With Nico Rosberg finishing practice with the fastest time the AT&T Williams team must have been feeling quietly confident as they entered qualifying in Bahrain. Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima would finish practice in sixth so his chances of making it through into Q3 were looking good. Drivers will now have to make sure that they their lap times were within a maximum time. This is designed to stop the slow down type laps that caused problems in Malaysia.

The first twenty minute Q1 would get underway with Piquet first out. He would be joined by several drivers including both Torro Rosso's. Piquet would set the first time, 1m:34.945. Vettel was second followed by Davidson. Both Williams drivers were out on the track. On his first lap Nico would move to the top of the times with a 1m:33.913.

Trulli was now fastest 1m:33.886. Nico had pitted while Kazuki was down in sixth, 1m:35.092. Most drivers were on the harder tyre. Trulli would improve with a 1m:33.844. Hamilton would move past Trulli with a 1m:32.758. Team-mate Kovalainen was now second, 1m:33.057. Nico was back out as Trulli pitted. Nico was now in fourth and Kazuki tenth. Hamilton would improve with a 1m:32.750.

With the whole field out on the track Kovalainen would pit. Coulthard was now fifth and Glock sixth. On his first lap Alonso would move into third, 1m:33.746. Hamilton would pit as Bourdais went third fastest. Webber would take this spot with a 1m:33.385. Massa was on a quick lap and with a stunning 1m:31.937 move to the top of the times. Sato was to spin his car and hit the barrier backwards ending his session.

Raikkonen was now second, 1m:32.642. Kubica was now fourth. and Heidfeld sixth. Nico was back in the pits currently in eighth. Kazuki was ninth. The period was red flagged with four and three quarter minutes remaining. Sato's car had come to a stop close to the pit lane entrance. Nico would sit in the pit lane with his mechanics ready to remove his tyre warmers and make a quick return to the track. The circuit would go green.

Vettel was first out on soft tyres. The top six remained in their pits. The period would come to an end as Vettel moved into twelfth. Nico would improve to be fifth, 1m:32.903. Glock was now fourth, 1m:32.800, and team-mate Trulli second, 1m:32.493. Button was now fifth and Barrichello ninth. This would see Nico and Kazuki in eighth and fifteenth. Kazuki was very close to not making the cut. It was surprising to see both Williams drivers so far down the times. Those not making the cut were Coulthard, Fisichella, Vettel, Sutil, Davidson, and Sato.

The fifteen minute period Q2 would get underway with no one keen to come out. There was a question mark over Massa's quickest time in Q1 as it was set when the yellow flags were been waved. With just over ten minutes left there would be a rush of drivers coming out. This included both Williams drivers. Most drivers were on the softer tyre. Glock was fastest, 1m:32.539, but Trulli would move ahead of him. Alonso was third followed by Piquet.

Nico's first lap would see him in second, 1m:32.185. Webber was now fifth. At the front it was Hamilton fastest but he was passed by Massa, 1m:31.188. Raikkonen was in third. Trulli was fourth and Nico fifth. Kazuki was in thirteenth, 1m:32.943. Kovalainen was now second, 1m:31.718. Kubica's first lap would see him third, 1m:31.745. Heidfeld was in eighth. Only the BMW's were out on the track with just under three minutes remaining.

Kazuki was looking like he was in real trouble sitting in sixteenth. Both Williams drivers were back out with only the top five remaining in their pits. Everyone was on the softer tyre. With the end of the period Kazuki was on a quick lap but he would fail to improve. Glock was in ninth, 1m:32.528. Nico was in eighth as Trulli moved ahead of him. Ninth was Alonso followed by Button in tenth.

With the end of the period those failing to make the cut were Webber, Barrichello, Glock, Piquet, Bourdais, and Nakajima. Again Kazuki has failed to deliver in qualifying. Nico was able to set a time that was quickest for him so far this weekend but it was well off the pace.

In discussions with his race engineer Nico was told that they would not make any changes to his front wing as it would add understeer to the car if they added anymore front wing. With the start of the final period Nico was out on the track early. Nico was on the harder tyre for his first run. Now everyone was out on the track. Nico was fastest in sector one. Heidfeld would go faster with six and a half minutes remaining.

Button would set the first time, 1m:35.057. Nico would go faster, 1m:34.776. Heidfeld was now fastest with a 1m:34.662. Trulli was in third behind Nico. Hamilton was out on the softer tyre going fastest with a 1m:33.651. Kovalainen was second. Kubica would move ahead of Hamilton with a 1m:33.350.

Massa was now fastest with a 1m:33.339. Nico was down in seventh. Alonso was down in tenth. Nico was back out for his second run. Raikkonen was in fifth. Hamilton would make a quick stop returning on the softer tyre. Everyone was back out as the final minutes counted down. Hamilton was fastest in sector two. Massa was quickest in sector two. Hamilton would go fastest, 1m:33.292. Kubica was now fastest, 1m:33.096. Massa could not beat Kubica's time remaining in second.

Hamilton was in third followed by Raikkonen, Kovalainen, Heidfeld, Trulli, Nico, Button, and in tenth Alonso. For the Williams team Nico would finish with a 1m:34.015. This was just under a second behind Kubica's time so Sunday's race is going to come down to strategy for the Williams team if they want to achieve a points scoring result. When interviewed Nico still felt that the team was heading in the right direction and that they will have a good car come the race.