Sebastian Vettel achieved his 38th career pole position in Formula 1, with the Red Bull team gambling on the car set-up by preparing for the wet conditions.
It did rain at the Sepang International Circuit and after struggling for outright speed in terms of lap times in the dry running of Q1 and Q2, the wet conditions helped improved performance in Q3.
The end result was Vettel securing yet another pole with a time of one minute, 49.674 seconds. The triple world champion made great use of a fresh set of intermediates to set the lap.
Behind the Red Bull are the Scuderia pair of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso. The Brazilian yet again out-qualified his Spanish team-mate, his fourth consecutive race, but the margin compared to the young German was still 0.9 seconds…
Lewis Hamilton held provisional pole for Mercedes going into the last minute, before being shuffled back to fourth position by Vettel and the Ferraris.
Mark Webber was another contender for pole but ended up lower down, in his case fifth.
Q2 pacesetter Nico Rosberg completed the top six, with championship leader Kimi Raikkonen in seventh. The Iceman won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in this position.
But hours after qualifying, the race stewards have penalised the Lotus driver for impeding Nico Rosberg at the end of Q3.
Raikkonen’s penalty relegates him to tenth on the grid promoting Jenson Button, Adrian Sutil and Sergio Perez.
The rain had started in Q2, catching out those who had not set a timed lap.
The Ferraris just made it through in time, but Romain Grosjean’s early time was pushed back to P11, leaving the Lotus driver frustrated.
Paul di Resta spun helplessly to P15, behind Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Gutierrez. Williams driver Pastor Maldonado was unable to set a lap time at all, caught out by the rain.
Williams had already lost Valtteri Bottas, unable to get out of Q1, along with Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne.
Both drivers were only a few tenths clear of the astonishing Jules Bianchi’s Marussia. The French rookie beat the rest of the backmarkers by 0.9 seconds and was 1.2 seconds quicker than his team-mate Max Chilton.
Sunday’s race at Sepang is going to be fascinating. With Vettel on pole running a wet set-up ahead of the red cars of Massa and Alonso. Can the defending champion score his first win of the season? Let’s hope it rains in Sepang judging by the RB9’s lack of performance in the dry conditions.
Qualifying times from Sepang:
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m49.674s
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m50.587s
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m50.727s
4. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m51.699s
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m52.244s
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m52.519s
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m53.175s
8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m53.439s
9. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m54.136s
10. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m52.970s*
11. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m37.636s
12. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.125s
13. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.822s
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.221s
15. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m44.509s
16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault no time
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.157s
18. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m38.207s
19. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m38.434s
20. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m39.314s
21. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m39.672s
22. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m39.932s
107 per cent time: 1m43.585s
*Three-place grid penalty for impending another driver during qualifying
The triple world champion admits if the Q3 session was run in dry conditions, he would have taken pole position. Autosport.com has the details.
Sebastian Vettel doubts his Red Bull had the pace to take Malaysian Grand Prix pole had Q3 taken place in the dry.
The world champion secured his second pole position of the season by nearly a full second ahead of Ferrari’s Felipe Massa in the rain-hit qualifying session.
All drivers ended up using the intermediate tyres in Q3.
Vettel had been ninth fastest in Q2, nearly a second behind pacesetter Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes.
The world champion admitted he was not sure if he had the pace to match the German’s time.
“It is difficult to say,” Vettel said when asked if he had the pace to be on pole in the dry. “The timing helped in that regard.
“I think we had pace to get there [Q3] on our own, but it helped more in regards to saving a set of tyres for tomorrow. We felt competitive all weekend, felt happy in the car.
“The pace set in Q2 was fast, a pretty good lap and I don’t know if we had a strong [enough] car. Whether it was enough to beat that time or not I don’t know.”
The Red Bull driver said his team had been prioritising saving tyres for the race given its struggles with the durability of the Pirelli rubber.
“It is difficult to know how quick you go if you try not to go 100 per cent,” he added. “It’s fair to say we tried that. It was quite tight in qualifying.
“In dry conditions I crossed the line and thought maybe it was not quick enough as we were running quite late. Once it was enough, we came in to save the tyres.”
The secrets behind Sebastian Vettel’s pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix? He made the most of the tyre change at exactly the right moment in Q3. Autosport.com has the news story.
Sebastian Vettel tip-toed through the early stages of qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix on Saturday before blasting to pole position at a rain-hit Sepang Circuit with a well-timed change of tyres.
