What can we expect ahead of Bahrain qualifying?

So, practice is all done and now we build up for qualifying. And it is set to be one of the most interesting qualifying sessions we have seen in a long time…

Normal pole position favourite Lewis Hamilton has struggled with his Mercedes in practice, and only managed fourth in FP3 earlier today.

However, so often Hamilton pulls it out of the bag on Saturday, so we still would not be surprised to see him start from the front once again.

Mercedes have not topped any session so far this weekend, with Daniel Ricciardo recording the fastest time in FP1 and Kimi Raikkonen dominating since.

It seems from practice that Ferrari have the fastest car, and given Sebastian Vettel’s one lap prowess, he is in with a good chance of taking pole.

Red Bull may have a say in proceedings however, and since his electrical issue in FP1, Max Verstappen has shown solid pace, and Daniel Ricciardo has been quick all weekend.

With the top three team looking so closely matched, it is very difficult to predict what could happen.

Another thing we must take into consideration is Lewis Hamilton’s 5-place grid penalty, so the reigning champion will start 6th at best.

Our prediction for qualifying:

1)      Sebastian Vettel

2)      Lewis Hamilton (5 place penalty)

3)      Daniel Ricciardo

4)      Max Verstappen

5)      Kimi Raikkonen

Feel free to post your opinions in the comments below!