ON YOUR MARKS...

Well, what a qualifying session that turned out to be! Any predictions anyone, including myself, had before the session began were thrown right out of the window and rendered useless as Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix didn't fail to shock and stun audiences everywhere. And I have no idea where to begin...

With the usual line up not progressing through to Q2 there isn't much to say about the first part of Qualifying, except for the fact that teams were opting for the soft, option tyre much earlier on than anticipated, with those that set their times on the medium tyre just hovering above the drop-out zone.

On to Q2 and the main talking point is most definitely the fact that Sebastian Vettel failed to get to Q3! After enjoying all of 2011 as the man to beat on Saturday, 2012 must come as bit of an unwelcome surprise to him as his highest qualifying position so far this season has been sixth. As China has a circuit notorious for overtaking Sebastian does have the chance to move up through the grid and he also benefits from the fact that his main rivals aren't starting too far ahead of him. Adding the fact that he will be able to start the race on a fresh set of tyres I don't see any reason to write him off just yet. I do, however, think that Sebastian better get used to seeing plenty of cars around him on the grid as it doesn't seem like the RB8 will be a pole contender for a while.

(All images in this post taken from BBC Sport website)

Lewis Hamilton also benefits from the strange fortunes of others as, despite his five place grid penalty, he starts right behind his McLaren team-mate and the Red Bull of Mark Webber. This means the start will be very interesting indeed as these cars, and Vettel and Alonso not far behind them, will be aiming for the best start possible in the run down to the first corner. And then there will be plenty of position swapping in Turn 1 and Turn 2 as well...

Of course you can't talk about Qualifying without mentioning who got the coveted pole position. That honour belongs to Nico Rosberg. He won his first pole ever and finished about half a second ahead of his nearest challenger, despite only setting one timed lap. Nico will enjoy starting at the front of the grid next to his team mate Schumacher as the pair give Mercedes their first front row lockout since 1955. The question now is whether they can convert strong grid positions to world championship points. Mercedes only have 1 point in the Constructors' Championship and it will be a bitter disappointment if this figure doesn't significantly increase tomorrow.

Rounding off the top 3 is Kamui Kobayashi. He adds to the joys of Sauber who followed up a solid second position in Malaysia perfectly with a very strong qualifying in China. I am sure that we can expect big things from the team tomorrow and for the rest of 2012 as they get stronger and stronger.

I am not going to even bother making any predictions for tomorrow because I know that the race will be just as impossible to call as qualifying was. What I can predict is that the Chinese GP is going to be a thriller and my heart rate will dramatically increase as a result; especially at the start of the race when there will be action throughout the pack.

I'll be back tomorrow to discuss the best parts of the race. That is if I manage to digest them all...

Aqsa