F1 LIVE | Sakhir GP Qualifying - Russell v Bottas, will Verstappen challenge?

Qualifying for Sunday's Sakhir Grand Prix promises to be chaotic. 20 cars on the track in Q1 who all want to find a place where they can slipstream to set the fastest possible time. The battle at the top seems to be much closer on this shorter circuit. Follow all the action on the GPblog Live blog. 

Qualifying Liveblog 

George Russell in the Mercedes

On Monday, Lewis Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19. The 2020 World Champion is therefore forced to sit on the sidelines in quarantine. It's unsure whether the Brit will make a recovery in time for the final race of the season next weekend. In the meantime, George Russell moves up to the Mercedes team and will be replacing his fellow countryman. Russell will partner up with Valtteri Bottas. 

As a result, this leaves Russell's seat at Williams available for 25-year-old Jack Aitken. He will team up with Nicholas Latifi in Bahrain this weekend. 

And Romain Grosjean will not be racing after sustaining second-degree burns to his hands in his crash on lap one of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Pietro Fittipaldi will be replacing Grosjean for the race this weekend. Fittipaldi, the grandson of two-time F1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, makes his Formula 1 debut. 

Who will be on pole?

George Russell has been showing good pace all weekend during his first Grand Prix weekend as a Mercedes driver. Can he take his first pole position in his career? Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen is also setting fast times and he is still waiting for his first pole of the season. Regardless, it will be an exciting qualifying session in Bahrain.