On a track notorious for sand, this year was no different. The only other time that drivers hug onto the racing line is after a rain and sticking to the dry. In Bahrain, the sand that is found on the side of the track can be like ice. With slick tyres on, the sand can cause a lack of all grip and can not only send the car off track but can also get into the car it's self.
As qualifier started, many fans where excited to see their teams and drivers around the track but with all the media reports swirling around about the protests, most where holding their breath. Afraid that the protests and violence would spill onto the track. All in all though, everyone was just happy to see some racing going on.
Four minutes in and with all the big names and teams still in the pits, many of the little teams got air time. It is great when the camera's follow a back marker around the track for a full lap. Not only for the sponsors but for fans alike. Marussia F1 was given a full lap for their rookie Charles Pic. To me, the back markers are the future of the sport. It was only seven years ago that Red Bull Racing was in their spot. Being known to stop in the side of the track or end up in the kitty litter, momentarily pausing the race.
The big surprise in Q1 was not only Mercedes' Michael Schumacher being pushed out of qualifying but being pused out by Caterham's Heikki Kovalainen of all people! It may not be the rise of Caterham as of yet, but it surely is a stepping stone to the teams next level. (Mercedes did announce that Schumacher was unable to gain the time wanted due to a technical issue)
While sitting here watching qualifier in Bahrain, it seems that some of the smaller teams where getting a lot of airtime. What I did not realize until the end was that Sahara Force India was not present on the television in any one shot. With Paul di Resta making it into Q3, you think that the UK presenters would have talked quite abit about the young Scott but there was no mention of Force India and no sight of them. Bernie was quoted that Formula One does not play into politics, this absence can only be determined as much. With the incident earlier in the week with the Force India team and the reports of a few of the team members leaving the country out of safety sake, it makes you wonder if Bernie is playing the political game after all. Force India opted out of FP2 for 'logistical reasons' (which much of the media was able to report was the team wanting to make it back to the hotel before dark). All that Bernie could say about the missing team was, "It was simple," Ecclestone explained, "They [the TV editors] are interested in who is going to be on pole. Nobody cares if someone is ninth or 11th"
Umm Bernie... 10th and 13th ...
 Sebastian Vettel | P1 |
 Lewis Hamilton | P2 |
| Mark Webber | P3  Fan's Choice To Win |
| Jenson Button | P4 |
 Nico Rosberg | P5 |
 Daniel Ricciardo | P6 |
 Romain Grosjean | P7 |
 Sergio Perez | P8 |
 Fernando Alonso | P9 |
 Paul di Resta | P10 |
| Kimi Räikkönen | P11 |
| Kamui Kobayashi | P12 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | P13 |
| Felipe Massa | P14 |
 Bruno Senna | P15 |
 Heikki Kovalainen | P16 |
| Michael Schumacher | P17 |
| Jean-Eric Vergne | P18 |
| Vitaly Petrov | P19 |
 Charles Pic | P20 |
 Pedro de la Rosa | P21 |
| Pastor Maldonado | P22 |
| Timo Glock | P23 |
| Narain Karthikeyan | P24 |
Note - Maldonado qualified 17th, but drops five grid places as penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
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