Michael Schumacher, in his first official qualifying session since he retired from Formula 1 in 2006, stopped the clocks two positions adrift of Mercedes stable mate German Nico Rosberg and was almost 1.5 seconds adrift the pole position time. Seventh overall in final qualifying, Schumacher lapped the Bahrain circuit at a time of 1:55.524. With his somewhat off-song lap time, the seven-time World Champion conceded he still needed to work on his speed in the car.

"There are several reasons to it, but one is pretty certainly that I have to get back into it," Schumacher told reporters after qualifying.

"I just need to get the rhythm, although slowly and progressively it has improved, but it's challenging and that's a good thing.

"It's just having the rhythm and having this fine-tuning and getting the car to your liking. Just make perfect use of what you have available."

"I mentioned in my first test I feel like I just started in Formula 1. In Valencia during the first lap I was a bit shocked, but then I was straight back into it and felt very comfortable and it was exactly as it was in 1991 in a way. And as well as in '91, in my first qualifying I finished seventh, so here we are."

Schumacher also admitted that the emotions of returning to the sport have not affected him.

"I'm still very focused without much of emotion, just paying attention to details. It might be different at night, but we'll find out," he said.

Sunday, he said, he will do his best to make a run at a top eight position.

"It's not unrealistic, but it's going to be tough."

And of the absence of refueling and the importance of a good start in each race in 2010?

"I think it's going to be an interesting first corner. Because with these heavy cars, to sort of not have that much experience with them, it's going to be interesting. I look forward to it."

Meanwhile, Nico Rosberg, the fastest driver in practice on Friday, admitted he just didn’t have what it took to match the blistering time’s of pole winner Sebastian Vettel (1:54.101) and the Ferrari's of Felipe Massa (1:54.242) and Fernando Alonso (1:54.608) and will slot in fifth on the grid come Sunday afternoon.

"I am disappointed for two reasons," Rosberg told the BBC of his 1:55.241 second lap time. "I was actually hoping for pole position to be honest, I was convinced that I could do it today. But we were missing a little bit of pace to do that. And then I should have been fourth I think. But it was so difficult out there with the tires over-heating.

"If you oversteer you overheated the tires and then the next couple of corners were just game over. It was really challenging.

"I think tires are going to be one of the main factors tomorrow. That's why we all went on the option also, because it is just a better race tire for the start and for the first couple of laps."

-Eric Johnson