F1 Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying results: Full grid lineup, biggest surprises and disappointments

Sunday in Bahrain could bring even more intrigue into the F1 championship battle.

As Lando Norris and Max Verstappen come into round four with one point between them, McLaren's Oscar Piastri put his car on pole. Meanwhile, Norris and Verstappen will be a few rows back when the lights go out. Norris sounds positive about making the places back on Sunday in the clear fastest car on the grid.

George Russell was set to line up alongside Piastri with an impressive lap just under 2 tenths back from pole, but he and teammate Kimi Antonelli were hit with a bizarre 1-place penalty for leaving their garages too early.

Charles Leclerc will now line up at P2, and Pierre Gasly’s monster of a lap in the Alpine will now put him in P4 at race start Sunday. Gasly has made a habit of wildly overdelivering in quali pace since coming to the French team a few years back. Gasly has now qualified ninth or better in six of his last ten efforts.

Carlos Sainz made his Q3 debut for Williams in what appeared to be a competitive car for James Vowles' team. Alex Albon missed Q3 for the first time this season, lamenting his team's preparation efforts.

Bizarrely, Albon seemingly should've gotten into Q2 due to a lap deletion for Nico Hulkenberg in Q1. But the deletion didn't occur until after qualifying was over.

Yuki Tsunoda got into Q3 as well for the first time with Red Bull, and Jack Doohan just missed out on his first Q3 appearance. Aston Martin's expectations were on display, with Fernando Alonso sounding happy with a Q2 elimination, and Lance Stroll will be lining up on the back row.

Haas had a brutal afternoon, with Oliver Bearman qualifying last, and Esteban Ocon crashing out of Q2 after an error in the Bahrain circuit's first sector.

The Bahrain Grand Prix gets going Sunday under the lights. Start time for the race and how to watch can be found here.

Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying results