F1 Bahrain GP Main Race 2023 timings for all regions revealed

The 2023 F1 season has officially kicked off as fans all over the world are excited to see the drivers go wheel-to-wheel once again. With practice and qualifying sessions behind, the focus now shifts to the main event in Sakhir.

It's been a long wait since the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi as F1 returns to the deserts of Bahrain. The green flag for the 57-lap race drops at 6:00 PM local time.

The start timings for the F1 Bahrain GP for all regions across different timezones are revealed below:

Time Zone	Start Time
GMT	15:00
IST	20:30
ET	10:00
BRT	12:00
PT	07:00
CET	16:00
AEDT	02:00
JST	00:00
EAT	18:00
CST	09:00

---

Defending champion Max Verstappen claims pole at F1 season opener

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen qualified on the pole, claiming his 21st career pole position. The Dutchman was 'surprised' to find himself at the top of the timing sheet.

The RB19 seemed difficult to handle in the practice sessions despite running a similar setup to the pre-season test. Both Red Bull drivers had a difficult start to the qualifying session but improved progressively. The duo managed to lock in the front row in their final runs.

Verstappen took pole position on the day his dad Jos Verstappen turned 51. He said in the post-session interview:

"I hope he was watching. I am pretty sure he was watching. I think it has been a bit of a tough start to the weekend yesterday and today, really not finding my rhythm. Luckily in qualifying, I think we managed to put the best pieces together and of course, I am very happy to be on pole."

He added:

"For the whole team coming off last year and again having such a strong car with Checo up there as well. It is amazing and I am looking forward to tomorrow."

Sergio Perez managed to qualify second, but the Mexican driver missed out on the pole by one-tenth of a second. Perez emphasized that the team had compromised the setup to be quick on Sunday.

Perez said:

"If anything, we prepared much more to do the race, you know? We have more of a Sunday race car at the moment, underneath us. We knew we would have to do some compromises for quali which we were doing. They were not ideal but hopefully it plays out and we have a very strong race car."

The Ferrari drivers unleashed their pace in the qualifying session but were no match for the Red Bulls. Fernando Alonso was the star of the session, qualifying fifth, ahead of both Mercedes drivers.

Nico Hulkenberg made a stellar comeback qualifying in the top 10. Rookie Logan Sergeant had an impressive qualifying session, missing out on Q2 by a hair. The American lines up beside his teammate on his F1 debut.