F1 qualifying LIVE: Bahrain GP updates as Max Verstappen battles Lewis Hamilton for pole position

LIVE – Updated at 15:06

Follow live updates from Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying as the drivers battle for the first pole position of the 2022 F1 season.

World champion Max Verstappen has set the pace in the desert topping the timesheets in practice on Friday and again on Saturday. Title rival Lewis Hamilton, who has bemoaned Mercedes’ speed in preseason, finished sixth in final practice in a significant improvement on earlier outings. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was second quickest, with Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez third in the other Red Bull. George Russell again finished ahead of new Mercedes teammate Hamilton in fourth, with Carlos Sainz fifth for Ferrari.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has claimed Red Bull are in a league of their own at the moment, and Verstappen will head into qualifying as the favourite to claim the first pole of his championship defence.

Elsewhere, the FIA have finally released the findings of their report into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the result of which saw Verstappen seal his world title back in December.

AlphaTauri are getting their first laps in.

Tsunoda has recorded 1:33.58 but his teammate Gasly has put in a time of 1:33.016.

More times to come but AlphaTauri will be happy with that start.

The cars are getting out onto the track!

Tsunoda is among them with his AlphaTauri teammate Pierre Gasly.

They are warming up their tyres and we are just a few moments away from those times being recorded.

We are getting underway!

This is set to be a thriller. There will be three sessions, as always, with the field trimmed down in each to determine the field positions ahead of tomorrow’s opening Grand Prix.

Who is getting pole? We’ll soon find out.

Mercedes’ Toto Wolff has spoken about the