Bahrain GP qualifying as it happened

Qualifying result/grid positions:

1 F Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:32.652

2 L Hamilton (GB) McLaren 1:32.935

3 K Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:33.131

4 F Alonso (Sp) McLaren 1:33.192

5 N Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:33.404

6 R Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:33.710

7 G Fisichella (It) Renault 1:34.056

8 M Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:34.106

LATEST ACTION (all times BST)

1300: Massa's new best line is 1:32.652. Can Hamilton snatch pole? No, the Briton comes home in 1:32.935. Having qualified fourth for his first two Grand Prix, the 22-year-old earns the first front-row starting place of his career.

1 F Massa
2 L Hamilton
3 K Raikkonen

1259: Felipe Massa's first sector time on what looks like being his final lap is faster than his current leading time. Hamilton looks like he will have to settle for second place on the grid.

1255: Hamilton misses out on provisional pole by two one-hundreths of a second, behind Felipe Massa. But there are still over four minutes left, so he could still snatch it.

1251: Lewis Hamilton pits to change to softer tyres - but there are some worrying signs of smoke from his car.

1245: The final qualifying session starts, with one Toyota, one Renault and one Williams left in the mix.

1239: Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher, Anthony Davidson, Heikki Kovalainen and Alexander Wurz are the latest drivers to fail to make the cut.

This is the third race in a row where Kovalainen has failed to reach the last round of qualifying - the Renault debutant is having a tough time replacing world champion Fernando Alonso.

1236: Anthony Davidson has a poor middle section of his final lap and drops to 13th place, so both he and Jenson Button are set to be elimimated.

1234: With time running out in the session, none of the top six cars go out again, but the Renaults of Heikki Kovalainein and Giancarlo Fisichlla are both in the drop zone.

1229: Lewis Hamilton shoots up to the top of the standings with a lap of 1:31.732.

1228: Ralf Schumacher has a brief spell in the lead but is soon passed by Jarno Trulli and Nico Rosberg.

1224: The second session begins, with six more drivers to be eliminated. Anthony Davidson will be keen to improve, having crept through as the slowest qualifier. The Toyota duo of Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli are the first ones out.

1220: Takuma Sato, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Scott Speed, Adrian Sutil, David Coulthard and Christijan Albers are the first drivers eliminated. Coulthard's elimination turns out to be down to a gearbox problem.

Both Toro Rosso and Spyker cars are eliminated, as Toro Rosso's poor qualifying performance so far this season continues.

1215: Time is up for the first session, and the unlucky drivers who are to be eliminated are soon to be named.

1214: Coulthard limps back into the pits and is pushed into the garage. He had been having fuel pump problems earlier, and looks to have paid the price.

1213: David Coulthard looks to have no speed at all. Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello are both sent out for another lap by the Honda pit lane crew.

1211: Jenson Button clocks the seventh best time so far, 1:33.967. With time running out in the first session, he looks fairly safe.

1210: Lewis Hamilton's amazing start to the season continues as he clocks the best time so far, 1:32.580, with team-mate Fernando Alonso having to settle for second place.

1205: Mark Webber sets the best time so far, 1:34.211.

1200: Alexander Wurz, David Coulthard and Jenson Button are the first out at Sakhir.

Track temperature is 44c, with a few spots of rain in the morning, but conditions are fairly dry as the cars go out.

Pre-race:

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren's Fernando Alonso may have won the opening two races of the season, but Alonso's team-mate Lewis Hamilton is likely to be challenging them for the headlines once again in Bahrain.

The 22-year-old is aiming to become the first person in Formula One history to finish on the podium in his first three races.

Hamilton is fastest in final practice, just ahead of Raikkonen and the Saubers of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica.

Anthony Davidson is fifth fastest, followed by Ferrari's Felipe Massa and then Alonso.

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Times from second free practice (Sat):

1 L Hamilton (GB) McLaren 1:32.543
2 K Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:32.549
3 N Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:32.652
4 R Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:32.755
5 A Davidson (GB) Super Aguri - Honda 1:32.900