[karthik247]

Alonso tops today mornings practice session followed by Rosberg and Webber. Looks like its gonna be between Ferrari, Mercedes and Redbull Racing.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by KRf1

Karun Chandok seems to have hydraulic problems . He hasnt got any running..

..and he's therefore not allowed to take part in qualifying and the race. So his weekend is over.

Originally Posted by KRf1

Mclarens win is really ingenious and cannot be fully copied as the all chassis have been homologated and cannot be changed . Ferrari have also got around the ban on aerodynamic wheel caps by devoloping an interesting crown/alloy wheel . While RedBull seem to have different cooling/exhaust solution . So the tech war is on !

Yes it is a brilliant concept but I think other teams will almost inevitably copy it now that it has been declared legal. Are you sure they can't update the chassis for the whole season after homologating it? Even if so, the idea behind it, i.e. of using the driver as a moveable aerodynamic device, can be replicated.

EDIT: Apparently Chandok can take part since qualifying counts as a practice session. That's what the BBC is reporting. Looks like HRT read the rules carefully before deciding not send him out for practice.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Hope this does not turn out far worse for Karun that what NK went through with Jordan.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Qualifying results:

Here's the Pole position results for tomorrow

1) S Vettel
2) F Massa
3) F Alonso
4) L Hamilton
5) N Roseberg
6) M Webber
7) Michael Schumacher
8) J Button
9) R Kubica
10)A Sutil

Me too not happy with Star Sports, The Legend is not mentioned all through the qualifying.

[theEnd]

Great to see Vettel on pole, but with the soft tyre it might have him having to do an extra pit-stop during the race.

What's with Star Sports? There's a 7-time world champion returning to the track after 5 years and all they can show is Karun Chandok walking around the pits? We didn't get a single shot of Schumacher in Q3!

[gomzi]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

...
Me too not happy with Star Sports, The Legend is not mentioned all through the qualifying.

He was mentiond by the commentators and there were a few closeup shots of his car in the pits. But his mention was more of a remark that he was consistently outpaced by Rosberg.

Originally Posted by theEnd

We didn't get a single shot of Schumacher in Q3!

Yeah, I didnt see him in Q3 either. For a while I was wondering whether he even got his car on the track in Q3. Saw his name later on the timing sheet. Both he and Button were surprisingly off their team-mates pace esp in Q3. All down to driving style and tyre compounds chosen?

Great to see Vettel on pole, but with the soft tyre it might have him having to do an extra pit-stop during the race.

Isn't he on the harder compound?

[raghu230506]

Vettel pulled off at the end, RB has allways had a competitive car, it would be interesting to see what would be the strategy with tyres tomorrow from RB.

[McLaren Rulez]

Four things that stood out for me in this session.

Felipe Massa:
There'll be a smirk on his face as he did his lap about four tenths of a second faster than Nando. Alonso appears to have made a mistake but 0.4 of a second is still pretty bragworthy. The flipside is that Massa actually starts on the dirty side of the grid. Whatever happens, Massa is certainly fully back up to speed and is going to give Alonso a hard time.

McLaren:
Disappointing is the word that comes to mind. They were losing a full second in the slow middle section. They were fast in the rest of the lap but one full second is just too much. Red Bull and Ferrari seem to be significantly ahead while Merc is about the same level as Macca. Early days though and its hard to see whether the times are due to setup issues or inherent pace problems.

Michael Schumacher:
Yes, yes, its only the first qualifying but Rosberg has finally got a car that is competitive and he's proved that he's no pushover. There's only one clear way to say it: Schumacher clearly has some work to do. He was beaten in every session and by decent margins at that.

Force India:
Very good performance. From dead last in the previous season, they're right up there fighting with Renault and Sauber. Top job! Strangely enough, everyone in the top ten except Sutil set their time on softs. Looks like FI didn't expect to match the others in Q3 and went for the hards.

