Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying: Vettel in pole, Hamilton takes penalty

Qualifying started with all kinds of drama after the news that Lewis Hamilton would be subject to a five-place grid penalty due to a gearbox change. The Mercedes drivers hadn't put in particularly impressive times during free practice, with Ferrari and Red Bull looking marginally the better, so it suggested that the Silver Arrows might be in for a poor afternoon.

It also suggested a strategy switch for Hamilton, who came out on supersofts rather than the softs like his team-mate Valtteri Bottas - perhaps a one-stopper might be in order during the race.

Kimi Raikkonen was the quickest Ferrari out of the gates, with Sebastian Vettel a tenth of a second behind him.

A less good start for Brendon Hartley in the Toro Rosso, who veered off track and was then informed of some wing damage.

And an even worse start for Max Verstappen, who got the entire session red-flagged when he ran into the gravel and then the wall after Turn 2.

Fernando Alonso scraped into Q2 by virtue of clocking a lap time before Romain Grosjean did - they both got exactly the same figures.

Vettel was the quickest Ferrari out this time round, although Hamilton pushed him close through the first and middle sectors.

Sergio Perez complained to his Force India garage that he had "run out of energy" - presumably his battery pack, rather than any issues with his own vitality levels.

Disappointing collapse from McLaren, with neither Alonso nor Stoffel Vandoorne making it into the shootout.

It was pole for Sebastian Vettel in his 200th Grand Prix start, ahead of Raikkonen by a tenth of a second.

Daniel Ricciardo had a quiet afternoon, sneaking in to finish fifth-fastest, but it was a great showing from junior team Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly, taking P6 - meaning a fifth-place start after Hamilton's grid penalty.

A front-row lockout for Ferrari - and a horrible day for Mercedes, with a lot of work for Hamilton to do from down the grid. With Max Verstappen also starting down the pack, there should be plenty of overtaking in the race.

Gasly's impressive straight-line speed was something to see in qualifying - keep an eye on him tomorrow.

McLaren's fairly abysmal showing was a bit of a surprise - and ironic bearing in mind the Honda power of Gasly and Toro Rosso.

Vettel - Bottas - Raikkonen