2013 Bahrain GP Qualifying

Not since Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio in 1955 have the silver arrows gone back to back for pole position.  In a completely unexpected qualifying result, Nico Rosberg took pole position for Mercedes at the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain and for two races in a row, the F1 W04 machine lines up first on the grid.

Fastest of all in the Q1, Rosberg came back out in in Q3 and put the hammer down to lap a time of 1.32.330 taking position ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.

Alonso lapped third fastest before abandoning his final timed run and returning to the pit lane.

Lewis Hamilton’s Bahrain struggles continue, as the last round’s pole sitter qualified 4^th. In the final free practice Hamilton halted with a delaminated tire and further inspection of his car found a damaged gearbox and his car required a new one for Sunday’s race. The 2008 world champion will be assessed a 5 place grid penalty. At the end of qualifying, team principle Ross Braun said the team was still investigating the failure and wasn’t sure if a problem could creep up during the race.

Unlike last weekend in Shanghai, all ten cars were out on track in the third qualifying session. The speed and durability difference between the two compounds was enough to make tire strategy a tough call to make for Sunday’s race.

Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen had a tough session and was often seen on track weaving back and forth looking to put much needed heat in his tires.  Several off track excursions were taken by the Finn especially at turn 1. The Lotus chassis typically favors a race to qualifying and Raikkonen’s 8^th grid position could be turned into a podium finish.

After penalties are assessed to Hamilton for his gearbox change and Red Bull’s Mark Webber for his shenanigans last round in Shanghai the top ten positions for tomorrow’s race look like this:

1. Nico Rosberg
2. Sebastian Vettel
3. Fernando Alonso
4. Filpe Massa
5. Paul di Resta
6. Adrian Sutil
7. Mark Webber
8. Kimi Räikkönen
9. Lewis Hamilton
10. Jenson Button