Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel will start the first race of 2010 from pole after putting in a stunning lap to pip the Ferraris in Bahrain.

Vettel's final qualifying lap of one minute 54.101 seconds beat Felipe Massa by 0.141secs, with the second Ferrari of Fernando Alonso in third.

The Red Bull has looked quick in low-fuel qualifying trim all weekend, but it is believed the team are less competitive over a race distance.

Red Bull have been struggling with tyre wear, whereas the Ferrari drivers have been very impressive during the race simulation run.
Vettel said: "We don't know what will happen tomorrow. It could be very exciting, could be very boring."

"You need to take care of your tyres and the question mark is what you do with your strategy."

Massa's second place was a surprise after Alonso seemed to have the edge on the Brazilian all weekend.

But the Brazilian beat the double world champion by more than 0.3 seconds when it mattered.

Alonso said: "With such a long lap and the conditions we are facing, it is very difficult to complete a lap with no mistakes, or no problems. The times are really related to how good the lap is, as well as the competitiveness of the car."

Massa is driving in his first race since suffering a fractured skull in a crash in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix last July.

Massa said: "It is very nice to be back here, competitive and with a good direction. I feel really happy to be back after such a difficult time."

Bahrain GP starting grid

1  VETTEL           Red Bull

2  MASSA            Ferrari

3  ALONSO           Ferrari

4  HAMILTON         McLaren

5  ROSBERG          Mercedes

6  WEBBER           Red Bull

7  SCHUMACHER       Mercedes

8  BUTTON           McLaren

9  KUBICA           Renault

10 SUTIL            Force India

11 BARRICHELLO      Williams

12 LIUZZI           Force India

13 HULKENBERG       Williams

14 DE LA ROSA       Sauber

15 BUEMI            Toro Rosso

16 KOBAYASHI        Sauber

17 PETROV           Renault

18 ALGUERSUARI      Toro Rosso

19 GLOCK            Virgin

20 TRULLI           Lotus

21 KOVALAINEN       Lotus

22 DI GRASSI        Virgin

23 SENNA            HRT

24 CHANDHOK         HRT

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was the man to beat in second practice having pretty much holding the top spot for the entire session.

World champion Jenson Button made it a lock-out at the front for Mercedes-powered cars as he rounded off a very solid first day for McLaren in fourth.

Red Bull joined its fellow title contenders at the front thanks to Sebastian Vettel – albeit some 0.4s adrift of Button – in fifth, but the gremlins that struck its RB6 during pre-season reoccurred as a driveshaft problem sidelined Mark Webber after just 12 laps.

Felipe Massa moved ahead of new Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso into seventh late on having spent most of the session on heavy fuel runs.

Bahrain Grand Prix free practice session 2 times

1  ROSBERG       Mercedes      1m55.409s

2  HAMILTON      McLaren       1m55.854s

3  SCHUMACHER    Mercedes      1m55.903s

4  BUTTON        McLaren       1m56.076s

5  VETTEL        Red Bull      1m56.459s

6  HULKENBERG    Williams      1m56.501s

7  MASSA         Ferrari       1m56.555s

8  PETROV        Renault       1m56.750s

9  ALONSO        Ferrari       1m57.140s

10 DE LA ROSA    Sauber        1m57.255s

11 KOBAYASHI     Sauber        1m57.352s

12 SUTIL         Force India   1m57.361s

13 BARRICHELLO   Williams      1m57.452s

14 LIUZZI        Force India   1m57.833s

15 KUBICA        Renault       1m58.155s

16 ALGUERSUARI   Toro Rosso    1m59.799s

17 WEBBER        Red Bull      2m00.444s

18 KOVALAINEN    Lotus         2m00.873s

19 TRULLI        Lotus         2m00.990s

20 GLOCK         Virgin        2m02.037s

21 DI GRASSI     Virgin        2m02.188s

22 SENNA         HRT           2m06.968s

23 BUEMI         Toro Rosso    no time

24 CHANDHOK      HRT           no time

Ferrari show a strong start to the first practice sessions of the season whilst being second and fourth fastest. The shock of the session was by far the superb Adrian Sutil in the Force India showing strong pace during the practice session and topping the times sheet.

The three new teams struggled to find the pace on the extended Bahrain circuit. The two Lotus drivers many several laps but at Virgin only Timo Glock was able to set a time.

However, Force India’s stellar showing aside, the tentative initial indications are similar to the picture at the final pre-season test in Barcelona last month, with Ferrari and McLaren closely matched at the front and last year’s title protagonists Red Bull and Mercedes a shade behind.

The gap between the fastest and slowest times was even bigger than expected, with Sutil more than seven seconds faster than the cars of new teams Lotus and Virgin.

Bahrain Grand Prix free practice session 1 times

1  SUTIL         Force India   1m56.583s

2  ALONSO        Ferrari       1m56.766s

3  KUBICA        Renault       1m57.041s

4  MASSA         Ferrari       1m57.055s

5  BUTTON        McLaren       1m57.068s

6  HAMILTON      McLaren       1m57.163s

7  LIUZZI        Force India   1m57.194s

8  ROSBERG       Mercedes      1m57.199s

9  WEBBER        Red Bull      1m57.255s

10 SCHUMACHER    Mercedes      1m57.662s

11 ALGUERSUARI   Toro Rosso    1m57.722s

12 HULKENBERG    Williams      1m57.894s

13 VETTEL        Red Bull      1m57.943s

14 BUEMI         Toro Rosso    1m58.399s

15 BARRICHELLO   Williams      1m58.782s

16 PETROV        Renault       1m58.880s

17 DE LA ROSA    Sauber        2m00.250s

18 KOBAYASHI     Sauber        2m01.388s

19 GLOCK         Virgin        2m03.680s

20 KOVALAINEN    Lotus         2m03.848s

21 TRULLI        Lotus         2m03.970s

22 DI GRASSI     Virgin        no time

23 SENNA         HRT           no time

24 CHANDHOK      HRT           no time

Its finally here. The first round of the 2010 Championship. After many new teams, new rules, and tons of driver changes including the return of German Legend Michael Schumacher, could 2010  be the most exciting season ever...?


