1) Rosberg 2) Ricciardo 3) Raikkonen 4) Vettel 5) Bottas 6) Kvyat 7) Perez 8) Sainz 9) Verstappen 10) Hulkenberg 

Tom Clarkson
BBC Radio 5 live commentator

"That was the first time we have seen a Mercedes properly unleashed in practice and it really shows how good that Mercedes is. There is a cross wind down into turn 13 and I wonder if that caught out the Ferrari drivers."

Mark Gallagher
BBC Radio 5 live Formula 1 analyst

"Vettel ran too deep into the hairpin and all that speed went away. Stand-out performance must be Ricciardo in the Red Bull, that must feel like a victory."

Nico Rosberg: "Car was great again, sorry that the other car didn't make it."

He sounded very sincere when he said he was sorry about the other car as well...

...Kimi Raikkonen can't improve so it is P3 for the Ferrari! What a lap from Daniel Ricciardo, though as he takes P2!

Sebastian Vettel is only fourth quickest, so it is now all with Kimi Raikkonen...

...Nico Rosberg is quickest! A 1:35.402 and that's half a second quicker than Kimi Raikkonen's time. What a lap!

Now, what have the Ferraris got?

Not Nico Rosberg's best time through sector one, but he's fastest of all through sector two...

At this point in Bahrain we were sitting about twiddling our thumbs with pole sorted. This one is going to go to the wire. 

Out go the Ferraris...

Tom Clarkson
BBC Radio 5 live commentator

"It is really windy down here in the pit lane and there is rain in the air. I would suggest Vettel needs to get out there now, get a feel for these windy conditions and hope this rain doesn't arrive."

Three minutes left on the clock and Valtteri Bottas is the first to emerge for the second and final attempt to grab a strong position on the grid.

Mark Gallagher
BBC Radio 5 live Formula 1 analyst

"I don't think anyone was going to put money on Nico Rosberg being almost two tenths of a second down on the lead Ferrari."

After the first runs it is: 1) Raikkonen 2) Rosberg 3) Ricciardo 4) Kvyat 5) Sainz 6) Bottas 7) Verstappen 9) Perez

Here comes Kimi...and it's P1! He goes 0.1s quicker than Nico Rosberg. 

No movement from Sebastian Vettel, who is sitting in his car. Looks like he is going for a one-lap crack at pole.

Image source, Reuters

Nico Rosberg kicks things off with a 1:36.111 as Sergio Perez almost falls foul of the bump-puddle combo that caught out Pascal Wehrlein earlier, but keeps it together to go second quickest. 

Nico Rosberg takes to the track with super softs on. Kimi Raikkonen is out with a fresh set of the red-walled tyres on his Ferrari. 

The first stab at a pole lap is under way.

After a bizarre scene of a forklift popping a block of tyres inside the hairpin before promptly removing them, the shoot-out for pole is under way.

Image source, Reuters

A world champion knocked out, a crash, loose wheels and angry Alonso. Plenty of drama. Never a need for elimination-style qualifying.