Red Bull’s triple world champion secured the 38th pole of his Formula One career after opting for a new set of intermediates on a drying track to hold off the twin Ferrari threat of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, who adopted a similar strategy.
After the disappointment of Melbourne a week ago, when he dominated qualifying in the season-opening race before finishing third behind Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus and Alonso, Vettel was careful with his tyres on Saturday.
“It was an interesting qualifying session. We knew that rain was the on the way and to be honest we expected some at the beginning of qualifying but it didn’t come,” he told reporters.
The German drove conservatively in the early phases of qualifying and was ninth towards the end of the second phase when the first drops of rain prevented anyone from improving on their times and the top 10 advanced to the final round.
“Obviously I think we had a bit of a different approach to other people. Q2 was quite on edge I would say, so probably the rain helped us a little bit. Otherwise I think we would have had to go out again. But in that case it was just enough to go through to the final phase,” he said.
“Then in Q3 with the circuit drying, it was clear it was better to change tyres.
“We confirmed that pretty early. I think we did the right thing. Very tricky because you don’t know if there’s more rain coming or not, but we took the decision.”
The rain held off and Vettel eased ahead of early pace-setter Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes before watching Massa claim second place and Alonso third, although both Ferraris were almost a second behind.
“I’m a bit surprised by the gap but it was a decent lap and I was very happy obviously. It was quite tricky because some parts of the track were still wet and others were dry but overall a very good session for us,” he added.
“We managed to save some tyres, which could be crucial tomorrow, so we’ll see what we can do.”
Team mate Mark Webber will start in fifth place but the Australian cut a dejected figure after he was unable to set a final flying lap as he ran out of time due to a misunderstanding.
“I think we got out of the car what we could have done, on the laps when I was pushing,” he said.
“Then we basically didn’t push when the track was at its quickest because we thought we had a bit more time – well, I thought I had more time and more laps to play with.
“At the end, I got the red light when I went over for the last lap. Frustrating, that’s the way it goes sometimes. We’re fifth and I can still race from there.”
With Felipe Massa out-qualifying his team-mate Fernando Alonso for the fourth successive racing weekend, the double world champion admits this is good for Ferrari. Autosport.com has the details.
Fernando Alonso believes increased competition from Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa is a boost for the whole team.
Massa continued his return to form by outpacing Alonso for the fourth consecutive qualifying session to qualify second for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Although Alonso is Ferrari’s clear number one, he welcomed the extra pace from his Brazilian team-mate.
“It is the best news for the team,” said the 2005-2006 world champion.
“We need to have a competition between the two drivers, to share information, and to compare and analyse all the data we have.
“This is only good news for the team. We push ourselves to our own limits.”
Alonso also believes bad luck had previously prevented Massa showing his true pace.
“It is not the first time that we have very close competition,” he said.
“It was very close the last three years as well, but it was not that close in terms of results because Felipe had some bad luck, some incidents, some mechanical problems.”
Massa believes the strengths of the F138 have helped his improvement. “I very much like the car I am driving this year,” he said.
“Whenever you feel comfortable, you can do a good lap, you can use the car to the maximum.
“I know how quick I can be. I have showed it many times in the past. I believe in myself. Now the team and myself are going in a good direction.”
After finishing second in the dry in Australia and qualifying third in the wet in Malaysia, Alonso also believes Ferrari will be competitive in all conditions.
“The car behaves really well in all conditions,” he added. “We are not afraid of what is coming from the sky. Whatever arrives we will take it and be competitive.”
At various points during the qualifying session at Sepang, the Mercedes set the quickest time. Both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg admitted later their have missed the chance to take pole position. Autosport.com has the details.
Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg both believe they missed clear chances to take pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Hamilton was quickest going into the closing stages of Q3, while Rosberg had been fastest of all in Q2.
They ended up fourth and sixth on the grid respectively.
While polesitter Sebastian Vettel pitted for fresh intermediates for a final shot at the top spot at the end, the Mercedes joined the majority in staying out through Q3 on one set of Pirellis.
“Putting new tyres on was definitely the way to go,” said Hamilton.
“Our strategy was to stay out, we thought it would dry up more and it work in our favour, but it didn’t.
“I want to be on pole so initially when you get out of the car you don’t think you’re happy.
“But there are lots of positives to take out of yesterday and today so I’m excited about the race.”
Rosberg was certain he had the pace to take pole had it stayed dry.
I was feeling really comfortable in the dry,” he said.
