Bahrain – Qualification: Vettel is back in business!

Q1: The track is open and the first driver to take it is Paul di Resta in his Force India, whom the FOM director seems to be avoiding, preferring to focus on Charles Pic’s Marussia. The Scot is quickly outpaced by his teammate, Nico Hülkenberg with a 1:35.970. Vergne gets a bit of a scare by going wide in a corner, but he manages well. Pérez clocks in 1:36.071 and temporarily ranks second, while Kobayashi takes the lead, but is quickly overtaken by Button, Vettel, and Webber. The Briton has set a time of 1:34.792. Alonso takes the lead, but already on soft tires. Räikkönen and Grosjean trade the top spot on the timing sheet, with the Frenchman setting a time of 1:34.041, the fastest lap so far, on medium (white) tires.

The top drivers are almost no longer on the track, with the notable exception of the two Red Bulls, so everything is happening at the back of the pack. Senna and Vergne are in the danger zone. Vergne manages to get through with the tenth fastest time. Massa slips into second place on soft tires. He is overtaken by Kobayashi. Pérez takes the lead, ahead of Ricciardo. Senna takes the provisional sixth place.

At the back, Maldonado pushes Vergne into the red zone, but more importantly, Heikki Kovalainen edges out Schumacher by a few thousandths! The Mercedes driver experienced a DRS issue, which partly explains the German’s time. Also noteworthy is the impressive performance by Charles Pic, who managed to surpass his teammate Timo Glock during this qualifying session.

At the end of this first part of the qualification, the FIA decided to launch an investigation against Jean-Eric Vergne, who did not comply with the instruction of a track marshal at the beginning of the pit lane directing him to go for weighing. The Toro Rosso team then pushed the French driver’s car back up the pit lane. The stewards will therefore have to give their opinion on these two infractions.

Eliminated in Q1: Schumacher, Vergne, Petrov, Pic, De la Rosa, Glock, and Karthikeyan.

Q2: Felipe Massa takes to the track first. On the Mercedes side, Rosberg takes the track on soft (yellow) tires, likely aiming for just one lap. Hamilton sets a time of 1:33.209, while Rosberg falls short by ten-thousandths of a second to match the McLaren’s time. Webber sets the third-fastest time, ahead of Button and Vettel, who locked his wheels while braking into a corner. Räikkönen, Kobayashi, Alonso, Pérez, and Senna complete the top 10 of this first batch of laps.

Five more minutes to secure a place in Q3. Maldonado will not complete a timed lap during this Q2 due to a problem, while Kovalainen also doesn’t seem ready to go, likely preferring to save his tires before making a short stint at the end of the session. Massa slips into the top 10, ahead of Alonso.

Ricciardo and Pérez, in the red zone, enter the top 10. Kobayashi fails to improve his tenth place. Grosjean sets the third-fastest time and Alonso the fifth: both used two sets of tires during the second part of qualifying. It is Räikkönen who suffers from these improvements. He will not participate in Q3, just like Kobayashi.

Eliminated in Q2: Räikkönen, Kobayashi, Hülkenberg, Massa, Senna, Kovalainen, and Maldonado

Q3: One or two laps? This is the question every driver asks themselves before hitting the track: tire wear will be an important factor for the race, so teams want to save their tires as much as possible while being efficient enough to set the best possible time. Webber went out first, followed by Hamilton, Button, and Vettel. Rosberg is wisely staying in the pits for now, and he will qualify on a single lap.

1:32.785 for the Australian, Hamilton does better by a tenth, with 1:32.671, Button fails in second position. Vettel is fourth, two-tenths behind Webber.

The last four minutes will see all the drivers launch an assault on the clock: Ricciardo, Grosjean, Pérez, and Rosberg leave their boxes for the first time, while the McLarens and Red Bulls go out for a second attempt. Rosberg only sets the fourth best time. Webber sets the fastest time, but he is overtaken by Vettel. Hamilton arrives and ranks in second position!

Sebastian Vettel secures his first pole position of the season, the 31st of his career, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber. Disappointment for Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg, in fourth and fifth.

2012 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying Standings: