At the start of the 2023 F1 season, Aston Martin has caught the eye with its AMR23 during pre-season testing and this pace duly translated on Friday at the Sakhir circuit as Alonso topped second practice with a best lap of 1m30.907s.
Insight: What we learned from Friday practice at F1's 2023 Bahrain GP
That put the two-time F1 champion ahead of both Red Bulls, the team many fancy as favourites this year, with Max Verstappen second ahead of FP1 timesheet-topper Sergio Perez.
Alonso’s team-mate Lance Stroll made his comeback having missed the pre-season test due to a wrist injury, with the Canadian driver admitting he was protecting his wrist during practice for the gruelling race weekend ahead.
Further back, it was a downbeat reaction from both Ferrari and Mercedes after Friday practice, with Charles Leclerc predicting Ferrari will not to be in the fight for pole position despite finishing FP2 in fourth place.
But it was worse for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton eighth and George Russell 13th in FP2, which led the seven-time F1 champion to fear the German manufacturer is in a worse situation compared to last year.
What time does qualifying start for the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix?
Qualifying for the Bahrain GP starts at 6pm local time (3pm GMT), using the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.
Date: Saturday 4th March 2023
Start time: 6pm local time – 3pm GMT
How can I watch Formula 1?
In the United Kingdom Formula 1 is broadcast live on Sky Sports, with highlights shown on Channel 4 several hours after the race has finished. Live streaming through NOW is also available in the UK.
Sky Sports F1, which broadcasts the F1 races, can be added as part of the Sky Sports channels which costs £24 a month for new customers. Sky Sports can also be accessed through NOW with a one-off day payment of £11.98p or a month membership of £34.99p per month.
How can I watch F1 Bahrain GP qualifying?
In the United Kingdom every F1 practice, qualifying and race is broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event, with Bahrain GP qualifying coverage starting at 2:10pm GMT on Sky Sports F1.
Channel: Sky Sports F1
Start time: 2:10pm GMT 4th March 2023
Autosport will be running a live text coverage of qualifying here.
When can I watch the highlights of F1 Bahrain GP qualifying?
In the United Kingdom Channel 4 is broadcasting highlights of qualifying for the Bahrain GP at 7:30pm GMT on Saturday evening. The full programme will run for 90 minutes, covering both qualifying and wrapping up the major talking points of the race weekend so far.
For the entire 2023 F1 season, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights of every qualifying and race of each event. The highlights will also be available on Channel 4’s on demand catch up services.
Channel: Channel 4
Start time: 7:30pm GMT 4th March 2023
Will F1 Bahrain GP qualifying be on the radio?
Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2023 F1 season will be available on the BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC 5 Live Sports Extra or via the BBC Sport website.
Coverage of Bahrain GP qualifying will start at 3:00pm GMT on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and the BBC Sounds app.
What's the weather forecast for qualifying at the Bahrain International Circuit?
Warm and dry weather conditions are forecast for Saturday for the start of qualifying at the Bahrain International Circuit. The temperature is set to be 23 degrees Celsius at the start of qualifying.
F1 Bahrain Grand Prix FP2 results
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Fernando Alonso |
 |
Aston Martin | Mercedes | 1'30.907 | |
| 2 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
Red Bull | Red Bull | 1'31.076 | 0.169 |
| 3 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
Red Bull | Red Bull | 1'31.078 | 0.171 |
| 4 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
Ferrari | Ferrari | 1'31.367 | 0.460 |
| 5 |  Nico Hulkenberg |
 |
Haas | Ferrari | 1'31.376 | 0.469 |
| 6 |  Lance Stroll |
 |
Aston Martin | Mercedes | 1'31.450 | 0.543 |
| 7 |  Pierre Gasly |
 |
Alpine | Renault | 1'31.475 | 0.568 |
| 8 |  Lewis Hamilton |
 |
Mercedes | Mercedes | 1'31.543 | 0.636 |
| 9 | Lando Norris |
 |
McLaren | Mercedes | 1'31.570 | 0.663 |
| 10 |  Zhou Guanyu |
 |
Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 1'31.586 | 0.679 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon |
 |
Alpine | Renault | 1'31.608 | 0.701 |
| 12 |  Valtteri Bottas |
 |
Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 1'31.793 | 0.886 |
| 13 | George Russell |
 |
Mercedes | Mercedes | 1'31.882 | 0.975 |
| 14 | Carlos Sainz |
 |
Ferrari | Ferrari | 1'31.956 | 1.049 |
| 15 |  Oscar Piastri |
 |
McLaren | Mercedes | 1'32.024 | 1.117 |
| 16 |  Kevin Magnussen |
 |
Haas | Ferrari | 1'32.110 | 1.203 |
| 17 |  Alex Albon |
 |
Williams | Mercedes | 1'32.440 | 1.533 |
| 18 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
AlphaTauri | Red Bull | 1'32.525 | 1.618 |
| 19 | Nyck de Vries |
|
AlphaTauri | Red Bull | 1'32.605 | 1.698 |
| 20 |  Logan Sargeant |
 |
Williams | Mercedes | 1'32.749 | 1.842 |
| View full results | ||||||
F1 Bahrain Grand Prix FP1 results
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergio Perez |
|
Red Bull | Red Bull | 1'32.758 | |
| 2 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
Aston Martin | Mercedes | 1'33.196 | 0.438 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen |
 |
Red Bull | Red Bull | 1'33.375 | 0.617 |
| 4 | Lando Norris |
 |
McLaren | Mercedes | 1'34.165 | 1.407 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc |
|
Ferrari | Ferrari | 1'34.257 | 1.499 |
| 6 | Lance Stroll |
 |
Aston Martin | Mercedes | 1'34.298 | 1.540 |
| 7 | Kevin Magnussen |
 |
Haas | Ferrari | 1'34.402 | 1.644 |
| 8 | Zhou Guanyu |
 |
Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 1'34.575 | 1.817 |
| 9 | Valtteri Bottas |
 |
Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 1'34.689 | 1.931 |
| 10 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
Mercedes | Mercedes | 1'34.917 | 2.159 |
| 11 | George Russell |
 |
Mercedes | Mercedes | 1'34.966 | 2.208 |
| 12 | Oscar Piastri |
 |
McLaren | Mercedes | 1'34.997 | 2.239 |
| 13 | Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
AlphaTauri | Red Bull | 1'35.015 | 2.257 |
| 14 | Nico Hulkenberg |
 |
Haas | Ferrari | 1'35.043 | 2.285 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon |
 |
Alpine | Renault | 1'35.105 | 2.347 |
| 16 | Nyck de Vries |
 |
AlphaTauri | Red Bull | 1'35.402 | 2.644 |
| 17 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
Alpine | Renault | 1'35.455 | 2.697 |
| 18 | Logan Sargeant |
 |
Williams | Mercedes | 1'35.749 | 2.991 |
| 19 | Alex Albon |
 |
Williams | Mercedes | 1'36.018 | 3.260 |
| 20 | Carlos Sainz |
 |
Ferrari | Ferrari | 1'36.072 | 3.314 |
| View full results | ||||||
