The qualification session at Sakhir has ended, with Toyota claiming the first two grid positions. Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock will be starting side by side from the first row tomorrow.
The weather was sunny and the heat was great. The air temperature climbed up to 38 degrees while the track was at 51.
Under these conditions, Jarno Trulli made a flying lap and stopped the timer at 1:33.431 claiming the pole. Timo Glock finished the session just behind him, followed by S. Vettel, who, for one more time, showed his talent and speed. Button , Hamilton and Barichello took positions 4, 5 and 6 respectively.
The young Brit showed that McLaren is working towards the top of the grid, and this work has started paying. We will have to wait to see if this is going to be enough though.
On the other hand Toyota and Red Bull racing seem to be faster than Brawn at this time, although both Toyotas have been running light.
The weights are as follows :
01. Trulli Toyota 648.5
02. Glock Toyota 643.0
03. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 659.0
04. Button Brawn-Mercedes 652.5
05. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 652.5
06. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 649.0
07. Alonso Renault 650.5
08. Massa Ferrari 664.5
09. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 670.5
10. Raikkonen Ferrari 671.5
11. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 678.5
12. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 680.9
13. Kubica BMW-Sauber 698.6
14. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 696.3
15. Piquet Renault 677.6
16. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 679.0
17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 678.5
18. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 652.0
19. Webber Red Bull-Renault 656.0
20. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 667.5
We can see that Barichello, Button, Hamilton and Alonso will be starting the race with the same amount of fuel tomorrow, so placement before the pit stops wil be crucial to the result of the race.
Both Toyotas will have to pit in earlier than others (2 - 3 laps), which means they will have to built a good gap in order to retain their grid positions.
Qualification results are as follows :
01 J. Trulli Toyota 1:33.431
02 T. Glock Toyota 1:33.712
03 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:34.045
04 J. Button Brawn GP 1:34.044
05 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:34.196
06 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:34.239
07 F. Alonso Renault 1:34.578
08 F. Massa Ferrari 1:34.818
09 N. Rosberg Williams 1:35.134
10 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:35.380
11 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:33.242
12 K. Nakajima Williams 1:33.348
13 R. Kubica BMW 1:33.487
14 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:33.562
15 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:33.941
16 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:33.722
17 S. Buemi Toro Rosso 1:33.753
18 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:33.910
19 M. Webber Red Bull 1:34.038
20 S. Bourdais Toro Rosso 1:34.159
