Formula One in Bahrain kicks off

Meanwhile, German Sebastian Vettel, 22, in his Red Bull, had the pole position, but it remained unclear who would win the second longest circuit of the season. "Tyres are going to be the main issue," said Mercedes team Chief Ross Brawn, shortly before the race. "We just have to see how they wear in this race and manage the situation as well as we can."

Top teams had to run on soft tyres used in the qualifying rounds, meaning that they would have had to pit earlier than rivals for harder tyres. This is the first time since 1995 that Formula One began with a 24-car field, 22 of them on the grid and two in the pit lane.