Formula 1 2021: Grid lineup for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix

The 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix is shaping up to an absolute classic after Red Bull's Max Verstappen dominated Saturday's qualifying session. The flying Dutchman won his fourth career pole position, eclipsing Lewis Hamilton by 0.388 seconds in Q3, setting up the grid for an explosive race that takes place on Sunday, 28th of March.

That's POLE for @Max33Verstappen!!! 🔥 Starting the season as we mean to go on 💪 #BahrainGP 🇧🇭 #ChargeOn 🤘 pic.twitter.com/8laGro7odT

— Red Bull Racing Honda (@redbullracing) March 27, 2021

Apart from the top two teams, it was a strong qualifying session at the Bahrain Grand Prix for the likes of Ferrari and AlphaTauri with Charles Leclerc in P4 and Pierre Gasly in P5. Returning two-time world champion Fernando Alonso impressed as he finished the session in P9 for the rebranded Alpine F1 team. However, it was a completely different story for another world champion. Sebastian Vettel was caught out by yellow flags brought out by Nikita Mazepin's spin towards the end of Q1. The four-time world champion finished his debut qualifying session with Aston Martin in P18.

Bahrain Grand Prix starting grid lineup

Several drivers are under investigation for setting competitive lap times under yellow flags. The lineup will be updated once information from the investigation becomes available.

Below is the lineup for the Bahrain Grand Prix race on March 28th at the Bahrain International Circuit:

1 Max Verstappen (NED) 33 Red Bull Racing Honda

2 Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas

3 Valtteri Bottas (FIN) 77 Mercedes-AMG Petronas

4 Charles Leclerc (MON) 16 Scuderia Ferrari

5 Pierre Gasly (FRA) 10 Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda

6 Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) 03 McLaren Mercedes

7 Lando Norris (GBR) 04 McLaren Mercedes

8 Carlos Sainz (ESP) 55 Scuderia Ferrari

9 Fernando Alonso (ESP) 14 Alpine F1 Team

10 Lance Stroll (CAN) 18 Aston Martin F1 Team

11 Sergio Pérez (MEX) 11 Red Bull Racing Honda

12 Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA) 99 Alfa Romeo Racing

13 Yuki Tsunoda (JAP) 22 Scuderia AlphaTauri

14 Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) 07 Alfa Romeo Racing

15 George Russell (GBR) 63 Williams Racing

16 Esteban Ocon (FRA) 31 Alpine F1 Team

17 Nicolas Latifi (CAN) 06 Williams Racing

18 Sebastian Vettel (GER) 05 Aston Martin F1 Team

19 Mick Schumacher (GER) 47 Haas F1

20 Nikita Mazepin (RUS) 09 Haas F1

CLASSIFICATION: END OF QUALIFYING ⏱️A dream weekend continues for @Max33Verstappen as he powers to pole 🚀#BahrainGP 🇧🇭 #F1 pic.twitter.com/g9UABr1EK2

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 27, 2021

When is the Bahrain Grand Prix Race?

The Bahrain Grand Prix race will take place on 28th March 2021, at 18:00 PM local (Bahrain) time. The race usually lasts for two hours, barring any yellow or red flags.

For fans in the UK, the race begins at 4 PM GMT.

For viewers in the United States, the race will begin at 11 AM Eastern Time.

For fans in India, the Bahrain Grand Prix starts at 8:30 PM IST.