Christijan Albers slams 10-pole F1 driver who ‘falls through the ice again’ at the Bahrain Grand Prix

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and George Russell of Mercedes were two of the stars of
the show at the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix, but one rival did not impress Christijan Albers.

Sakhir saw a showcase exhibit from Piastri last Sunday as the Australian turned pole position into a commanding victory. Russell would also excel in the desert as the Briton overcame his seriously malfunctioning Mercedes to hold onto second place, his best result so far this year.

Piastri’s dominant Bahrain GP win from pole yielded the biggest winning margin of 2025 and in seven Grands Prix. The 24-year-old won by a margin of 15.499 seconds despite the safety car interruption to P2 as Russell fought DRS and steering wheel problems in the Bahrain GP.

Christijan Albers slams McLaren’s Lando Norris for his poor Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying

Russell juggled a myriad of problems to secure P2 in the Bahrain GP ahead of McLaren racer Lando Norris by just 0.774s. The Mercedes man even outsmarted his compatriot at the start of the final lap, too, after fooling Norris into attempting an overtake under braking for Turn 1.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Norris produced a solid recovery drive after his grim qualifying on Saturday as the F1 drivers’ championship leader was only able to secure P6 on the Bahrain GP grid. He also drew a five-second time penalty for a false start as Norris started from outside of his grid box in Bahrain.

Albers was disappointed to see Norris only manage the sixth-fastest lap time in qualifying on Saturday whilst his teammate Piastri scored pole for the Bahrain GP. The Australian’s lap was 0.426s faster than the Briton’s best Q3 time, which Alpine’s Pierre Gasly also beat by 0.051s.

“If we look at it, the performance of that McLaren, I thought it was quite OK – I have to be honest,” Albers told the Telegraaf Formula 1 podcast. “For the performance and the speed that’s in that car and, for example, Norris who falls through the ice again in qualifying.”

Christijan Albers once backed Lando Norris to reach Lewis Hamilton’s levels due to his qualifying speed

The former Minardi F1 driver is a big believer in the Briton’s abilities as Albers backed Norris to reach Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s levels ‘eventually’ in early 2024. His speed in qualifying was a major reason why the Dutchman saw so much potential in his abilities, too.

Albers spoke highly about Norris’ potential after he dominated Piastri in the McLaren head-to-head during the 2023 season with a 15-7 qualifying record. Norris even bettered that in 2024 with a 20-4 tally, yet Piastri has been more comfortable pushing McLaren’s 2025 car.

Norris has the fifth-most pole positions among the 2025 F1 grid with 10 to the 25-year-old’s name so far. Piastri now has two after winning qualifying for the Bahrain GP, having secured his first pole position in F1 at the Chinese Grand Prix which he also turned into the race win.

Hamilton has the most pole positions in F1 history with his 104, while Verstappen sits fifth all-time with 41. Charles Leclerc has the third-most pole positions among the 2025 F1 grid at 26 ahead of Fernando Alonso (22), Norris (10), Carlos Sainz (6), Russell (5) and Piastri (2) yet.