(L to R): Nico Rosberg (GER) Mercedes AMG F1, pole sitter Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 and Sebastian Vettel (GER) Ferrari celebrate in parc ferme at Formula One World Championship, Rd2, Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying, Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain, Saturday 2 April 2016.
BIC, Sakhir, Saturday 2 April 2016 – Lewis Hamilton added yet another accomplishment to his long list of achievements in Bahrain.
The three-time Formula 1 world champion and two-time winner at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) set a new Qualifying lap record this evening ‘en-route’ to capturing pole position for Sunday’s highly anticipated 2016 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.
Hamilton put himself in prime position to claim a third successive victory in Sakhir and did so in style, leading teammate Nico Rosberg to a Qualifying one-two and locking up the front row for Mercedes.
Hamilton’s record-setting fastest lap was one minute 29.493 seconds, which he registered late in the third and final session of Qualifying (Q3), held under floodlights at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”. He was classified narrowly ahead of Rosberg, who had a best lap of 1:29.570.
Ferrari tandem Sebastian Vettel (1:30.012) and Kimi Raikkonen (1:30.244) were third and fourth, respectively, sealing row two on the grid.
“I was just generally trying to put a good lap together,” Hamilton said. “The car feels great. A big thank you to everyone here and in the factory.”
Hamilton’s new Qualifying lap record eclipses the previous best of 1:29.527 set by Mark Webber in 2005.
Hamilton and Rosberg did just enough to thwart a dangerous challenge from chief rivals Ferrari, who had earlier today set the pace in Practice 3. Rosberg congratulated Hamilton for taking pole but remained positive about his chances of adding to his season-opening victory in Australia a fortnight ago.
“Lewis just did a great lap in the end there,” Rosberg said. “My lap felt good for first place, but that wasn’t the case. At this track, a lot of things can happen in the race. There’s going to be a lot of opportunities tomorrow.”
Vettel had briefly led Q3, but was quickly demoted by the Mercedes pair. Still, he appeared satisfied with the result. “Very happy today,” Vettel said. “Very happy with the car. It felt fantastic; it is only natural as the circuit gets quicker.
“It’s going to be a long race. Let’s see what happens tomorrow night.”
Joining the Mercedes and Ferrari tandems in Q3 were Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull Racing, Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa of Williams, and Nico Hulkenberg of Force India, who will be starting fifth through eighth, respectively, in Sunday’s 57-lap floodlit spectacle.
Formula 1’s new Qualifying system was seen in Bahrain for the first time, and the eliminations in Q1 began with Sauber’s Felipe Nasr. The others to drop out, in the order they were eliminated, were Rio Haryanto of Manor, Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen of Renault, Sergio Perez of Force India, Marcus Ericsson of Sauber and Pascal Wehrlein of Manor.
In Q2, the seven to drop out, also in order of elimination, were Daniil Kvyat of Red Bull Racing, Jenson Button of McLaren, Esteban Gutierrez of Haas, Stoffel Vandoorne of McLaren, Carlos Sainz Jr and Max Verstappen of Toro Rosso and Romain Grosjean of Haas.
Magnussen is set to start from the pit lane in the Bahrain Grand Prix for breaching weight check rules during Friday’s Practices.
Sunday’s Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix marks the second round of the 2016 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. It is the 12th edition of the popular desert race and the third year since it was switched to a night race, following BIC’s installation of a state-of-the-art floodlighting system around the track.
Earlier today during Practice 3, Ferrari erased any doubts about their pace as Vettel led teammate Raikkonen to a one-two classification at the end of the hour-long session.
Vettel registered a best lap of 1:31.683 while Raikkonen followed a mere 0.040 seconds behind.
Rosberg, who had topped the timesheets in the first two practices on Friday, was ranked third 0.421s back. Hamilton was fourth 0.477s behind.
Bottas, Grosjean, Kvyat and Gutierrez rounded out the top eight.
Schmidt and Oriola victorious in Porsche and TCR support races
Jeffrey Schmidt and Pepe Oriola triumphed today in their respective series, held as part of the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.
Jeffrey Schmidt showed why he was crowned the new champion this past season in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East after winning his first support race today.
Schmidt clinched the chequered flag in a total race time of 20:54.518. He was 5.745s ahead of runner-up and teammate Zaid Ashkanani, while Dennis Olsen claimed the final podium step after completing the race 11.265s back.
