Red Bull’s Vettel takes pole position for F1 season opener at Bahrain; Schumacher starts 7th

Vettel takes pole at Bahrain; Schumacher 7th

SAKHIR, Bahrain — Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull has taken the pole position for Formula One’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, while Michael Schumacher will begin his comeback from a disappointing seventh-place finish.

Vettel set a fastest time of 1 minute, 54.101 seconds to edge Ferrari pair Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, who have both triumphed at the desert track previously.

Lewis Hamilton of McLaren starts from fourth ahead of Nico Rosberg of Mercedes and Red Bull driver Mark Webber.

Seven-time champion Schumacher, racing for the first time in three years, was 1.423 seconds off of Vettel’s pace to start ahead of defending champion Jenson Button, who was eighth for McLaren.