Max Verstappen takes superb pole at Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of Lewis Hamilton

SAKHIR, Bahrain: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took a superb pole position on Saturday for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix and will start the race immediately ahead of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen earned his fourth career pole to deny Hamilton his 99th, edging out the world champion by .39 seconds on his final attempt.
“The whole weekend has been pretty good so far,” Verstappen said. “We knew what our weaknesses were last year and it looks like we’ve addressed them.”
Verstappen praised Honda for improving reliability.