Adapted from GMM
Lewis Hamilton kept his perfect qualifying record intact with a fourth consecutive pole this season, beating Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg in Bahrain. If Vettel managed to keep Rosberg behind, he was lucky to be able to keep his position on the grid after a strange incident in the third free practice session. The four-time world champion collided with Force India's Sergio Perez at the first corner, just after emerging from the pitlane. Stewards looked into the crash but did not apportion blame. "I hit the brakes but suddenly there was a blow and I couldn't brake properly," said the Ferrari driver. It is at this point that the plot thickens. "Some team managers were not satisfied with this (Vettel's) statement," Auto Motor und Sport reports. "The FIA was asked to watch the video images once more." Indeed, closer inspection of the replays showed that Vettel's right front wheel was clearly loose in the moments before he hit Perez. In F1, an 'unsafe release' from the pits normally attracts a grid penalty. Vettel is tipped to challenge the dominant Mercedes cars this weekend in Bahrain, so a penalty of that nature would have been costly. The stewards did not rule on the matter until Saturday, in the hours before qualifying. Kimi Raikkonen had a similar issue in Melbourne. "Some have even suggested that Ferrari has instructed its drivers to refer to brake problems in such cases," Auto Motor und Sport added.
Qualifying results* – Bahrain Grand Prix (round 4 of 19) 1.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W06) - 1'32"571 - Q3 2.Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari SF15-T) - 1'32"982 - Q3 3.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W06) - 1'33"129 - Q3 4.Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari SF15-T) - 1'33"227 - Q3 5.Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW37-Mercedes) - 1'33"381 - Q3 6.Felipe Massa (Williams FW37-Mercedes) - 1'33"744 - Q3 7.Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB11-Renault) - 1'33"832 - Q3 8.Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM08-Mercedes) - 1'34"450 - Q3 9.Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso STR10-Renault) - 1'34"462 - Q3 10.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E23-Mercedes) - 1'34"484 - Q3 11.Sergio Perez (Force India VJM08-Mercedes) - 1'34"704 - Q2 12.Felipe Nasr (Sauber C34-Ferrari) - 1'34"737 - Q2 13.Marcus Ericsson (Sauber C34-Ferrari) - 1'35"034 - Q2 14.Fernando Alonso (McLaren MP4/30-Honda) - 1'35"039 - Q2 15.Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso STR10-Renault) - 1'35"103 - Q2 16.Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E23-Renault) - 1'35"677 - Q1 17.Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull RB11-Renault) - 1'35"800 - Q1 18.Will Stevens (Manor 04-Ferrari) - 1'38"713 - Q1 19.Roberto Merhi (Manor 04-Ferrari) - 1'39"722 - Q1 20.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/30-Honda) - no time - Q1 *Unofficial results
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