F1 is back and the 2024 season is officially underway. The Bahrain Grand Prix runs on Saturday, but we’ve already had practice ahead of the first qualifying session of the season. The 20 drivers will get going at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir with the first session starting at 11 a.m. ET.
Qualifying will air on ESPN and you’ll be able to live stream the event at WatchESPN. If you don’t have a cable log-in for ESPN, you can get a trial from YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, AT&T TV Now, FuboTV, or Sling TV to stream the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.
F1 qualifying features three sessions. The first session runs 18 minutes and features all 20 cars competing. When the first session wraps, the five slowest drivers are eliminated and slotted into P16-20 in the starting grid. The second session runs 15 minutes and when it wraps, five more drivers are eliminated and placed in P11-15. The final ten minutes features the final ten drivers competing for the pole and the rest of the top ten spots in the starting grid.
Red Bull Racing is the heavy favorite to claim the pole with the team of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez installed at -350 at DraftKings Sportsbook. The Ferrari team of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz is next at +550. Verstappen is favored to win the race with -300 odds, and is followed by Leclerc at +900 and Pérez at +1200.
How to watch qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix
Date: Friday, March 1
Time: 11 a.m. ET
TV channel: ESPN2
Live stream: WatchESPN
Entry list
2024 Bahrain Grand Prix starting lineup
| Pos | Driver | No. |
|---|---|---|
| Pos | Driver | No. |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | 1 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | 16 |
| 3 | George Russell | 63 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | 55 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez | 11 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | 14 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | 4 |
| 8 | Oscar Piastri | 81 |
| 9 | Lewis Hamilton | 44 |
| 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | 27 |
| 11 | Yuki Tsunoda | 22 |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | 18 |
| 13 | Alexander Albon | 23 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | 3 |
| 15 | Kevin Magnussen | 20 |
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas | 77 |
| 17 | Guanyu Zhou | 24 |
| 18 | Logan Sargeant | 2 |
| 19 | Esteban Ocon | 31 |
| 20 | Pierre Gasly | 10 |