“I was the fastest guy out there and had the best car. Then unfortunately the rain came, but still I thought ‘OK, no problem, I can still go fast’.
“I just messed up the strategy, staying out there when others came in for a new set and I had damaged tyres.”
The German is still convinced he can challenge for victory on Sunday.
“I have a good car, especially once it’s in the race, and as we saw in Melbourne, seventh place won the race, so it’s still possible,” Rosberg said.
This was a much better performance by McLaren after a difficult start to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Jenson Button says the team are making progress. Autosport.com has the story.
Jenson Button believes McLaren has made good progress with its car in dry conditions since Melbourne.
Button qualified his MP4-28 eighth in the rain-affected session in Malaysia, less than a week after struggling home ninth in the dry Australian GP.
Although he found the car difficult in the damp conditions of Q3, Button believes progress has been made.
“To be two tenths off the guy who won last weekend I don’t think is too bad,” said the 2009 world champion. “It’s funny though because these conditions seemed to really work for us until this point.
“I couldn’t find a balance in the wet; I struggled with lack of grip at high-speed at the rear, but I’d take that any day of the week for a better car in the dry.
“If you look through qualifying in Q1 and Q2 on dry tyres we were more competitive. Still nowhere near the top but we’re more competitive.
“The guys have done a good job of getting everything out of the car at the moment and I think having two cars in the top 10 is great.”
Button also believes the car is now better over longer runs.
“I’m much happier in terms of the long-run pace than in Melbourne,” he added.
“I’m looking forward to the race and I wasn’t really looking forward to the race in Melbourne. I think we have a better race car.
“It’s one week from a tough weekend for us and already we’ve made some small improvements, although the circuit helps with how smooth it is.
“We’re doing a lot of work early in sessions to really understand the car, help the development, and to get the best out if it. We’re getting there.
“The positive thing is not the wet pace, but the dry pace we have now in qualifying. Hopefully we can carry that through in the race.”
Team-mate Sergio Perez believes the number of changes being made makes it difficult for the drivers to maximise the car, but is pleased with the overall progress.
“We are changing so many things on the car,” he said. “Basically today I started with a completely new car so it was difficult for me to get the maximum, but we are doing a good job.
“We’ve still got a long way to go in terms of car development. Having said that, I can see how hard the team is working to improve our car, and it’s a really good feeling to be a part of that.”
Kimi Raikkonen has been given a three-place grid penalty for impeding Nico Rosberg in Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying.
The Australian GP winner had been seventh fastest in the rain-affected Sepang qualifying session.
But his Lotus will now start 10th after he was adjudged to have blocking Rosberg’s Mercedes at Turn 14.
Rosberg qualified sixth.
Raikkonen won in Melbourne last week from seventh on the grid.
Source: Autosport.com
Force India’s Adrian Sutil admits he could have scored a much better result in qualifying had the session ran in the dry. His Q1 form was excellent with the quickest time. Autosport.com has the details.
Adrian Sutil believes Force India could have delivered another strong performance in qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix had it not rained.
The German, who caused a stir when he led much of the Melbourne race last weekend, reckoned he was in the mix for a top five slot on the Sepang grid before the weather intervened.
“The car was good in the dry and I felt very good in it,” said Sutil, who was fastest of all in Q1. “I have had a confident weekend and so far was competitive.
“Q1 was great, and I did my fastest lap on used tyres, and we were then looking for one of the best qualifying sessions – but then the rain came and destroyed our plans.
“We knew it was going to be difficult in the rain. Normally I like it but with these tyres I don’t feel comfortable in the car, as we have just so much oversteer.”
When asked by AUTOSPORT if Force India’s dry potential was as high as the front row, Sutil said: “I don’t know about the front row. I think around top five was possible in the dry with a good lap because the car has been looking good.
“I am in P9 [starting eighth after Kimi Raikkonen’s penalty]. I don’t think this is our position in qualifying, as we should have ended more to the front.”
Paul di Resta was even more frustrated after admitting that he and the team made a mistake by aborting a first-lap effort in Q2 before getting caught out by the rain.
“It was a bit of a cock up by the pit wall,” explained the Scotsman, who starts 15th. “We misjudged the rain.
“However, I think our weather radar system went down like a few other teams, and that probably didn’t help. The rain came three minutes earlier than it was supposed to.
“We also aborted the lap we were on in Q2 to make sure we were the first car on fresh tyres to complete a lap.”
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa is fast becoming the renaissance man of Formula One after a strong start to 2013 following signs of improvement at the end of last year.
Massa’s seat came under intense pressure last season but the Italian team’s decision to retain his services appears to be bearing fruit as he out-qualified team mate Fernando Alonso for a fourth straight race at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Saturday.
The 31-year-old Brazilian made full use of a late stop for fresh intermediate tyres on a drying Sepang Circuit to claim second spot on the grid behind Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, pushing Alonso back to third with his first front row start since 2010.
“I feel comfortable in the car. I think whenever you feel comfortable you can do a good lap and you can use the car to the maximum, it’s possible,” said Massa, who qualified and finished fourth in the season-opening race in Melbourne last weekend.
“It was really clear that I was not comfortable last year and the year before, so many things around the car, bad luck, around myself as well, so there were so many things that were not working in the proper direction, but now they are.”
Massa finished second to Lewis Hamilton in the 2008 drivers’ championship but suffered a serious head injury when hit by debris at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, missing the rest of the season.
He has struggled to rediscover his best form since but managed podium finishes in Japan and Brazil in the second half of last year.
“I know how quick I can be, I’ve showed that many times in the past. If everything works well, we can be competitive, it’s pretty sure about that,” he added.
“I believe in myself and I think it can be really important for the team, for Fernando as well, for everybody. We need a stronger team, a strong position and fighting for the best position in every race so I’m happy, that’s a good direction.”
DOMENICALI PRAISE
Team principal Stefano Domenicali was quick to heap praise on Massa and was happy to see the team’s confidence in the driver being rewarded.
“That’s what I want, and that’s what I said since last year when everyone was pushing me to do something different,” the Italian said. “But I am happy for him and for the team because as always, we think as a team.”
Alonso had seemed to be waging a lone war against the Red Bulls in recent years but the Spaniard said Massa had not been as far off the pace as results had suggested.
“I’ve been racing 27 years now in motor racing – I’m getting old – so it’s not the first time that we have very close competition,” the 31-year-old double champion told reporters.
“It was very close the last three years as well, but I know that for you, it was not that close in terms of results because Felipe had some bad luck, some incidents sometimes, some mechanical problems other times but the last three years was much closer than it looked in the points at the end.”
Source: Autosport.com
Red Bull’s Mark Webber believes a tactical error during Q3 cost him the opportunity to challenge for pole position. Autosport.com has the news story.
Mark Webber believes a timing mistake prevented him from qualifying better for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver qualified only fifth, running the whole of Q3 on one set of intermediates, while Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel took pole after a pitstop to change to a second set of Pirelli inters.
Webber had been well-positioned to be the last driver to start a flying lap, often an advantage in mixed conditions, but slowed too much letting Lewis Hamilton by.
“I think we got the best from the car when we were pushing,” said the Australian. “But we didn’t push when the track was at its quickest.
“To do the absolute maximum lap time probably another set of inters was the right thing to do, but it wasn’t completely clear.
“I was saving my inters for the last run, but the information I had on when the session was going to finish was a little bit different to what I thought. I got the flag and I wasn’t expecting the flag. I thought we had more time.”
Webber nevertheless thinks that taking pole on his older intermediates would have been difficult even if he had managed another lap.
“If you look at a scrubbed tyre against a new tyre toe-to-toe in the same conditions I was probably going to struggle against Seb, but we could certainly have done a stronger lap time,” he added.
Although Webber believes Red Bull has made progress on looking after the tyres over a race run, he admits the competitive order is still unknown.
“We could be very strong, we’re just not sure,” he said. “People have different ideas on what they might need tomorrow.
“Any long runs around this place are difficult on the tyres.
“It’s certainly going to be a very interesting grand prix, extremely open.”
Romain Grosjean believes the car issues that affected his Australian Grand Prix and practice in Malaysia have now been resolved.
Although the Frenchman could only qualify 11th at Sepang having mistimed his Q2 run in changing weather, he is now much happier with his Lotus.
“We’re keeping our fingers crossed but finally we’ve come back to where we like,” said Grosjean.
“We went through the data and changed it a lot from yesterday, and finally the car stayed as we thought it would on the set-up and we could work from there.
“We made some decent changes overnight and through P3, and it’s made it better.”
Grosjean thinks a dry race would be best for his efforts to progress from row six.
“The car is already good on long runs. The weather is a question mark,” he said.
“I think we missed a bit of downforce with the rain [set-up]. A dry race would be good for us because we have a lot of tyres in our pocket.”
Source: Autosport.com