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20th
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Nico Rosberg has claimed a surprise pole position for Mercedes ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.
The German set his fastest time of 1m32.330s, despite the Mercedes seeming unable to match the pace of the front running Ferraris, Raikkonen's Lotus and the Red Bulls in the weekend's free practice session.
However, in Q3 he set an unexpectedly quick banker lap of 1m32.4s which proved impossible to beat, despite facing a challenge from Vettel who set a fastest lap of 1m32.584s.
Later in the session, Rosberg once again went faster by improving his time to 1m32.3 and confirmed his third career pole position. Alonso, despite setting the fastest time in FP3 settled for third and failed to set a fastest time in the final qualifying session.
Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth in the second Mercedes ahead of Mark Webber's Red Bull, but both drivers will take respective five and three place grid penalties, ahead of tomorrow's race. Felipe Massa qualified sixth on hard tires ahead of the Force Indias of Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil.
Jenson Button rounded out the top-10 for McLaren one place behind Raikkonen's Lotus, despite the Woking team's low expectations for the weekend and failing to set a time in Q3. McLaren teammate Sergio Perez will continue the difficult start to his McLaren career as he lines up 12th, one place behind Romain Grosjean's Lotus.
Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo, Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, Jean-Eric Vergne and Valtteri Bottas' Williams round out the top-16.
Q1 saw Williams' Pastor Maldonado and Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez join the backmarkers after qualifying in 17th and 18th place. However, in a shake up of the order, Charles Pic claimed 19th in the revised Caterham ahead of Jules Bianchi's Marussia and teammate Giedo van der Garde in the old spec car.
The second Marussia of Max Chilton will line up last of the 22 runners.
Qualifying results - Bahrain Grand Prix
1.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'32"330 - Q3
2.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'32"584 - Q3
3.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'32"667 - Q3
4.Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'33"207 - Q3
5.Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'33"235 - Q3
6.Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'33"246 - Q3
7.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'33"327 - Q3
8.Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'33"078 - Q3 ****
9.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'32"762 - Q3 ***
10.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - no time - Q3
11.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'33"762 - Q2
12.Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'33"914 - Q2
13.Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'33"974 - Q2
14.Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'33"976 - Q2
15.Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'34"105 - Q2
16.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'34"284 - Q2
17.Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'34"425 - Q1
18.Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'35"283 - Q1
19.Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'36"178 - Q1
20.Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'36"304 - Q1
21.Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'36"476 - Q1
22.Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'34"730 - Q1 **
* Unofficial
** Five-place grid penalty (Shanghai)
*** Five-place grid penalty (gearbox)
**** Three-place grid penalty (Shanghai)
The German set his fastest time of 1m32.330s, despite the Mercedes seeming unable to match the pace of the front running Ferraris, Raikkonen's Lotus and the Red Bulls in the weekend's free practice session.
However, in Q3 he set an unexpectedly quick banker lap of 1m32.4s which proved impossible to beat, despite facing a challenge from Vettel who set a fastest lap of 1m32.584s.
Later in the session, Rosberg once again went faster by improving his time to 1m32.3 and confirmed his third career pole position. Alonso, despite setting the fastest time in FP3 settled for third and failed to set a fastest time in the final qualifying session.
Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth in the second Mercedes ahead of Mark Webber's Red Bull, but both drivers will take respective five and three place grid penalties, ahead of tomorrow's race. Felipe Massa qualified sixth on hard tires ahead of the Force Indias of Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil.
Jenson Button rounded out the top-10 for McLaren one place behind Raikkonen's Lotus, despite the Woking team's low expectations for the weekend and failing to set a time in Q3. McLaren teammate Sergio Perez will continue the difficult start to his McLaren career as he lines up 12th, one place behind Romain Grosjean's Lotus.
Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo, Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, Jean-Eric Vergne and Valtteri Bottas' Williams round out the top-16.
Q1 saw Williams' Pastor Maldonado and Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez join the backmarkers after qualifying in 17th and 18th place. However, in a shake up of the order, Charles Pic claimed 19th in the revised Caterham ahead of Jules Bianchi's Marussia and teammate Giedo van der Garde in the old spec car.
The second Marussia of Max Chilton will line up last of the 22 runners.
Qualifying results - Bahrain Grand Prix
1.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'32"330 - Q3
2.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'32"584 - Q3
3.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'32"667 - Q3
4.Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'33"207 - Q3
5.Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'33"235 - Q3
6.Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'33"246 - Q3
7.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'33"327 - Q3
8.Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'33"078 - Q3 ****
9.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'32"762 - Q3 ***
10.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - no time - Q3
11.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'33"762 - Q2
12.Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'33"914 - Q2
13.Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'33"974 - Q2
14.Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'33"976 - Q2
15.Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'34"105 - Q2
16.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'34"284 - Q2
17.Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'34"425 - Q1
18.Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'35"283 - Q1
19.Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'36"178 - Q1
20.Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'36"304 - Q1
21.Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'36"476 - Q1
22.Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'34"730 - Q1 **
* Unofficial
** Five-place grid penalty (Shanghai)
*** Five-place grid penalty (gearbox)
**** Three-place grid penalty (Shanghai)