UK Time
Practice 1 FRI 07:00
Practice 2 FRI 11:00
Practice 3 SAT 08:00
Qualifying SAT 11:00
Race SUN 12:00

BBC feature extensive coverage of all sessions on BBC tv, RED BUTTON and ONLINE


Local Time
Practice 1 FRI 10:00
Practice 2 FRI 14:00
Practice 3 SAT 11:00
Qualifying SAT 14:00
Race SUN 15:00

Drivers: Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Jenson Button (McLaren), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP).

Q: A question to all of you. What are you most looking forward to during this season? Who is going to start? The World Champion.
Jenson Button: The same as all of us I think, and that is getting out there. It has been a few months since we actually raced for three of us here, so getting out there and racing, that’s what we all love. Testing is part of the job but racing is the bit what we really enjoy. I am looking forward to getting out there. It is such a competitive season, it looks like. It is possibly one of the most exciting seasons we have seen in Formula One, so just being a part of that is very special.

Read full story for full press conferance quotes
Source/Credit: Formula1.com

McLaren's controversial rear wing design has been approved by Formula 1's governing body, the FIA.

Red Bull had sought clarification on a slot on the rear wing which reduces drag and increases straight-line speed.

FIA technical chief Charlie Whiting is understood to have seen the design and to be happy with it.

All 12 teams on the grid have had all their cars passed by scrutineering ahead of Friday's first practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

A McLaren spokesman said on Friday that the rear wing design had "never been an issue" although Red Bull team principal Christian Horner claimed earlier it had caused "a bit of a fuss".

Any unusual aerodynamic design is more likely to come under the microscope after last season's diffuser row which split the teams.
But there has been no similar controversy for the opening race of this year's championship.

The results of preliminary scrutineering also removed doubts over the new Hispania team's participation this weekend.

The future of the Spanish team was secured last month after a buyout but the car, which will be driven by F1 rookies Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok, has yet to hit the track after Hispania skipped testing.

They will get their first opportunity to do so when first practice begins at 0700 GMT on Friday.

You can now download the F1 season to your calendar if you use Outlook, Google Calendar or iCal courtesy of the BBC.

Just use the links provided below to add the dates and times of each race.

You can add every practice and qualifying session plus the races themselves to your calendar, or if you prefer just the races.

To add the dates to your calendar you should first download the file to your desktop and then import it within your calendar application.

Tarmac for the new Arena sequence at Silverstone, which will be used for the 2010 British Grand Prix, had been laid.

Pictures released by the circuit today also show the revised run-off areas at Brooklands and Woodcote corners towards the end of the lap.

Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Richard Phillips said work was progressing according to schedule:

Work on the circuit and venue is on schedule. The team has been working around the clock, through some pretty terrible weather conditions, to make sure the circuit is ready on time. The track works at Brooklands and Woodcote are now complete, including the new run-off area for the fast entry into Pits Straight, while the major new development – the new section of circuit from Abbey, up to the Arena Complex and round to the National Straight – is also coming along nicely.
Richard Phillips

Details of the BBC's live coverage and weather updates for the weekend

Here are the details of the BBC’s live video coverage of the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend

Friday 12th March 2010

Bahrain Grand Prix Free practice 1 – 7:00 – 08:30 (BBC Red Button and online)

Bahrain Grand Prix Free practice 2 – 11:00 – 12:30 (BBC Red Button and online)

Saturday 13th March 2010

Bahrain Grand Prix Free practice 3 – 08:00 – 09:00 (BBC Red Button and online)

Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying – 10:10 (BBC1, Red Button and online) (Starts at 11:00)

Sunday 14th March 2010

Bahrain Grand Prix – 11:10 (BBC1, Red Button and online) (Starts at 12:00)

Weather Update

After a winter fraught by wet test days the teams will be relieved to find there’s no surprises in the Bahrain Grand Prix weather forecast.

All three days are expected to be dry with temperatures slightly above 30C throughout.

The Bahrain International Circuit is quite exposed and drivers are used to coping with windy conditions at the track. The wind is expected to blow at around 8-9kph from the south, which although not that strong may help the cars pick up some speed along the main straight, making those crucial decisions about gear ratios even trickier.

With lots of dry running forecast for practice expect the teams to get plenty of running in to make up for lost time in testing.

McLaren are confident the rear wing on their new MP4-25 car will be pass an inspection by the sport's governing body the FIA.

Red Bull have sought clarification on a slot on the rear wing which reduces drag and increases straight-line speed.

"There's nothing untoward about it, We're quite confident the car is legal," said McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale.

The FIA will scrutinise the wing ahead of practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The organisation had hoped to provide a ruling before the teams arrive in the Middle East for the season's opening race, but a planned visit to McLaren's Woking base was cancelled last Friday.

Charles Whiting, the FIA's head of technical development, was delayed flying back to Europe from the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo and unable to keep the appointment.

Even if the FIA outlaw McLaren's design, the team have a back-up plan in place.

"We're not taking a radically different package but you just never know what the stewards are going to do on the day," added Neale.
"So we have a contingency, but I wouldn't put much effort into it and I'm not expecting it to be used."

The teams begin practice at the Sakhir circuit at 0700 GMT on Friday.