Reigning champion Max Verstappen secured the first pole position of 2024 on Friday. His time of 1:29.179 was 0.228 seconds clear of Charles Leclerc, who actually set qualifying's fastest overall time when he notched a 1:29.165 in Q2.

Leclerc was unable to replicate such a time in Q3, while Verstappen capitalized on a McLaren-borne slipstream to take career pole number 33. Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez was able to secure P5 and will look to advance onto the podium in tomorrow's race.

Most of the paddock expected Verstappen to continue at a 2023 level of dominance, but the results of the season's first qualifying indicate that the gap from P1 to P2 may have shrunk. Ferrari looked strong all week and carried that pace into qualifying, topping Q1 and Q2 and scoring the aforementioned fastest overall time.

Leclerc's P2 qualification was only a tenth of a second clear of teammate Carlos Sainz Jr., whose time was good enough for P4. Ferrari seem to be second best behind Red Bull, but the midfield is tightly packed and promises to display some exciting racing.

Mercedes didn't quite live up to the excitement they produced by finishing P1 and P2 in Thursday's FP2. George Russell will be satisfied with his P3 qualification, but seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton seemed a step behind and only managed P9.

Aston Martin also produced some inconsistent results. Lance Stroll was second-fastest in Q1 but only managed to qualify P12. Fernando Alonso was again superior, lasting through Q3 and managing to secure P6.

McLaren seemed to struggle following the improved form they enjoyed in late 2023. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will be starting from seventh and eighth, respectively.

The teams just below the midfield showed promise as well. Haas showed a suprising amount of straight-line speed, which Nico Hulkenberg used to make Q3 and qualify tenth. Teammate Kevin Magnussen was only able to secure P15, but the team's two Q2 entries seemed a welcome surprise to new team boss Ayao Komatsu.

Speaking of straight-line speed, the Williams of Alex Albon and Logan Sargent were the only cars topping Haas' scores at the speed trap. Despite notching 199 miles an hour on the circuit's main straight, Albon and Sargent qualified P13 and P18 respectively.

AlphaTauri rebrand RB struggled throughout the session. Although they never seemed safe from elimination, both drivers managed decent results. Fan favorites Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo managed P11 and P14, which is a worse result than many expected when news broke that RB planned to incorporate designs from Red Bull's dominant 2023 car.

This year's midfield is competitive, but this year's backmarkers seem to have already been established. Q1 saw the elimination of both Sauber and Alpine cars.

Sauber appeared slightly ahead, as Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu scored P16 and P17. Alpine's 2024 car has been the subject of significant performance concerns, and those concerns seem to have been validated. Drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly will start from the back of the field in positions 19 and 20.

Tomorrow's Bahrain Grand Prix is the first of 24 races in F1's 2024 season. Next week, the teams will travel to Saudi Arabia to race around the fast and curvy Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Both this week and next week's Grand Prix take place on Saturday as opposed to the usual Sunday. This is in observance of Ramadan, the Muslim holiday period that begins next Sunday. To allow observance and to ensure seven days between the two Grand Prix, these first two races will occur on Saturday.