Ever since China, many have opined that qualifying in 2011 isn't quite as important as it used to be. Indeed, looking at Mark Webber amazing come back in Shanghai - courtesy of superb strategy and some ballsy driving - appeared to prove their point.

However, nobody really wants to make life difficult for them self, so it is unlikely that we'll see anybody totally ease off this afternoon in the hope that they can turn things around tomorrow.

With almost ideal weather conditions and the Pirellis not showing particularly excessive wear, it's unclear whether tyre strategy today will be quite as important as in China, besides which other teams and drivers will now adopt similar strategies thereby negating the advantage Hamilton and McLaren had in Shanghai.

Therefore, what will be worth watching for today and tomorrow is driver error and mechanical issues. The notoriously bumpy track surface has already caught out several drivers this weekend, while a number of teams, particularly Ferrari, have been suffering reliability problems. Then there's Red Bull's ongoing problem with KERS which raised its ugly head again this morning.

In this morning's session, Vettel edged out Schumacher by just one-thousandth of a second, as Mercedes shows signs of a real revival. The McLarens were up there, though hurting from the bumps, while, not forgetting Webber in third, Petrov had the advantage over the Ferraris. Speaking of which, the Maranello outfit has opted to change the engine in Massa's car while Alonso's car has been completely stripped down and rebuilt.

As we await the start of Q1, the air temperature is 18 degrees C, while the track temperature is 36 degrees. It is bright and sunny, barely a cloud in the sky. Wind speed is 4.4 mps while humidity is 30%.

It's widely thought, that with an eye on tomorrow, some drivers will opt for just one run should they get through to Q3.

The lights go green and Kobayashi leads the way followed by Liuzzi and d'Ambrosio.

Having gone quickest in the first two sectors, Kobayashi eases right off, indeed, he grinds to a halt shortly before the pitlane entrance. Game already over for the Sauber driver.

D'Ambrosio posts 1:32.251 and Liuzzi 32.524, only to be leapfrogged by di Resta who goes almost three seconds quicker (29.420).

On his second lap, di Resta improves to 29.223, as Sutil goes second ahead of d'Ambrosio, Glock and Barrichello.

Vettel, Alonso, Schumacher, Massa, Rosberg, Webber, Hamilton and Button leave the pits.

A 27.039 sees Vettel go straight to the top of the timesheets, as Schumacher gets in the way of Hamilton, the German having posted a 27.697 to go fourth.

As Buemi goes second, Rosberg goes quickest in S1, finally crossing the line at 27.514 to go second. Moments later, Webber posts a 27.090 to make it a Red Bull 1-2, shades of 2010.

Alonso goes fifth, ahead of Schumacher and Alguersuari, as Massa (28.491), can only manage twelfth.

Replay shows Schumacher getting in Hamilton's way earlier. Will it lead to a penalty for the controversial German?

Button fourth goes quickest in S2, however, a poor final sector means he fails to improve on his position.

With 6:00 on the clock, Heidfeld and Petrov have yet to post a time, though both are on track. Petrov goes fifth on his first flying lap 27.475) as Perez goes quickest overall in S3. Heidfeld can only manage eleventh.

With less than four minutes remaining, Massa, surprisingly goes out on a brand new set of softs. The Brazilian is currently fifteenth.

As the clock counts down, the top eight remain in their garages. Maldonado, on a late charge, goes fifth with a 27.396 as di Resta goes tenth with a 27.625.

Massa goes quickest with a 27.013, but is it worth a set of softs. As if to prove the point, Alonso, on the hard tyre, posts 27.349 to go fifth having been quickest in S2.

Sutil goes seventh with a 27.392, and despite a brave, brave effort, Kovalainen fails to make the cut.