[jerry can]

Just noticed that if we compare times between Q1, Q2 and Q3, Vettel, Alonso, Hamilton, Rosberg, Webber, Schumi, Button, Kubica and Sutil all had slower times in Q3 than Q2. Obviously some tyre preservation going on here:

Q1 Q2 Q3
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:55.029 1:53.883 1:54.101
2. Massa Ferrari 1:55.313 1:54.331 1:54.242
3. Alonso Ferrari 1:54.612 1:54.172 1:54.608
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:55.341 1:54.707 1:55.217
5. Rosberg Mercedes 1:55.463 1:54.682 1:55.241
6. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:55.298 1:54.318 1:55.284
7. Schumacher Mercedes 1:55.593 1:55.105 1:55.524
8. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:55.715 1:55.168 1:55.672
9. Kubica Renault 1:55.511 1:54.963 1:55.885
10. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:55.213 1:54.996 1:56.309

[14000rpm]

...and now Lewis Hamilton has admitted the McLaren is lacking downforce compared to his competitors and said he was "surprised" to take fourth place on the grid.

Sebastian Vettel confessed himself surprised after taking the first pole position of the season in Bahrain.

some 'surprise' game going on eh..

a further surprise came with Felipe Massa outpacing new Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso as the double world champion

so, this GP is a bag of surprises. So, let the predictions begin.

[sarmarishi]

I would bet my money on Massa for tomorrows race... predictions for the race:

1) Massa
2) Vettel
3) Alonso

Lets hope for the best.. Forza Ferrari!

[PAVAN KADAM]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

...and now Lewis Hamilton has admitted the McLaren is lacking downforce compared to his competitors and said he was "surprised" to take fourth place on the grid.

Sebastian Vettel confessed himself surprised after taking the first pole position of the season in Bahrain.

some 'surprise' game going on eh..

a further surprise came with Felipe Massa outpacing new Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso as the double world champion

so, this GP is a bag of surprises. So, let the predictions begin.

I clearly see some tricks being played here.

Top 5 contenders have driven their heart out for Q3, but at the expenses of burning their rubber.

The Bottom 5 of the Top 10 have great chances of going for a longer run.

But still its predictions, lets see what tomorrows race has in store.

But i just loved Force India car.

[KRf1]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Are you sure they can't update the chassis for the whole season after homologating it? Even if so, the idea behind it, i.e. of using the driver as a moveable aerodynamic device, can be replicated.

Yes the engineers would find a way around the rule to maximise the aerodynamic gain on the straights .
About the chassis Here is what James Allens Blog says:

.
Another major talking point arising from the winter testing is McLaren’s Rear Wing, which seems to have the ability to cut drag on the straights, giving the car additional extra speed. In Barcelona the McLaren was 5km/h faster through the speed trap than its closest rival.
This is achieved by passing air through a slot in the rear wing (the black line near the bottom of the wing in the picture left), which neutralises the rear wing, cutting the drag. Such a device would also reduce the overall downforce, which would be a bad thing. So switching it on and off when needed on the straights is the key. That is where the question of legality comes in.
The way it works is this: there is a hole in the cockpit to a duct through which the air passes. The driver decides when to open it and he does so with his knee. Air then shoots through the duct in the sharkfin engine cover and exits through a slot in the underside of the rear wing. This causes the airflow under the wing to separate from the wing and this cuts the drag.
The FIA’s Charlie Whiting inspected the wing on Thursday and is satisfied that it is legal, so it is something some other teams will be sure to copy. They are all working on their own versions of it now anyway. The problem is that they cannot make a hole in the cockpit because the rules say you cannot modify the safety cell once the season has started.

[Skyline GT-R]

Anyone who has seen Schumi's BBC interview will definitely count on him. He is not there for the money or a race win, the championship is clearly what he's going to aim.

[SchumiFan]

To be frank I was just happy to see two reds in the top 3. I don't care if they are not the fastest. Ferrari have started off well and compared to the previous season, this is a bumper prize for them.
Vettel has already started to establish himself at the team. Webber is doing a Barrichello there. You need to be fast when it matters and not just for the records.

Alonso will not be happy and will be on fire for the race which is good for the team unless they decide to barge into one other.

McLaren, I don't understand how can they still not have down-force. They have got the DDD and were boasting about winning the second half of the championship etc
I really hope they come to pace soon. I don't want people saying Hammy/Button lost because of a bad car.

Mercedes GP predictably have been the third best team. No concern about Schumi's pace, he will come good soon. He is quick and will be in the top5 consistently. Top3 will be his goal soon.

Button qualifying slower than Schumi should be the talking point and he should probably stop whining and accept that he is no Hammy to get the best out of a 'good' car. He is just good in a great car.