Max Verstappen Takes Bahrain Grand Prix Pole Despite Some Off-Track Distractions, Competitive Field

Things have gotten a little awkward around the Formula 1 paddock, especially around Red Bull, as their team principal Christian Horner continues to deal with a scandal.

Despite the distractions, it probably won't surprise you that three-time World Champion Max Verstappen managed to put his RB20 on pole for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Even if it wasn't as easy as we thought it might be after testing.

Allegations of inappropriate behavior on Horner's part have been hanging over the team since they launched their new car and through testing. However, once the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend got started, Red Bull announced that an investigation had cleared the team boss of any wrongdoing.

However, on Thursday, just after the first day of practice had wrapped up, news broke that a Google Drive folder with alleged photos and text messages sent by Horner to a female team employee was sent to hundreds of journalists, the FIA, Formula 1, and the 9 other team principals.

The contents of that folder have not yet been verified, but as you might expect, they quickly leaked online.

So, that is obviously very awkward for all parties, and as such, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem met with Horner during Friday's FP3 ahead of qualifying.

Keep in mind that this serious off-track matter was unfolding while the team was on track and looking wholly unremarkable through the first three practice sessions. Despite expectations that the RB20 would be even more dominant than its predecessor the RB19, neither Red Bull driver cracked the top 5 on the timesheet in FP1 or FP2. Verstappen did in FP3 but only made it to P3 behind Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in P1 and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in P2.

So, between some less-than-stellar returns in practice and the serious off-track situation regarding Horner, would that be enough to keep Max Verstappen from taking pole?

No… but it was a bit more interesting than you might think.

Three separate constructors will occupy the top three spots on the grid for Saturday's Bahrain Grand Prix. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

Verstappen Was Fastest, But This Year's Field Looks Tight

Verstappen breezed into Q3 under the lights — and with Horner back on the pitwall — earning himself pole position with a strong lap time of 1:29.179. That was just under three-tenths over Ferrari's Charles Leclerc who posted a time of 1:29.407.

While the Ferrari looks to be the second-best car on the grid and Red Bull's most likely competitor, the field is tight. The Ferraris are starting P2 and P4 after being split by George Russell's Mercedes, while Fernando Alonso snuck his Aston Martin onto the third row in P6 alongside Red Bull's Sergio Perez in P5.

From Leclerc back to McLaren's Oscar Piastri in P8 is just over two-tenths, so we might see some interesting grids this season, especially if certain tracks suit teams well.

Haas had a solid qualifying with both cars getting out of Q1 and Nico Hulkenberg even getting himself in Q3. He'll start P10.

Alpine looks to have had their worst fears realized with both cars being knocked out in Q1, and they'll start next to each other on the back row in P9 and P10. There was a lot of speculation that this could be the case, and it looks like it may be. If there's any saving grace, it's that Pierre Gasly started dead last in Bahrain last year, but ultimately finished in the points.

It'll be interesting to see what happens when the lights go out on Saturday (yes, Saturday). We'll see if some of the teams that qualified well can parlay that into some solid race pace, and we'll also see if Red Bull can continue to get the job on track despite the distractions surrounding their team principal.