Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Bahrain

F1’s bosses met on Sunday to try to decide on the future of qualifying, but it was hardly a surprise to see them emerge 90 minutes later having not made a decision. 

The teams unanimously want to revert to the 2015 format, but Bernie Ecclestone and FIA president Jean Todt are immovable in their opposition to this. Their proposal is for a system that reverts to the 2015 format but aggregate the drivers’ two fastest laps to decide their position. 

The teams have gone away to analyse its effects before bosses reconvene later in the week, but engineers are already pointing out that any aggregate system reduces the random element. And it’s having cars out of position on the grid that Ecclestone is trying to achieve. 

This one could run and run. And run…

Image source, Getty Images

On the subject of qualifying and its controversial new format, what do you get if you lock F1 team bosses in a room for 90 minutes to discuss the matter? 

Diddly squat, it seems...

The 5 live team are looking pretty relaxed as they prep for today's race.

The Bahrain Grand Prix gets under way at 16:00 BST. 

BBC Radio 5 live commentary on the race will also be available on this page from 15:30. It's online only, so it means you will also be stuck with my musings. Sorry about that.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Bahrain

If this race lives up to the battle for pole, it will be an absolute cracker.

Lewis Hamilton admitted he had been struggling to string together a good lap all weekend, but he did it when it counted to vault from fourth ahead of both Ferraris and team-mate Nico Rosberg with his final run. 

“Lewis just did a great lap in the end there,” Rosberg said. “My lap felt good and I was actually sure that I was on pole! But that wasn’t the case, so there we go, that’s the way it is. Anyway, you know, at this track, I think it’s one of the tracks where pole counts least, because a lot of things can happen in the race and strategy and everything tomorrow is going to be quite messy maybe even, so there are still a lot of opportunities.” 

Hamilton said: “Luckily the one lap I did put together was the last lap. That was actually the only lap probably the whole weekend so far. I hope that’s the first of many. The car felt great.” 

It was the fastest ever lap of Bahrain, which considering the cars are 100kg heavier than those of the V10 era and the tyres are not as good is really saying something, as Hamilton put it, “about the way technology has progressed”.

Image source, Getty Images

Hello!

Welcome along to our coverage of the second race of the season - the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Qualifying may not have been flavour of the week once again, but it was rescued by an absolute stonker of a lap from Lewis Hamilton.

The world champion is on pole today. Can he convert that into a first victory of the season?

Image source, Getty Images

"Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

That, according to Albert Einstein, is the very definition of insanity.

If he were alive today, and an F1 fan, I suspect there would have been a knowing tut and a roll of the eyes if he had witnessed qualifying yesterday.

Sticking with the much criticised format from Australia had, perhaps unsurprisingly, the same outcome - an anticlimactic finish and prolonged moments of silence on the track.

Still, the race in Australia turned out all right. Here's hoping for the same outcome in Bahrain today...