Starting grid - Bahrain Grand Prix 2017 - No penalties means Bottas retains pole position

Bottas gives the thumbs up after run to pole position — Credit: Daimler AG

There were no penalties to affect the starting grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas keeps his pole position, the first in Formula One, with Lewis Hamilton lining up alongside him on the front row of the grid. Jolyon Palmer's top ten start was his best ever qualifying position, his first time through to Q2, and both Renault's being in the top ten is a good sign for the Enstone team.

Meanwhile, Alonso and Vandoorne edge ever close to power unit penalties as they continue to have problems with their Honda power, but for now they are safe.

Position	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport	1:28.769	12
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport	1:28.792	13
3	Sebastian Vettel	Scuderia Ferrari	1:29.247	12
4	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:29.545	12
5	Kimi Räikkönen	Scuderia Ferrari	1:29.567	16
6	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:29.687	12
7	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault Sport F1 Team	1:29.842	15
8	Felipe Massa	Williams Martini Racing	1:30.074	12
9	Romain Grosjean	Haas F1 Team	1:30.763	16
10	Jolyon Palmer	Renault Sport F1 Team	1:31.074	15
11	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso	1:30.923	12
12	Lance Stroll	Williams Martini Racing	1:31.168	12
13	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber F1 Team	1:31.414	15
14	Esteban Ocon	Sahara Force India F1 Team	1:31.684	12
15	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda	No time	8
16	Carlos Sainz Jr	Scuderia Toro Rosso	1:32.118	5
17	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren Honda	1:32.313	8
18	Sergio Pérez	Sahara Force India F1 Team	1:32.318	7
19	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber F1 Team	1:32.543	9
20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas F1 Team	1:32.900	8