2010 Bahrain Grand Prix Race day at the Bahrain International Circuit

Weather conditions - as they have been all week - are stunning today. A cloudless sky and a top temperature of 34 degrees Celsius awaits the 24 drivers this afternoon.

The track temperature has been climbing steadily throughout the morning, and could touch 50 degrees during the 49-lap race.

Sebastian Vettel

Saturday produced a memorable qualifying session as the 24 drivers battled it out for the best places on the grid in Bahrain.

For a long time it was known that the three new teams in the sport this year - Lotus, Virgin and Hispania Racing Team - would occupy six of the seven elimination places in Q1. Somewhere along the line, that meant there would be a fall guy.

It turned out to be a private Spanish battle as Pedro de la Rosa neatly moved himself out of 18th position and up to safety on his final effort in the Sauber. This dropped Jaime Alguersuari into 18th with no further chance to improve.

The second phase of the session turned out to be a little more predictable, although there was drama for a short time as Jenson Button struggled for pace in the McLaren. He only just managed to fight his way out of 11th spot and into Q3. Rubens Barrichello found himself unlucky to be demoted by the Briton's improvement. Barrichello was joined by Liuzzi, Hulkenberg, de la Rosa, Buemi, Kobayashi and Vitaly Petrov.

The final shootout turned out to be a case of 'who dares wins'. McLaren and Ferrari sent its drivers out for the standard two runs of three laps, so for the first five minutes there were only four cars on the circuit. Eventually Sutil led those only making one effort out onto the track, just as the others were returning to the pits for their second set of tyres.

Sometimes one run is all that is needed to bag the pole, and Sebastian Vettel did it again yesterday. He instantly set the timing monitor alight and completed the job with a wonderful 1m54.101s, holding off an excellent late lap from the returning Felipe Massa..

Fernando Alonso will start his Ferrari racing career from third on the grid, with old friend Lewis Hamilton alongside him. Rosberg was fifth with Webber sixth, Michael Schumacher learning the knockout qualifying format in seventh, Button eighth, Kubica ninth and Adrian Sutil rounding out a great top ten using the harder tyres.

On paper, the first race of a new season always promises excitement. But perhaps this, more than any other year, has the potential to truly deliver.

There are big-hitting stories all the way down the grid. At Ferrari you have the returning Felipe Massa and Maranello debutant Fernando Alonso desperate to get off to an early start and erase the memory of last season.

McLaren has two British drivers, as 2009 champion Jenson Button slots in alongside former champ Lewis Hamilton. Both will be keen to establish themselves over the other in the first few events of the campaign.

Michael Schumacher has decided that, at 41 years of age, it's time for another crack at his passion in life, and is going for an eighth world crown. He faces perhaps the stiffest competition since his debut year in 1991 - and not just from the other teams. Alongside him is Nico Rosberg with a lot to prove.

Red Bull is the only team from the top four that has any continuity. Vettel and Webber stay as the driver pairing, and the team is powered once again by Renault. The Austrian outfit has already stated that the title is the prime target for the year, and Vettel especially has started well.

Bahrain

Hello and welcome to AUTOSPORT Live for opening round of what promises to be a pulsating 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

The Formula One fraternity have already endured a hectic start to the year, with four closely-scheduled tests in Spain in February. The teams had just a couple of days to get back home, strip down the cars and prepare them for shipping to the Middle East for this first event.

The Bahrain International Circuit has been extended for the seventh visit of motorsport's top category. Several new corners have been added to the first half of the lap, resulting in a track length of 6.299 kilometres.

49 laps of racing combat await the 24 drivers who are taking part in the championship this year, although how many make the chequered flag at the end today remains to be seen.

It's the 2010 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix from the Bahrain International Circuit. The race itself begins at 12:00 GMT, but before then we will set the scene by reviewing yesterday's action from an interesting qualifying session, update you on today's weather conditions and support card activity, and focus on some of the major talking points so far this weekend.