Scuderia Ferrari HP will start tomorrow's Bahrain Grand Prix, from the front and second rows of the grid at the Sepang circuit.

In qualifying, held in extremely hot conditions, Lewis Hamilton set the second-fastest time, while Charles Leclerc recorded the fifth-fastest time. However, the Monegasque will start from fourth, because Isack Hadjar, who set the third-fastest time has a five place grid penalty.

Lewis and Charles comfortably made it through the first phase on Medium tyres, while in Q2 both SF-26s were fitted with new Soft tyres, with Leclerc and Hamilton immediately setting times good enough to take them through to the final phase. In Q3, they both used two further new sets of the softest compound. On his first attempt, Lewis posted a 1'35"745, good enough for provisional third place, while Charles set a 1'35"878, putting him fifth. On his final flying lap, Hamilton managed to improve to 1'35"428, the second-fastest time. Leclerc also went quicker, bringing his time down to 1'35"666, putting him fifth on the time sheet and, as mentioned, fourth on the grid.

The Grand Prix promises to be particularly demanding given the high temperatures and the potential impact of tyre degradation. This evening, the team will analyse all the data gathered over the weekend to define the best strategy and prepare in detail for what is expected to be a closely fought race, with the aim of maximising the team's points haul.

Lewis Hamilton: First of all, a huge thank you to everyone in the team. The conditions have been incredibly demanding all weekend, not just for the drivers but also for the mechanics and engineers, and they've done a fantastic job. We worked hard session after session to understand the car and find the right balance in these temperatures, and the adjustments we made ahead of qualifying definitely helped us take a step forward. We managed to put it all together when it mattered most. Tomorrow will be a very different challenge, with tyre management likely to play a big part, but it's great to be starting on the front row. Now we just need to focus on executing a clean race, maximising every opportunity and seeing what we can achieve.

Charles Leclerc: P4 is not a bad place to start from. At the same time, it wasn't a great qualifying, particularly in Q3. I tried my best, but from sector two onwards, I was sliding around with the rear, probably being a bit too aggressive with the setup. That's the way it goes sometimes. Tyre management and strategy will both be key in the race. Let's see what we can bring home for the team.

Fred Vasseur: Today's qualifying went well for us and I am happy to have both cars starting on the first and second rows with Lewis and Charles. I want to thank everyone both at the track and in Maranello for the great work they have done.

Lewis produced a really strong lap and it's a shame for Charles that he wasn't able to put everything together on his final attempt, because he had the pace to set a time very close to Lewis'. But it's tomorrow that counts. We know that the main factors in the race will be degradation, pace and tyre management in general. These elements will be more important than our grid positions. It will be a long race tomorrow and there is everything to play for.

Check out our Saturday gallery from Sepang here.