champions is potentially the match of the round. It is the only tie involving two European coaches — Bosnian Vladimir Petkovic and Frenchman Sebastien Desabre. Algeria and Nigeria were the only teams to win all three group matches. Former Manchester City winger Mahrez has been an inspirational captain while scoring three times.
Ivory Coast v Burkina Faso
This is the only match featuring nations from the same region. Burkina Faso and defending champions Ivory Coast share a border in west Africa. Manchester United winger Amad Diallo was the only winner of two player-of-the-match awards in the group stage. The Ivorian now face impressive Burkinabe defenders Edmond Tapsoba and Issoufou Dayo.
