Ferrari's Leclerc takes first pole of the F1 season

MANAMA : Charles Leclerc put Ferrari on pole position for Formula One's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday with Red Bull's world champion Max Verstappen set to start alongside on the front row.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz qualified third with Red Bull's Sergio Perez fourth. Seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton will line up in fifth place, alongside former Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas who qualified sixth for Alfa Romeo.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Jason Neely)