SAKHIR, Bahrain: McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took pole position in Bahrain ahead of his 50th Formula One start with George Russell putting his Mercedes alongside the Australian on the front row for Sunday’s race.
Piastri’s championship-leading teammate Lando Norris qualified only sixth, a potentially significant blow in the title battle although closest rival Max Verstappen will start seventh for Red Bull.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc qualified third and Mercedes’ Italian rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli fourth with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly fifth.
Piastri, who was also fastest in two out of three practice sessions, lapped the floodlit Sakhir circuit with a best time of one minute 29.841 seconds, 0.168 faster than Russell. The pole was his second of the season and his career.
“I’ve felt confident out there pretty much all weekend,” said Piastri, who has a great chance to slash the 13-point championship gap to Norris — who leads Verstappen by just one after three races.
“The others caught up a little bit closer than what I wanted but I still delivered the laps when it mattered, which was the most important thing at the end.”
Russell said he was shocked to finish so close to Piastri after struggling for grip in the afternoon’s final practice.
“I think if anybody said we’d have been within half a second of the McLarens we’d have taken it because we would have thought that would have been P3 on the grid. So to be second on the grid is a bonus,” he said.
“So lining up P2 is a great chance for tomorrow, but I think being realistic it will be a challenge to fight with Oscar.”
Carlos Sainz qualified eighth for Williams with Ferrari’s seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton ninth and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda 10th.
It was the first time this season that both Red Bulls had reached the final top 10 shootout.
Esteban Ocon crashed his Haas in the second phase, triggering red flags after he careered backwards across the gravel into the barriers.
The Frenchman said he was OK but took his time clambering out and was taken away in the medical car.
Australian rookie Jack Doohan qualified his Alpine 11th, his best qualifying session yet, and one place ahead of Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar.
Alex Albon failed to make it through the opening phase for the first time this season, the Williams driver qualifying only 16th.
Albon was then promoted to 15th — but too late to continue in the session — when Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg had his lap deleted.
Hadjar’s teammate Liam Lawson, demoted from Red Bull to Racing Bulls after the opening two races, had another difficult evening and was only 17th fastest.
Oscar Piastri on pole in Bahrain for his 50th F1 start
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Oscar Piastri on pole in Bahrain for his 50th F1 start
- Russell alongside on front row for Mercedes
- Leclerc qualifies third, Antonelli fourth
Afghan IOC member Asghari hopes Taliban dialogue sparks women’s rights u-turn
- Asghari, who in 2018 became Afghanistan’s first ever IOC member, accepts her “situation is quite challenging” and beating the drum for Afghan women’s sport “does require certain precautions“
- Asghari says the “conversations are not always easy“
PARIS: Afghanistan’s International Olympic Committee member Samira Asghari has told AFP that the Taliban authorities need to realize that if they are ever to be accepted internationally they must respect the rights of women to education and sport.
Asghari, who at 31 is living in exile for the second time, does however favor engaging with Afghanistan’s rulers.
The Taliban government has banned girls from schools beyond the age of 12, and barred women from most jobs and public services — and from playing sport.
Asghari, who in 2018 became Afghanistan’s first ever IOC member, accepts her “situation is quite challenging” and beating the drum for Afghan women’s sport “does require certain precautions.”
Nevertheless, the former international basketball player, like many top Afghan women athletes, is undeterred in speaking out about the treatment of women under the Taliban authorities.
“The reality is that when you take a public stand for women’s rights you do become a target, but I believe strongly in communication and engagement,” she said in an email interview.
“As long as the Taliban remain the reality on the ground in Afghanistan, we cannot afford to waste time doing nothing.
“In my role, I have tried to help smooth the discussions between the IOC and those currently in control, focusing on the sport rights of women and girls and particularly primary school girls who are still inside Afghanistan.”
The IOC has held discussions with the Taliban authorities since 2021, after some Afghan athletes, coaches and their families were evacuated from the country.
In negotiations ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the IOC secured the presence of a gender-balanced team of Afghan athletes, all of whom were in exile.
Asghari, one of four children of a retired professional make-up artist mother and a father who was a manager in the Afghan Olympic national committee, says the “conversations are not always easy.”
“They are not about legitimising any government,” she said.
“But they are very important for creating tangible opportunities for future generations of young boys and girls in Afghanistan.”
- ‘Fundamental change’ -
With Afghan sportswomen spread round the globe, putting together teams is complex.
However, a women’s football team, Afghan Women United, made up of players based in Europe and Australia, recently competed in FIFA Unites: Women’s Series 2025 in Morocco.
“This support for athletes outside Afghanistan is just the first step, and I hope FIFA can align with the IOC’s ongoing talks with the Taliban,” she said.
Asghari hopes the message gets through to Afghanistan’s rulers.
“The Taliban were given the country and now they’re trying to maintain power while ignoring fundamental human rights, particularly for women,” she said.
“It’s very difficult for them to continue ruling Afghanistan this way in the long term, and the Taliban need to understand that their international acceptance is directly linked to respecting human rights, including the rights of women to education and sport.”
Asghari, who attended the recent Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh where Afghan women and men competed, said she hoped for “small openings” in the Taliban’s stance.
“I also believe that if we can find small openings — like developing sport in primary schools where girls are still allowed to attend up to sixth grade — we should take them,” she said.
“This isn’t about accepting the Taliban’s restrictions, it’s about not abandoning the girls and women of Afghanistan.
“We have to work with reality, while continuing to push for fundamental change.”
Asghari says even achieving small breakthroughs like that could prevent the long-term harm women suffered during the Taliban’s first spell in power, from 1996 to 2001.
She said had seen the impact on her return from her first period of exile, in Iran.
“What concerns me deeply is that we’re creating another lost generation,” she said.
“I remember when I was in sixth grade aged 12, and there was a 20-year-old woman sitting next to me in the same class because she couldn’t go to school during the previous Taliban era.
“I didn’t know how to communicate with her and it was difficult for both of us, but especially for her because she had lost so many years.
“I cannot accept seeing this happen again. That’s why even small opportunities matter so much.”
Asghari retains hope despite the bleak outlook and believes in “continued engagement and dialogue” with the Taliban.
“The future of Afghanistan is this young generation. We need to give them every opportunity we can, no matter how small, and never, ever give up on them.”
