Lewis Hamilton was simply untouchable, securing top spot during all three qualifying sessions under the Sakhir lights, and was impressive in the decisive Q3 phase to seal his 10th pole of the year.
Up until the final laps, Max Verstappen had been Hamilton’s closest challenger but he lost his spot to Bottas, 0.414s off pole.
Alex Albon finished fourth after recovering from his costly crash on Friday to ensure a second-row lockout for Red Bull in an important race, fractionally ahead of Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, who is vying for the Thai driver’s seat.
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Perez also marginally finished in the fifth position, just half a tenth behind the Red Bull, winning the midfield fight for Racing Point from Renault pair Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon, who themselves were split by a mere 0.002s.
McLaren had a disappointing race as Landwo Norris, who was their lead runner in ninth after Carlos Sainz, spun out at the start of Q2 with an apparent technical problem on his car.
Bahrain GP Top 10
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
3) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
4) Alexander Albon, Red Bull
5) Sergio Perez, Racing Point
6) Daniel Ricciardo, Renault
7) Esteban Ocon, Renault
8) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
9) Lando Norris, McLaren
10) Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri
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