WATCH: How Verstappen beat Hamilton to the first pole position of the season in Bahrain

Red Bull appeared to carry their stellar pre-season form into the first race weekend of the year, with Max Verstappen claiming the fourth pole of his career from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix.

Verstappen had qualified 0.414s off Hamilton’s pace at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix just a few months ago. But the work of Red Bull and Honda over the winter saw that deficit almost completely reversed, with a stunning final lap in Q3 from Verstappen giving him pole from the Mercedes driver by 0.388s.

Ride onboard with the two cars in the video above – and find out where the Dutch driver and his Red Bull RB16B made the difference.

READ MORE: Verstappen says 'great winter' from Honda key to dominant Bahrain GP pole