Ashkanani had earlier won pole position for the race with a best lap of 2:04.485 during Qualifying.
All three were also the first three in the Gold category.
In the Silver class, Wolfgang Triller was in first place, followed by Bahrain’s young talent, His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla Al Khalifa. Prince Saud Al Faisal was third. The Bronze was claimed by Rob Frijns, while Bahrain’s Shaikh Jaber bin Ali Al Khalifa and Cengiz Oguzhan completed the podium placers.
Ashkanani also won pole in 2:04.879 for Race Two, which is scheduled to be held on Sunday starting at 3.30pm.
In the TCR International Series, Oriola claimed a season-opening victory after steering his SEAT Leon to the chequered flag in 22:25.883.
Ex-Formula 1 driver Gianni Morbidelli in a Honda CIVIC followed as the runner-up 2.372s back, while James Nash, also in a SEAT Leon, took the final podium place 3.219s adrift.
A field of 18 competed in the race, with Bahrainis Shaikh Salman bin Isa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and Hussain Karimi, both in SEAT Leon Cup Racers, classified 15th and 16th, respectively.
Race two is scheduled for Sunday at 2.30pm.
Superstar Formula 1 drivers meet fans in autograph session
Formula 1 drivers treated fans to an autograph session today at the 2016 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.
The activity was held at BIC’s Formula 1 Village vending area, right next to the Main Stage.
All 22 of Formula 1’s star drivers were on hand, and they delighted the crowd with their brief yet valuable interactions.
Fans have a chance to win 10 prizes every 10 minutes during Grand Prix
Two hundred valuable prizes will be up for grabs for race fans seated along Bahrain International Circuit’s (BIC) Main Grandstand shortly prior and during Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
For the third successive year, BIC is holding its hugely popular “10 Every 10” raffle, wherein10 fantastic prizes will be given out every 10 minutes from4.45pm until the end of the 57-lap night race.
The raffle is exclusively for those seated along the Main Grandstand. Winners will be announced from 4.45pm onwards, so fans are advised to hurry and get to their seats even before the 6pm start of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The long list of prizes includes brand new, high-end electronic devices. Among them are Samsung S7 smartphones, Samsung S7 Edge, Samsung Note 5, Samsung View, iPhone 6S 16GB, iPhone 6S Plus 16GB, Huawei Mate 8, Huawei Honor 5X, Huawei Honor 3C, HTC M9 Plus, HTC Desire 626 LTE, Xiaomi mi note, Xiaomi mi4i, Elephone Trunck P8000, Fitbit Charge WRISTBAND, Fitbit Charge HR WRISTBAND, Lava Pixel V2+, LG G3 Beat LTE, Redmi 2 Enhanced and a Redmi Note 2.
Winners will be identified by their seat numbers; therefore, they must be in their seat in order to claim their prize. Don’t miss out on this opportunity and make sure you are seated for the duration of the raffle.
Last chance to get tickets to enjoy spectacular Bahrain Grand Prix action
Sunday will be the last chance to get tickets to attend the 2016 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.
A Main Grandstand ticket costs BD150, while a Batelco Grandstand ticket is BD120. A ticket to the Turn One Grandstand is BD100, and tickets to the University and Victory Grandstands are BD60 apiece.
Children aged three to 12 years old can get tickets for half the price, while entry is free of charge for those two years old and below. School students aged 13 to 17 years old can get a 25 per cent discount. University students can get 10 per cent off, while senior citizens aged 60 and above along with people with special needs can get 25 per cent discount.
Tickets can be purchased at the BIC sales tent located at Sakhir Service Station on the way to the circuit. The tent opens at 9am. Gates at BIC open at11am.
For more information on the 2016 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, visit bahraingp.com or call the BIC Hotline. Also, find BIC on Facebook (facebook.com/ OfficialBahrainInteaarnational Circuit), follow BIC on Twitter (@BAH_Int_Circuit) and Instagram (instagram.com/bah_int_circuit ), and subscribe to BIC’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/bahrainbic) for regular updates on all happenings at the world-class Sakhir circuit.
Sunday Timetable
Time Category Session
2.30pm TCR Race 2
3.30pm Porsche GT3 Race 2
3.30pm Formula 1 Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
4.30pm Formula 1 Drivers’ Track Parade
4.45pm Formula 1 Starting Grid Presentation
5.46pm Formula 1 National Anthem
6pm Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix
