RETURN OF THE FINGER.

Finally, after three race weekends, Sebastian Vettel put his RB8 right at the front of the grid following qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix. It has been a long time coming but he had an excuse to flash that famous finger as he climbed out of the car and celebrated with a few of his team members. I don't think many people would have seen this coming but the German got the job done and finally out-qualified his team mate Mark Webber, who also put in a great performance to get his Red Bull in to third on the grid.

The McLaren of Lewis Hamilton splits the Red Bulls and despite being very close to Vettel in terms of lap times, he just couldn't get more out of his car. Jenson Button may be a bit disappointed but when he won the race in 2009 he did so from fourth place. What can the '09 world champion do tomorrow?

Of course Michael Schumacher will be anything but pleased with qualifying 18th after coming to Bahrain as a definite front-row contender. Fellow Mercedes driver Rosberg will be disappointed with his performance as he was in with a shot at pole but could only manage fifth. He only did one run, like in China, but this time didn't get what he needed out of his flying lap. Perhaps he could have beaten Vettel had he run twice but that's just a what-if situation and the reality is that he simply couldn't make it two in a row.

The most interesting occurrence of Qualifying, for me, is the fact that the Toro Rosso drivers are experiencing  totally contrasting Saturdays. A great performance from Daniel Ricciardo saw him in the top 10 shoot out and finish in a stunning sixth position. On the other hand, Jean-Eric Vergne in the second Toro Rosso couldn't even get past the first hurdle of Q1 as he qualified in a lacklustre 18th. Ricciardo himself told Sky Sports' Natalie Pinkham that he doesn't know why they're seeing such different qualifying results but I'm sure that won't bother him as much as it will bother Vergne. The famously ruthless team he finds himself driving for won't be best pleased with the Frenchman's Saturdays either and he needs to step up his game now- or at least tomorrow- to be guaranteed with a seat for the whole of 2012.

So the cars have battled it out for grid position and the next time they take to the track will be for the race. Whilst I don't necessarily agree with the Grand Prix going ahead I can't wait for all of tomorrow's action. Can Sebastian Vettel follow up his incredible pole position with a race win, his first of 2012? It's something he's definitely used to doing but I can think of a few people who won't be making his life any easier...

Aqsa

(Image: BBC Sport)