Defending champion Max Verstappen has secured pole position for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.
During the first three practice sessions ahead of the first race of the season, Fernando Alonso stole the headlines for his surprising pace in the Aston Martin.
However, it was business as usual for Red Bull driver Verstappen as he cruised to the 21st pole position of his career.
The Dutchman finished 0.138 seconds ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez, the pair benefitting from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc ending Q3 early seemingly due to a technical issue.
Leclerc was still able to retain hold of third place, with fellow Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr joining him on the second row with his last flying lap.
Despite opting against a late flying lap, Alonso was fifth fastest, while Mercedes' George Russell did enough to edge out Lewis Hamilton for sixth by just 0.044 seconds.
Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10, the latter not registering a time in Q3 due to exceeding track limits.
Newcomers Logan Sargeant, Oscar Piastri and Nyck de Vries - in the Williams, Haas and AlphaTauri respectively - qualified in 16th, 18th and 19th positions. body check tags ::
