Qualification: Toyota front row, Vettel 3rd in Bahrain

For the fourth qualification of the season, it’s Jarno Trulli who secured the pole position. Timo Glock, his teammate, secured the front row for Toyota. Vettel for Red Bull once again delivers a strong performance in Bahrain. The Ferraris are in the right mix, which is no longer the case for the BMWs. Alonso and Hamilton are also in the top 10.

The temperature remains extremely high, with 38°C in the air and 50°C on the track as the lights turn green. The 4th qualifying session of 2009 is underway and another surprise is in store, as after Brawn GP and Red Bull, it is Toyota’s turn to fill the front row alone. The weights of the cars are not yet known, but the Toyota drivers appear to be much lighter than their competitors. In Bahrain, Brawn GP and Red Bull are once again the favorites, demonstrated by Vettel in third and Button in fourth position.

The top 10 seems more common to past hierarchies. Hamilton achieves his best performance of the year by securing 5th place. He is ahead of the other Brawn GP, that of Barrichello. Seventh, and visibly carrying more fuel than last week, Fernando Alonso proves the progress of the Renault team. The Spaniard is ahead of the Ferrari drivers, who finally managed to participate in Q3. Massa is 8th, Räikkönen 10th. In between, Nico Rosberg, the only Williams representative at this level, is sandwiched by the F60s.

From the 11th to the 15th position, will start the drivers who reached Q2 but were eliminated before Q3. Highlighting McLaren’s progress, Heikki Kovalainen is in 11th place. He will have the advantage of choosing his strategy according to tomorrow’s race conditions. The Finn is ahead of Nakajima in the second Williams and the two BMWs. The German team struggles with the F1.09 in such hot conditions, and Kubica and Heidfeld are only 13th and 14th, respectively. Only Nelson Piquet did worse in Q2. The Brazilian, although in this phase of qualifying for the first time this year, made an error in his last flying lap. He went too wide in the last corner and lost at least 6 tenths in the process. A 12th place was possible for the Renault driver.

Briatore urged Piquet to improve quickly yesterday in the media. The Brazilian is increasingly under threat, with cameras often focusing on Romain Grosjean, the test driver for the diamond team…

Eliminated from the first part of the qualifications, the Toro Rosso and Force India teams did not show the expected progress, even though Force India now seems to be on par with the smaller Scuderia. Adrian Sutil will start 16th tomorrow on the grid. He is ahead of Buemi in the first Toro Rosso. The young Swiss is once again ahead of Bourdais, who is still facing problems with the STR4. The four-time Champ Car champion is last.

Fisichella and Webber are 18th and 19th. The Australian in the Red Bull was hindered on his last flying lap in Q1 and could not take part in the rest of the qualifying session.

At the end of these qualifications, several issues are worth following. Several drivers were obstructed in Q1, notably. Thus, Adrian Sutil (Force India) did not think that Webber was on a fast lap and tried to protect his position, hindering the Red Bull driver. For his part, Alonso particularly complained about Kubica.

The weather might be an important factor tomorrow as a sandstorm is expected before the race. Grip will be reduced and combined with the heat, the machinery is likely to suffer. Fire management will also be crucial. Several pit stops have triggered fires on the race cars.

Results of Qualifying – Sakhir – Saturday, April 25, 2009: